Baka Gaijin

Markus & Curran My sincere Thanks Again NMB does what it says on the packet!! Cheers Malcolm

Thanks Curran, Very much appreciated, regretfully I don't have Haynes yet. As for my reading Tomotada (Kao), is this correct? If so does anyone have any information on the Tomotada, were they a family with a lineage, or just a general name. I'm thinking Late Late Edo early Meiji. Cheers Malcolm

Good Morning I have a Tsuba (Which I bought here on NMB). I think it reads Bushu (Ju) Tomotada (Kao). I'd appreciate opinions as to it's school or style also please. Many Thanks Malcolm

Hi George, Re the appreciation of Star Stamped blades: There is a very telling insight in Tom Kishida's Yasukuni Blades, where Mishina Kenji writes candidly about his preconceived ideas and eventual discovery and appreciation of Yasukuni - To. Mishina san continues to say that Yasukuni - To had to be appreciated outside of Japan before being generally appreciated in Japan. No one wants to be the nail that sticks up perhaps. Cheers Malcolm

Good afternoon all, The members of Hideyoshi's mounted guard, who later became Generals were referred to as the Seven Spears of Shizugatake (After the Battle) - Shizugatake no shichi-hon-yari 賤ヶ岳の七本槍. Cheers Malcolm

Good evening Marek, If I had $5000 to spend, I would stick with the Bokuto and go to Japan and train. Cheers Malcolm

'morning all, 1. The reverse shot looks as if the Crab been roughly fixed to something in its past? 2. It looks like a Shakujo.... However: Are there more than six rings and how long is it? Does the box relate to it? Cheers Malcolm

Hi John, All I can suggest is to keep looking at the 180 reversed image, perhaps sweeping the eyeline from 45 degrees left through right. It should reverse to make an intaglio, but sometimes you have to "encourage" the flip in the illusion to occur. (I have to own up to being a child of the 60's and weaned on a heady mixture of Escher & Vasarelly.....) Cheers Malcolm

Morning All, Turn the image 180 degrees and the cameo becomes intaglio. (The illusion is a simple case of higher - level cognitive patterning) Can't help with the stamp though. Cheers Malcolm

Evening all, I guess something with: Banzai（万歳）" literally reads ten thousand years (of life)". It is written with the combination of the kanji characters for "ten thousand（万）" and "age（歳) It's worked well in the past..... Just a thought. Cheers Malcolm

Ok All join in: Yaora machi uke wo NATSU ni shite Hiyashi chuuka mo KIME te Yatte kitawa umi IKA yaki kusakute BIKINI BON ! KYU ! BON ! no BODII wa Ki ga tsukeba doko to naku FUNAMUSHI kusai Mucha shitai SAMAA Onegai yo Kami SAMAA BIG WAVE dakishime taiyou JIRIJIRI Hamaguri BONBAA ! Moeru shima de UTSUBO na FAITAA Itami wo shiritai no BONBAA ! Onna no ko mo Kawaku toki ga aru Uruo shite Oh dareka dareka dareka dare da ? KANI ga miteru Oh dareka dareka dareka dareka Dareka dareka dareka Soshite dare mo mina futari zure YAZIMA dake kazoku zure Okeshou mo kuzure HAI REGU mata zure MAMA wa YAKE de CHICHI wo GABU no mi Toori sugiru OTOKO ni FUJITSUBO nageru YOKOSHIMA na SAMAA Sanzan na ari SAMAA Hayaku shinai to KURAGE chan dechauwa Ah KURAKURA Hamaguri BONBAA ! Noshi oyogi de AWABI CHARENJAAA KOMASE wo maku keredo BONBAA ! Kotoshi koso to Kimeta NATSU wa mada Owaranai Oh dareka dareka dareka dare da ? Ha ni aonori Oh dareka dareka dareka Dareka dareka dareka Dareka dareka dareka Dareka dareka dareka Dare da ? Dare da ? Dare da ? Ishida ! Ishida ! Ishida ! Dare yo ? NE VA DA ! Thank you for the Link, do I understand Ford, that this is showing a typical day behind closed doors at the V&A? If so, what can the British Museum be like, after all it is in Bloomsbury............. Cheers Malcolm

Hi all, I don't think it's the Imperial Kikumon. That is usually 16 petalled. See the excellent Yoroduya Kamon site: http://www.yoroduya.co.jp/kamon/ Look in the section marked with the Hiragana "KI" - き third one down marked 菊　キク (Kanji and Katakana KIKU) where there are 26 Kikumon varients shown. Anyone know why varients so close to the Imperial Kamon were allowed in the Feudal period? Grace and favour?? Just a thought. Cheers Malcolm

Good morning John, I have some further references to names used to describe Japan: Ashihara no Nakatsukuni 葦原中国 (Central Land of the Reed Plains) Oyashima 大八洲 (Great Country of Eight Islands) Cheers Malcolm

Thank you for such a swift reply Moriyama san. Question answered fully yet again. Cheers Malcolm

Good Morning all, I've heard the term "Hamon" being used to exclude from a group or organisation, how does this differ from the term Hamon used in Nihonto? Cheers Malcolm

Evening all, Interesting thread, don't forget:- Sums it all up Happy New Year NMB Cheers Malcolm

Good morning Chriso, I'm reasonably sure it's a mekugi nuki. They come fixed or folding see below. http://www16.plala.or.jp/katana-iimura/oreasi-e.html Cheers Malcolm

Thank you Pete & John, Moving the topic on slightly, were there any terms for careless handling of the sword e.g. cutting one's own maedate or cutting oneself on noto? Cheers Malcolm

Thanks Piers and Moriyama san, yet again NMB does what is said on the packet. Cheers Malcolm

Good Morning all, In English, the phrases "Lock Stock & Barrel", "Hoist upon his own Petard", "At Daggers drawn" & "Hors de Combat" are used fairly commonly without reference or understanding of their original Martial meanings. I've heard three Japanese phrases, one using Seppa to mean co-exist, another using scarred or nicked Koiguchi meaning being inattentive or lax and one relating to tightness of the Himo on the Kabuto meaning to preserve one's attention. What other phrases related to Sword, Spear or Armour parts are comonly used in Japanese? Cheers Malcolm

Good Morning Jean, Thank you, every question answered, and thank you to Guido for posting the file. Cheers Malcolm

Good Evening all, Following on from various notes in the excellent Modern Japanese Swords & Swordsmiths, I would appreciate as much information regarding the current Japanese sword legislation in Japan. 1. What is the legislation called. 2. Which organisations administer it. 3. Who apart from the Police enforce it. 4. What is the structure, is it national or prefectural. Cheers Malcolm

Good Evening all, This works with things from around the house...... 1. Turn off camera flash and fix the camera so that it will not move. (You can tape it to a kitchen chair if you do not have a tripod). 2. Set blade on a Black non reflective Background longer and wider than the blade on underneath it. (Black Velvet works) 3. Place a fluorescent tube (Cool White 840 or Daylight) along the line of the mune about nine inches away from the Mune. 4. Position a long white card at a rising angle to the Ha, and about nine inches away from the ha with a hole cut centrally for the lens. (Card should ideally be longer than the blade by at least a quarter.) (Polystyrene sheet works just as well). You should with a bit of playing about up and down with the fluorescent tube, get a burn white edge to the mune, and then by raising and lowering the angle of the white card you should get a gentle fall off of light across the angles of the blade which will show some activity in the blade. (There's no hard and fast angle, you will see when the angle is correct.) If the colour is a problem set the camera to BW mode. It's not a perfect way, but better than smashing light flat on. Cheers Malcolm

Good Evening Rob, Excellent site: http://www.followingtheironbrush.org/viewforum.php?f=9 Cheers Malcolm

Good Morning all, To emphasise Gabriel's point, from my dim and distant schooldays, the word for Left in Latin is SINISTER........ "Romanes eunt Domus???? Cheers Malcolm