Bugyotsuji

Quite large? I like it.

Very true Jean. Either these are purely for observation, or more likely merely for castle-aperture-like-decoration.

I think they're both beautiful, Clive. Kozuka seem to have been made in many sizes apart from what we imagine to be 'standard'.

Although shields were not carried by individual Bushi, they were placed on the ground, e.g. propped iron or wooden boards as in Yoshitora’s woodblock print of Hideyoshi’s army in action, or often tied into bamboo bundles which proved more effective against larger bore matchlock fire. Iron examples can be found at Osaka Castle and at Tokumori Jinja in Tsuyama. (very heavy)

Thanks for the clear photos. Sadly, this badly-written Mei looks like an added-value attempt to deceive potential buyers.

Looking ahead to Children's Day in early May, I am starting to 'picture' the static display up at the shrine. Recently I bought a shield which needs some work done to it, but it could be good as a backdrop. Someone made me an offer I could not refuse. The little peek-a-boo hazama windows are too small for a gun, but perhaps an arrow could be fired through them. (Might wreck the flights?)

And just now I found this photo from 2018 on the bridge in Shinjo Village. Staring at it closely I suddenly realized that that's me there in my 'good' kabuto, and a slightly different outfit! 'Different' means I no longer wear that jimbaori, and I have now upgraded the red leather Hosokawa doran waist ammo box for a green leather padded-top makura-doran (Pillow doran). Holding my trusty Hosokawa Kumamoto Castle large-bore army gun. The hoshi kabuto may be mid-Edo Haruta from Kaga, but I have not opened the ukebari lining to look for a Mei. Kote chain-mail sleeves are Muromachi.

Does the Middle East count, Carlos? Remo Nogueira works in the UAE(?), I think.

Back to the kabuto for a minute, there is a strong sense in Japan that your mabisashi should be close to horizontal, i.e. 180 degrees, almost level with the horizon, even when on display. The reason for this is from the battlefield, to be able to maintain forward sight, while protecting your eyes as much as possible from incoming projectiles.

冬廣　作 Fuyuhiro Saku

I would take the brass signal cannons any day of the week! Maybe that’s just me though.

You could ask for better pics of the blade. You can take the gamble if you’re bored and you’re not attached to the €100 object you’re offering in exchange. (Maybe it has no ‘chips’, but does the seller know what tiny hagire are for example?)

He must have fed the correct kanji characters into the net somewhere, but his automatic translator has mistakenly read your 賀光 characters as 'Gahikari' and 'Gako'. (Same smith or smith line. No problem, just ignore.)

Found this Tanegashima Island video from last year celebrating the first arrival of guns there 480 years ago, and their relationship with Portugal. In the footage at 2:18 I spotted a shot of me in armo(u)r from 2008! See the gun troop with Ikeda Bizen-Cho butterfly Kamon, which is our lot when we visited the island for a national event 16 years ago.

It means residing in Kanda which is in Bushu (Musashi). The period is not mentioned, but yes, this indicates part of the Edo region, which all later came to be part of the newly-named Tokio or Tokyo. We then assume from the style of writing that this was chiseled in the late Edo Period, or quite possibly the Meiji Period when shikomizue came into fashion.

Ariyoshi Saku no Shin Yoshinao.(?) 有吉作之進吉直 A Nagasaki gunsmith.

Geraint, you must have a bendy neck to be able to read those!

(貞治 Joji, also can be read Teiji.)

Forgive the chatty nature of this update. Some things need to be written down to get one's head in order. 1. Where is our mentor Stephen? He went lurker for a while and then... silent...(?) 2. This Saturday I am hoping to get the little Nami no Hira back from the Togi-Shi. 3. This Sunday we have the third black powder event of this year up at Susai Castle to the east. Yesterday I cleaned the guns after Sunday's event and prepared them for this next one, and today I have been doing some running repairs on armo(u)r and guns. Like fishing nets, your equipment on the battlefield needs constant little adjustments or you're in trouble. For example, my tachi often gets knocked out of the saya by the weight of the pistol holster as I'm performing, and having tried everything I have resorted to tying it shut with string. Looks bad at close quarters, but hanging half out looks a whole lot worse. Then my matchcord keeps falling out of the serpentine as the hammer falls, causing misfires. Naoe Kanetsugu said around 1600 that you should have a matchcord that fits your gun, not too thin and not too fat. I think my problem is that I cleaned the inside of the serpentine pinch flaps too enthusiastically, leaving them smooth. So, fiendishly clever I know, but I have applied rubberized glue to the inside of the flaps. Cannot be seen, but it increases grip and pinch, reducing the inner diameter of the flaps inner side walls. (Why not squeeze them together slightly? With shinchu you have to be careful bending them or you could easily introduce cracks into the brass.) 4. On Children's Day (5/5) we have a blackpowder event at a big shrine near here. But they have also requested a static display of interesting artefacts, and the son of the city mayor also needs to be dressed up in full armo(u)r, apparently, which means sourcing a complete spare set of everything for him. Ashigaru light armo(u)r won't do. Our organizer is in hospital, so I have a nasty feeling that he is expecting me to arrange all this, on top of getting myself ready to perform. Besides, what theme should this display have? How many other people has he requested artefacts from? Aaaarrrggghhhh................ This will need focus and close cooperation.

(Note the title in bold of Mauro's linked article above is wrong.) As a footnote. One thing to be aware of when you go back in time is the differences in old artisanal vocabulary by region. Words in Japan used to describe armo(u)rs, swords and guns and the various techniques and materials for making them can vary slightly or even completely. In some cases there are several words, and often several ways of writing the same word. In this case it is probably wise to learn both 'kusarashi' and 'kusarakashi' for the 'rotting' technique, though my instinct is telling me that 'Kusarakashi' is slightly more 'correct' in tsuba shokunin context.

It looks fairly modern, less than 100 years old, like something imported from somewhere like Africa, a panga for example, or based on. Just saw the Japanese markings, 二ツホ...ホツ二(NO?) but a preliminary search was inconclusive. For Hokkaido pioneers?

Jan Pettersson wrote a very good book, 'The Yonezawa Matchlock, Mighty Gun of the Uesugi Samurai' in 2017. I did the proofreading and wrote the introduction to that. It's a meaty read, but if you've not yet read it, I recommend it. (No, there is no benefit to me!) We decided to work together to provide an illustrated guide to Japanese matchlocks, their characteristics and their hitherto unknown history. It's actually just about finished, and I devoted last summer to the editing, but it just needs a big kick to get into print. During the editing process I was feeling more and more strongly that yes, this has to be made available! Many people ask that same question, and I wish I could give you a clear answer! (Jan, are you reading this?)

Ah, yes, I remember that one. Very nice. And this other one has plenty going for it too. Notice the bukunaoshi plug showing the pan has been rebuilt, a sign of much use in its time! Both typically flashy Sakai guns, but definitely better quality examples, worth preserving. Glad they have found a loving home. Perhaps you lived in Sakai in a previous life. There is an interesting novel on Sakai smiths which I translated for the book that Jan and I are writing together. Taking this as a challenge, I started working on the unusual Mei. It comes out as 摂州成合住金屋七郎　作　　半巻張 "Living in Nariai in Sesshu, Kaneya Shichiro Saku. Han makibari" (Half bound). There is a company that reads 成合 as Seigo, but Nariai may be the correct local area reading. There is a record of an archaeological tomb excavation there. Han makibari must have been a proud statement back in the Edo Period when makibari binding was a rare and desirable feature, but then smiths started doing 'full makibari', then 'double', and later 'triple'.

By the way, you mention you have some other Sakai guns. This piqued my curiosity, Geraint. Do you mind me asking how it was that you were attracted to Tanegashima style guns?