IBot

If I remember my chemistry from the very distant past, obtaing metallic zinc was a tricky job since it is volatile. In fact, metallic zinc was not identified until about 1750. When making brass it was more usual to add a zinc ore ( usuall an ore called calamine) to the copper since much of the zinc would be lost if added as metal. Ian Bottomley

All, LIke tsukamaki, lacing armour takes a bit of practice to get it looking right. The process has been described on-line many times so I won't repeat it here. Just remember that all the cross-knots go the same way for the whole piece (on a shikoro on my desk as I write, the left is over te right). Remember also that on a heavy piece, the lacing at the top gets stretched as more weight is added when the lower lames are laced on so allow for that. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, ensure the edges of the lacing are curled underneath where it emerges from a hole to the front of the piece and that the little plugs are used to pack the lacing to the top of the holes. Ian Bottomley

Scabbards fitted with storage for coins are not too uncommon but normally take the form of a kind of drawer of horn that slides into the side of the saya from the koi guchi.end. I have what looks like a tanto, but instead of a blade has a drawer of incredibly thin wood for coins. There is a similar one illustrated in the book on 'Edo period tanto'. One other reason for odd cavities is for weights of lead to correct the balance of a sword, although they are not surprisingly fitted into the upper part of the tsuka when used. When cutting out the wood of a saya it is usual to add a cavity at the bottom end to collect excess oil or to take any foreign matter that might accidently get inside. This however is added as an extension to the oil cavity so it isn't that. I suspect it had been added rather more recently as it is a bit oddly shaped. If it was original to the saya it would be bettershapped. Ian Bottomley

Kijimomo tangs had a specific function. They were used on blades fitted to a style of tachi { efu no dachi ] that had unbound hilts having a row of nails with rice bale shaped heads fastened into them. These nails were positioned along the lower edge of the hilt, as worn, and towards the kabuto gane. The kiji momo tang was in effect cut away to clear the points of the nails. Ian Bottomley

Yes, I'm afraid it is I. I definitely wouldn't use a photo of myself as there is enough pain and suffering in the world without my ugly mug appearing here. I'm quite happy just to put the odd comment up with a vague blob as ID. Ian Bottomley

The Royal Armouries Museum has a kastana from Sri Lanka that has a very worn wakizashi blade in it. I never managed to take the hilt off so I don't know if it had a signature. As an aside, we have in the collection a portrait of Alexander Popham who was prominant in the Civil War (the real one during the 17th century not the American one). He is depicted wearinng a kastana so there must have been quite a trade. Interestingly, the English continused to make hunting hangers with a sort of 'dragon-head' hilt that seems to have been inspired by kastana, well into the 18th century. Ian Bottom;ey

Jon, The L shaped slot and hole in the rear sight is to take a 'ladder' backsight that slides in from the side. There is one illustrated in the Tokugawa Art Museum catalogue 'Accessories of a Daimyo's Houshold'. Ian Bottomley

These items must have been really useful in a norimono, being small and handy. Providing there is no tassle or other attached cordage, they could be thrown at an attaker gaining enough time to climb out and draw a sword. Ian Bottomley

Colin, Within the last 4 or 5 years. Ian Bottomley

Lee, Whilst I agree with Colin, there are times when good swords and blades do crop up on UK auction sites and if you can spot them they an be a really good buy. Without a doubt my best buy is a sword by Bizen Osafune Saemonjo Norimitsu dated the 2nd year of Onin. Not only that, it is in a saya with the finest kojiri I have ever seen - a sheaf of rice modelled in silver partially embedded in the lacquer that must have been a nightmare to fit. The tsuba is a Kyoto shippo piece as is the fuchi but the kashira was missing. So far I have not managed to show it isn't by who it says it is. If it is a fake so what - it is a fabulous blade with all the characteristics it should have. Another good buy was a daisho in virtually as-new condition. It has shakudo nanako F/K of hedges and flowers etc and marubori dragon tsuba. Nothing was signed, except the kozuka, but I am sure the blades, which both retain good polishes, are Kyushu - possibly one of theTadayoshi. The snag, the daito is under 2 shaku but again so what - I now own a beautiful pair of swords that as I was informed by a Japanese sword guy - they were probably worn by a small person. As I was the only bidder on those swords I acquired them very cheaply for what they are. So Lee, keep your eyes peeled and look at everything that comes up. Good luck. Ian Bottomley

The problem with yari is, unlike a sword, there is nowhere for the body of the blade to go. In other words, when a sword is quenched, the slower contraction of the body of the blade compared with that of the edge pulls it into a curve. In the case of a yari, both edges become rigid because they harden first whilst the body holds the heat longer and contracts later. If that contraction is powerful enough either the point pops off or hagire form as in the image. Ian Bottomley

Marc, No, I do not know. All I can think of is that Ki is one of the old clan names from which Munekane is claiming to be a descendent of. Whether he did or not, it is interesting that the maker of my armour, Yasukiyo, also claimed the same. Did they really all descend from the same ancestors - probably not. I suspect by the 19th century it had become just a convention. Ian

Seeing the above pictures reminded me of a similar event. Yesterday I was scanning my overcrowded and totally jumbled book shelves when I came across a copy of 'Bushido' magazine that was published in the US in the 1980's. In it was an article that brought back memories of one of my visits to my old buddy Dr. Galeno when the whole affair that the above images reminded me of surfaced. It concerned a considerable cache of blades that had been discovered in Thailand. The condition of most was terrible with deep patches of rust that could never be polished out or broken kissaki and so forth. Most blades were without habaki or saya. What was remarkable was the age of some, even as old as the Kamakura and in odd cases the Heian period. I seem to remember they were being sold off at $5 each. I don't know if anyone ever found out how they ended up in Thailand or where they originated from. I'm sure other members must remember this event. Ian Bottomley

I have the book and regard it as raising questions that require thought. Some of it I agree with, other parts I hold judgment. Might I mention a book I was kindly sent a year or so ago by Sergio Magotti - 'Nipponto The soul of the samurai.' ISBN 88-902347-2-5. A lot of the fabulous items llustrated are from the Museo Orientale in Venice and the basics well explained and illustrated. Ian Bottomley

Jiri, Your mask is the same, except for the colour and leather lining, as one on an armour I own made by a Ki Yasukiyo in 1847. There are also minor differences in the yasuri mei but the flower on the chin and general shape are the same. Mine is inscribed 'Ki Yasukiyo' who describes himself as a pupil of 'KI Myochin Muneyasu'. What does not make sense is that the masks signed by Munyasu look nothing like mine and yours. Myochin Muneyasu was a member of the Shonai Myochin who worked for the Tsuyama Clan in Musashi. His masks have a tear-drop shaped depression at the angle of the jaw. Despite being a Tsuyama retainer, Muneyasu seems to have made armour for other families. I have also seen the same style of your and my mask signed by a Myochin Munechika and one appeared in a sale in London signed by a Munekane. Munekane turned to making tsuba later in his life but more importantly kept a diary in which he states that the maker of my mask, Yasukiyo, was really called Araji Katsuzo and that he came from Matsumoto in Nagato when he was 19 years old to study under Muneyasu. He is recorded to have stayed with Muneyasu only 3 years before returning home. In all Muneyasu / Munekane had 18 pupils between 1834 and 1844, the youngest being 13 years old, the oldest 46. Now Yasukiyo could not have been trained as an armourer in 3 years so it looks as if Muneyasu ran a kind of finishing-school that taught the latest Edo styles, and that he didn't teach himself, but left the task to Munekane who seems to hav been his assistant. I assume your Kanetsugu was yet another pupil. I have found your Kanetsugu in the diary but his age and the date when he worked with Munekane are not recorded. He has however signed the mask with his original family and personal name and does not mention that he was taught the style by the Myochin which clearly he was. Ian Bottomley

This topic has been discussed before and I previously pointed out that as far as I knew, nata were primarily ceremonial in function. When invited to a tea ceremony, the honoured guest would be led through the garden to the tea house by a servant who carried a nata who pretended to cut off imaginary twigs and foliage that might snag the guest's clothing. Many years ago I owned one with a blade that terminating in a double curve and hole making it look a bit like a bird's head. It was mounted in a beautifully carved wood scabbard and hilt with an inscription stating it had been carved by a Buddhist monk, clearly not someone needing a blade to lop off heads. Ian Bottomley

Jan, How good to hear from the land of the Vikings. I haven't noticed anything from Anthony recently - I hope he is well. Back to guns. No, there are no cracks or anything in the stock. The decoration simply covers the unsual slit in the ramrod channel. When I wrote the above, my guns were all wrapped up and put away, so I was quoting from memory. In fact the decoration is not pine, it is of leaves and butterflies - the butterfly's wings looking just like pine branches until you look carefully. I was also wrong about the length of this decoration- it only extends about 1/3 the length of the stock - it still however has no real function as far as I can see. (This shows how mistaken you can be if you rely on memory. I hate to admit it but I am getting old) There is also another decorative brass strip on the Saki gun running along the top of the butt. This is in the from of 'waves and hare'. This piece does not extend around the end of the butt so it is not to prevent the end being damaged if put on the ground. As it only covers about half the length of the butt, again I can only think it is pure decoration and nothing else. So, back to the original thought. These Sakai guns, and there seems to be quite a few of them around, have a lot of brasswork that seems be pure decoration. It may have been added in the Meiji period but it has involved a lot of work as the brass is fitted into the wood, not applied on top. I take Piers point, but would merchants be allowed to own guns? My other two guns, one from Satsuma and the other made for the Boshin wars have only brass eyelets and barrel bands - so totally practical. The former, that from Satsuma has a Tokugawa kamon and kao on the barrel that was probably silvered originally. This raises the question as to why the Shimazu added a Tokugawa kamon to their guns.

A prolific author of my acquaintance wrote and published a book on this subject, no doubt inspired by a publisher who thought it would be a good seller. What resulted and all the author could discover were detailed accounts of clandestine events. All of the Japanese illustrations of these incidents show the participants wearing conventional armour and using regular weapons. The only black-clad guys shown in the whole book are two theatre staff (?) watching a couple 'in fragante delicto'. As has been said above, the whole concept is a product of imaginative minds . Ian Bottomley

In my comment above I managed to include a mistake that bothered me all night. 'SAYAMAKISHI' - what rubbish!! I meant simply 'sayashi', the makers of scabbards. Groveling apologies. Ian Bottomley

I own a daisho, the daito of which has a nagasa of only 52cm and a tang that appears to be ubu with a single mekugi ana. I queried this via a Japanese resident who asked his sword teacher's opinion. The answer given was that it probably belonged to a person of small stature. A person carried and used a sword they were comfortable with and they trained to fight with. [ Being a skeptic, I also tend to think that quite a few daisho probably started life in the Meiji era to supply the demands of the tourist trade. There were plenty of sayamakishi, blades and sword fittings around that could be picked up and turned into a desirable item to sell at a higher price than two disparate swords. ] There is also the matter of period when it comes to blade length. Another of my swords has a blade by Bizen Osafune Saemonjo Norimitsu dated 1468. That is again ubu and has a nagasa of 60.5cm. This however is an uchigatana or katate uchi to, a sword designed specifically for use with one hand. Can we get too hung up on definitions of length? Ian Bottomley

Peter, I fully appreciate the concept of distance is very different between the US and UK, having spent weeks visiting friends in California. I think the size of country is a major factor in our perception. Thank goodness I have a tolerant wife who put up with my adventures abroad. I think we agree there is no substitute to physically meeting fellow enthusiasts and handling swords. Let us hope such events continue. [Has anyone else noticed problems with typing on the forum? I am finding the cursor keeps making random jumps so that I find I am typing into existing text.] Ian Bottomley

Way back in 1968 I and another corresponding member of the UK ToKen Society, that holds its meetings in London, decided to contact others in the North of England. Getting to meetings in London was not really feasible for me since it would have involved travelling some 180 miles, and since the meetings were held in the evening, staying overnight in a hotel, or travelling back during the night and then facing work the following day. Plotting the addresses of other corresponding members showed around half dozen or so lived within 1 to 2 hours drive of Manchester and were prepared to meet at two monthly intervals. Premises in that city were identified and in due course some 6 to 8 members met in an upstairs room above a pub in Manchester. Sadly by the date of the second meeting the pub had been tranformed into a trendy bar who refused us the use of the upper room and was so dimly illuminated that members had to take their swords into the only well-lit location in the premises - the gents toilet. Over the next many years members met in a series of locations, individuals dropping out and new ones joining but with the total of members rarely reaching a dozen. Then Covid hit and meetings were suspended, never to be revived. The reasons are many and varied. Old age has taken its toll and I suspect I am the only original member still alive. Others have lost the habit of going out in the evenings, given up collecting or now have vision problems that prevent them driving at night. In other words the Society is now defunct and sadly with no real likelyhood of restarting. Meeting with others, sharing knowledge and showing each other our latest treasure was an experience to look forward to that is now sadly missed. Ian Bottomley

Oh dear! This old chestnut. As Reid says, the black clad guys were theatrical staff dressed in black, who by convention were invisible, whose tasks were to arrange the principle actors costumes and similar tasks. Were there 'secret techniques used by 'adepts' ? Yes of course - every school of martial arts had their so-called secret techniques. Ian Bottomley

I agree with Piers, the shachi looks really good. Although I have no proof, I came to the conclusion that the circular gilded rings / disc maedate that are so common and turn up on so many armours (but without the kuwagata as on yours) were the default maedate, added by the maker or the armour dealer, simply to fill the gap so to speak. The ultimate wearer chosing a more distictive maedate of their own. If this idea is true, your addition of a shachi is exactly what a samurai would have done when he first acquired the armour. The fact that so many armours still have these simple maedate is probably related to the tendancy to remove all traces of kamon, including breaking off the fukigayeshi, that happened when armours were sold to curio dealers in the Meiji era. Removing a distinctive maedate would reduce the possibility of identifying the seller of an armour when so many had to sell their treasures to buy food during the Meiji period. Ian Bottomley

Many thanks - Yes Meiji additions is almost certainly the answer. The gun I am thinking about has a very poor rendition of the two generals at the river Uji on the barrel. Ian B.