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Hello Piers,thank you for your help,the information you have provided is excellent. regards Andrew

Hi,is there a reason to leave out the bottom stroke,also,what do you think it is or what it might be. Andrew

Hello,this item was sold in an auction recently along with an unrelated jingasa.it looks like it may have something to do with horse's.it is 29.5cm x 13.5cm.made from leather and felt,the character is tadasho = loyalty,and I think it is an ai jirushi,I have an ashigaru front armor with the same character on it,in the same color but without the ''square'' mon.Can someone identify it regards Andrew

Hello,I am looking to buy 1 or more books that have good or some coverage on the Ashigaru armour(cuirass),but there are so many books on samurai armour that I wouldn't know which would be helpful to my interest and which are not so if anyone can recommend a book/books with ashigaru armour information(any language) I would appreciate your advice regards Andrew Freeston

Hi,ebay has paraloid B72 is this the item,I'm not sure as the ad says its to use on coins and so I don't know if B72 is just a special additive relating to coins.I've looked at possibilities for clear nail varnish but it appears to be only suitable for small areas.I read in a post that conservators use paraloid because it's removable but this isn't really an issue I am concerned about,I want to cover the damage solely for protection and to prevent further chipping regards Andrew

Hello,I have a couple of lacquer and metal jingasa with damage to the lacquer surface or the painted surface on metal,so with chips,cracks etc and areas below the lacquer/metal surface which are clearly visible.Visually I have no problem with this but even a small move makes chips fall off,I don't want to repair them but I would like to either spray a clear coating on to them or wrap in something similar to clearfilm.Is this acceptable without reducing the value and if it's acceptable is their a recommended product to use on my jingasa regards Andrew Freeston

Thank you to those who helped me with my previous question about family crests.I have bought some jingasa over recent months and I found Daruma magazine to be very helpful .there are 5 articles on jingasa in issues 27,36,42,47 and 57.I have 4 of these issues but cannot find anywhere on the internet over many searches,issue 47 which is the one missing from mine,if anyone can advise me on shops/websites etc that has a copy of 47 I would greatly appreciate it regards Andrew Freeston

Hello,thank you to all for your help and advice.I really appreciate it.I have been buying gunpowder and shot bags for years but have recently bought some Japanese items,so I have a couple of questions related to that.I have 2 books that have coverage of these items-Tanegashima vol 1 and the best I've found,it's all in Japanese,so I dont know its name so I've attached a photo of the cover,I'd like to know if there are any other books on Japanese powderflasks,ammunition bags etc I should look out for.My last question relates to powderflasks that have had a family crest painted or glued on by a current seller,because I saw a powderflask with 2 flags on which sold for about $40 on yahoo Japan and sadly the buyer is now trying to offload it on ebay for around $900,I don't have a problem with people selling items for profit although I do think this profit is disgusting,my problem is that he has added a small circular metal item with a Tokugawa crest to one side and doesn't say he has done this so it's really just a ripoff,but I would like to know if this is common with powderflasks or even in general.I have uploaded both the picture from Yahoo auctions and the picture in the ebay listing(it's currently listed) and as you can see it's the same item except for the fake family crest thats added to it,also is it acceptable to name a creep like this so others are aware to be careful or is it best to just ignore it,personally I would hope that someone would tell me regards Andrew

Hi,Thanks for your help and advice.I have looked into buying the book recommended - Hawley/Chappelear “Mon, The Japanese family crest” but have only found 2 sellers,the webpage for the author,dated 2007 in which the only way to buy it is by writing to him inclosing payment,no creditcards or paypal,this seems rather complex.I haven't had a chequebook since about 1995,the book is c$32.,and one seller on Abebooks who wants $125.Ebay didn't have it nor did Alibris or biblio.can you tell me if you know another seller.I found the book online(downloadable) but I much prefer a hardcopy of books as downloadable books seem a bit unfair to the author and I hate reading books with various e-book readers regards Andrew

Hello,I just received ''the elements of Japanese design by Dower,unfortunately it is not even close with the information I was hoping for.Can anyone recommend a book on Japanese family mon which has the names of the individual or family that the crest was used by,Elements of Japanese design has virtually no information on this.I would prefer a book in English but any other language such as Japanese or German would be great regards Andrew Freeston

Hello,thank you for your help,I didn't know that jingasa could contain re-used paper.I've had a look at a translator and it wasn't particularly helpful(when I joined this group I had to answer a translation of Nihonto and it said that is ''Japan and'')so after awhile I guessed it was ''sword'' so can you tell me what ''washi'' and if different what ''urushi'' is.I'm very happy its genuine.I have attached 2 photographs of the helmet,is it possible for you to say the age/period it is from or if its a later imitation as I have no reference books on Japanese arms and armour as I collect Japanese Gunpowder flasks and I bought 1 jingasa and 1 musket to round out and put into perspective my powderflask collection(I still need ashigaru armour to complete this),also is it possible to ID the mon and the purpose/period/reason the gold ''3 legged'' picture was painted on the crown regards Andrew

Hello,I appreciate the translation of the previous item I listed.I have a Japanese Jingasa which has a lot of writing on the inside which I would really like translated and if possible can anyone tell me if it is genuine and if its genuine approximately its age or era as I know nothing about except that I bought it from a seller in Japan on Ebay who had good feedback and comments that his items are good quality and genuine.I apologise for the variable quality of the photo's but as the inside of the jingasa is concave this was the best I good get regards Andrew Freeston