Baka Gaijin

Good morning C. Lewis I was told that the tsuba shows its face to the world, when worn. In other words, the Omote (Front) Design as would be worn when mounted means signature facing into the Tsuka, Ura (Back) closest to the Habaki and Saya. Thus the Kogai Hitsu ana (the "3 arcs" you describe) should present to the right (as you view it). As with all things Japanese there are always exceptions to this rule. Cheers Malcolm

Morning all, Bump - Warriors of old Japan & The Japanese Fairy Book - See first posting on Page 1. Cheers Malcolm

Good evening all Thank you for such a swift and enlightening response Cheers Malcolm

Good afternoon all Looking at some of the Tsuba recently posted from the Robert E Haynes Collection, there is mention of the San Diego which sank off the Phillipines in the early 1600's. http://www.yamabushiantiques.com/RH%20TSUBA%203.htm Can anyone enlarge upon this please. Cheers Malcolm

Thank you Guido Cheers Malcolm

Hi Guido, Li & Qi are terms roughly approximating form and spirit popularised by the Neo Confucian Scholar Zhu Xi 朱熹 The way they were explained to me was: If you take all the Qi out of an area, the Li still remains. In this way, the Li can be seen as a "container" that holds Qi and gives it a shape, in much the same way that a cup holds Tea and gives it shape. And much like a cup, no matter how many times you discard the Tea (Qi) from the cup (Li), the cup itself will remain the same. Another example would be a game of chess, no matter how many games you play on a chessboard, you can always play more games on the board, and the rules remain the same, no matter how the pieces are moved. Basically put, Li is a set of rules that remain no matter what happens to the physical form around it, and that shape all physical forms. I have encountered references to Li & Qi during ongoing research into documents relating to the background motivations of Masahide and his followers in the 19th Century. Please allow me to rephrase the question: Were Sukashi cut not purely as decoration or to cover up faults but for various arcane or shamanistic protective purposes, much in the same way has been suggested of Horimono and Bonji by Carmen Blacker in her book The Catalpa Bow? If so, what were they? Cheers Malcolm

Good morning Jean & Guido, Thank you both for the swift responses. In respect of the Sukashi on the original Hocho Masamune. One for Guido, as you are based in China, nothing ritualistic or related to Li 理 & Qi 氣? Cheers Malcolm

Morning all Gassan Sadayoshi's Utsushi of the "Hocho Masamune" also shows complete cut through on the blade. http://www.samuraisword.com/nihontodisp ... /index.htm Why was this originally done? Cheers Malcolm

Morning all, If it's resinous, white spirit might be an option. In a previous thread with a similar though not identical problem, the esteemed Ian B (who has a knowledge of such things) suggested a wadding product called Duraglit which contains white spirit. As it may not be available where you are based, here's the spec: http://www.e-hygienesystems.com/coshh/s ... raglit.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit Cheers Malcolm

Good morning I believe your cover illustration shows the date Showa 4th Year (and the edition to be for July). Showa began in 1926. Cheers Malcolm

Morning all Here's an interesting link, use the Nav bar at the top to access the creatures and ghosts (Some are Manga based, but there is sufficient Folk Tale content to warrant a general look). http://www.obakemono.com/ Cheers Malcolm

Morning all Bump Cheers Malcolm

Morning all, Here's a neat bit of kit: http://www.furiganizer.com/ Cheers Malcolm

Morning all For a more in depth account of Kusunoki Masashige's exploits along with other similar scenarios I'd recommend: The Nobility of Failure - Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan by Ivan Morris. http://www.amazon.com/Nobility-Failure- ... 0374521204 Dr Morris was an interesting character in his own right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Morris Cheers Malcolm

Good afternoon George, The Kikusui (Chrysanthemum floating) as both symbol of Yamato Damashii (大和魂 - Japanese Spirit) and Kamon has a long and illustrious past. It is probably most noted as the standard of the 14th Century warrior tactician Kusunoki Masashige, whose exploits both real and imagined have been chronicled and illustrated in a variety of media since that far off time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusunoki_Masashige Interesting to note, a slogan much used in the early Showa era was that of Masashige's brother's final words: "Shichisei Hōkoku!" (七生報國; "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!") You may find the following link interesting: http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaz ... /index.htm Cheers Malcolm

Good evening Rob Here are some Kamon using Chohan http://www.tozandoshop.com/v/vspfiles/kamon/tool6.html Scroll down to the bottom and you'll find seven varients. Cheers Malcolm

Good afternoon all, I think the shape of the lower Tsuba depicts a Chohan, which I think is a kind of Gong originally from China, used in certain sects of Buddhist ritual. http://www.myspace.com/annamichellehanson Play the link and you'll get an idea of what it looks and sounds like. There are also a few Kamon incorporating it, so it may have originally had a family significance. Cheers Malcolm

Morning all I saw an old blade mounted in NCO pattern in London's Portobello Road Market around 1976/77. I think it was a marriage to create interest. But then, "creative hobbyists" were making fences of Gunto and paving patios with Tsuba. Cheers Malcolm

Good evening all, I wonder, does the subject matter of the Tsuba relate to "Shika no Tone" (Distant cry of Deer)? (Shika no Tone is a traditional shakuhachi piece that depicts the yearning calls of a stag trying to attract a doe in another valley.) Cheers Malcolm

Morning all There's a wealth of info here (453 pages of legends, folk tales & symbolism). http://www.archive.org/stream/legendinj ... 7/mode/2up If you are not familiar with how the archive works, just click on the page you want to turn and the next page comes up. There are more complex controls - single page, double page, thumbnail & zoom facilities on the nav bar at the bottom. Cheers Malcolm

Morning all Here's a fun tool to help writing: http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/kanjijiten/e ... index.html Cheers Malcolm

Morning Junichi The character 匁 is monme. A monme is a Japanese unit of weight equal to approximately 3.75 grams. So if my non existant maths is correct: 195 x 3.75 gives the 2.1 shaku blade weight of 731.25 grams and 225 x 3.75 gives the 2.3 blade weight of 843.75 grams. I think.......... 尺 Shaku approximately 30.3 cm, or 11.93 inches 寸 Sun approximately 3.030 cm, ~1.193 in Cheers Malcolm

Morning all Many years ago I saw a Gunto Tsuka with metal fillets inserted under the Itomaki and Same. The Dealer told me it was to strengthen it, whether they were added by the request of the Officer, or Field repairs I cannot say. Recently Budogu - Ya in Japan are offering Saya on Live blades used for Iai, Batto & Tameshigiri fitted with a metal fillet and collet ring added under the Urushi, where the hand holds close to the Koiguchi. Apparently it is to prevent accidental cut through on the drawing action....... Cheers Malcolm

Morning all Some time back I saw a Japanese wood block printed book for coin collectors dated to 1816. It had numerous illustrations of coins and almost a parody of our present circumstance, a section for fake Chinese coins. The Coin Dealer who showed me the book told me that coin collecting was a really big pastime in the Edo period and that there were coin collecting clubs in Edo, Kyoto & Osaka. Sadly I've no images of that book but here's a page from a similar book where you can see the ghost image of coins printed on following pages. Cheers Malcolm

Morning Piers Here's a list of Print Publishers marks, this may help in tracking the series down. http://www.printsofjapan.com/Publishers.htm Cheers Malcolm