Bugyotsuji

The auction house may not know any better. I would just quietly leave it.

Re: why the authorities might not need to go around checking. One thing about Japanese society that we need to consider is the nature of the justice system. If you get caught doing something wrong, the authorities will examine every other aspect of your life to find extra recriminations to throw at you. For this reason, people were usually proactive, covering their butts as insurance, from fear of what could happen if or when things went pear-shaped. So they might not check how long the blade in your saya was, but an illegal blade length would count against you as clear proof of a non-innocent lifestyle, if they pulled you for something else. Magistrates would have wanted to establish first and foremost whether you were generally an upstanding law-abiding citizen or not. Even today I can think of several examples of this that puzzled me over the years, but this way of looking at things is assuredly still alive and well.

Jesse, I think you meant to write Kabuto. (Someone's sale, though, so no plus or minus comments.)

The constellation is the seven stars of the big dipper, or plough, Hokuto Shichisei, often used by the Date of Sendai. 北斗七星 - Wikipedia

橘 康広 Tachibana Yasuhiro (from the certificate?) 刀 銘 備中守橘康広／ホームメイト (touken-world.jp)

As to the black kite (Tobi or Tombi), here is one I saw yesterday. My first ever attempt to get one in flight. I was waiting to get a better shot, but it was actually circling in order to gain height so this was at maximum zoom.

Personally I would want to remove the red velvet cloth to see how it looks underneath, and to give it some sunlight in there.

Hi, The lettering looks totally faked!

Although most sources quote each other, saying the reason for the 鳴狐 name for this blade is unknown, we can still dream. Dreaming.......... There is an old saying in Japanese describing trolls and doers of mischief, i.e. those who get joy out of causing panic among the people, by setting so-called 'fox fires', 篝火狐鳴　"Kouka Komei", (reading these same two characters 鳴狐 'nakigitsune' here with their On reading of 'komei'). Well, we know that foxes (and badgers) were traditionally known as tricksters and shape-shifters in Japan. Reading the background of this blade, it seems that back then and even today experts cannot decide in which category to place it. Could it be that the original smith wittingly or unwittingly created a blade that could not be categorized, a shape-shifter, a crying fox? Foxes were seen as messengers of the gods. And did those who glimpsed its spirit call it a message from the foxes, a 'nakigitsune', i.e. a message from the gods? PS The verb 'naku' 鳴く means an animal utterance, whether bark, howl, yelp, cry, tweet or croak, etc. (The verb 'naku' 泣くon the other hand, is cry with tears, like a baby; this latter meaning is not intended in the kanji used for the Nakigitsune blade.)

I have two of those which I refer to constantly. Congratulations, Dale! The only thing I could say here is, if you'd paid ￥100 it would have been an even better bargain!

Glad Steve replied honestly like that. I had various ideas but my confidence level was much lower. Assuming 夕夫 for example, and the kao to be tamé 為, I found that there was a famous courtesan in Kyoto called 夕霧太夫 - Wikipedia and in my imagination this habaki was dedicated to her... (going wildly off piste the beaten track!)

You showed us the date side of the nakago. That looks about right, possibly even too good. Do you have a photo of the Sukesada part of the main Mei?

One more helpful hint, the way this 兼 Kane is written in short form often resembles 魚 fish! Even the Japanese recognize this. (NB Not 金 Kane by the way, that's the same sound but a totally different line.)

So, your concern is all of those things? Can we get a close-up of the nakago and Mei?

日本刀 刀　濃州住人長村清宣鍛之（年代昭和）｜日本刀 刀剣販売 e-sword Hi Carl, check that out. Merry Christmas to you too.

Gathered for ritual purifications? One or two of these look like flamingoes!

No, I like your distinction, but I mean both depictions above show cormorants with straight beaks (caught in vices).

Both of them!

Oh, don't get me wrong, Robin, I love all varieties of Japanese herons and egrets, seeing them daily in the fields and rivers around here. In fact they seem to be quite comfortable standing in close vicinity with sunbathing cormorants, both taking off in fright together if you try and photograph either of them. The wick weights for Japanese oil lamps tend to be herons, I guess, although they could be cranes or storks, standing in a shallow pool of oil, much as they would be seen in the ponds, rivers or paddy fields. I like your divine story, and birds/flowers prints, so it must have been particularly shocking when hunters killed them as pests!

Now we're talking! The ukai master himslef is absent, so this is rusu-moyo, but the *oar suggests to us the boat and water, and the spread wings points to cormorants which are not as buoyant as other water birds, swimmimg half-submerged, and needing to dry their plumage whenever possible. The rope tied to its leg was the final clue for me, although they were also tied round the neck to stop them swallowing the fish they caught. The beak is extra long, yes, and on that point I must agree with Robin above, and beg artistic licence/license on behalf of the unknown artisan. Some photos of cormorants with their necks stretched out give an overall impression of a longer head and beak, but in reality they are hooked down at the tip, not straight. There were two types of oars, this paddle kind (Kai) probably fashioned into a bokken by Miyamoto Musashi, and a long articulated one for rocking and powering from the stern (Ro). 艪 ro 櫂 kai

Reasons coming up...

For example?

What bird is this? Please give your reasons. (I can think of at least three reasons.) Level of difficulty, medium. Photo follows, with luck.

Be aware that the carapace of a certain beetle was also used for this. We had a discussion about this earlier this year, if I can find it... Yes... see 30 April post:

The triangular pattern edging to the gando fixes this to the 47 Ronin, as if the crossed feathers Oishi Mon had not been enough. The edges of their winter clothing had this design, as did the edging of many Ukiyo-e prints depicting the story of the Kanadehon Chushingura. It must be Oishi Kuranosuke himself. Colin, see: Kuniyoshi, Kanadehon Chushingura, act 11 (toshidama-Japanese-prints.com) A Miyao bronze figure of Oishi Kuranosuke (christies.com)