Shogun8

What's a ballpark price for a simple black-lacquered saya and tsuka with simple Edo iron fittings? John

This is a great thread. I particularly enjoyed - and appreciated - Darcy's and Guido's comments. Thank you. John

Hi Guido, In addition to my own collection (which does not include a bronze lobster, I must say), I have handled many jizai okimono and this lobster is far superior to the Chinese copies to which you refer or the numerous and ubiquitous tinny pieces by "Hiromi" or "Myochin" extant. Though certainly not one of the best examples of the genre, the sculpting and articulation is decent as can be seen with the spines, legs and carapace sections. There are much cruder examples out there and I have seen complete bronze pieces sell for at least the amounts that I quoted. John

Hi, Firstly, I think one of the rules for posting here is that you include at least a first name... Your lobster is a nice quality example in bronze, likely from the Meiji period. If it were completely intact, it would be worth $5000-$8000 depending on the maker. With reference to a restoration, I don't know of anyone that specifically handles jizai okimono, but perhaps try contacting Robert Soanes (http://www.katchushi.com). Robert does excellent metal work and I have seen and held the iron karusa menpo that he features on his site and can attest to the quality of his work. I will leave the translation of the signature to the Japanese-reading and speaking members of this forum. Hope this helps. John

Kudos to you and your client for sharing these for the benefit of the members.

Thanks for being patient with a noob, Marius. That's what I thought but just wanted to make sure. This katana has been attributed to the Uda school and I have a converted Uda nagamaki wakizashi (also with Hozon papers) which goes together nicely with the katana as a daisho. Hope to see you on the Nihon-no-Katchu forum, where I'm not quite such a noobie. John

Thank you Marius. Is tate ware considered fatal? John

Hi All, I have acquired my first sword - a koto blade which has ware in the hamon (hagarami). However, even with this flaw, the sword received Hozon papers from the NBTHK. I have verified that the sword was polished before it was submitted, so presumably all of its flaws were visible at time of submission. Reading through this thread, it seems that sometimes (most times?) hagarami is considered fatal, so I'm wondering how it was still able to receive Hozon? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. John

You had this noob. It's like the legendary tale of finding a mint condish 356 Speedster in an old barn after being taken there by the farmer's nubile daughter...

Thanks, Lance!

Hi Alton, The pieces you mention by Hiromi and Hiroyuki are very common and low quality and I do not believe they were made anywhere close to the Edo period. There are so many low quality pieces on the market now and they're easily spotted with their crude metalwork, thin materials, rough articulation, etc.. Once you've seen and held the high quality examples, you will see and feel the very vast difference. As well, there is a distinct difference between the work produced in iron by the ex-armourers of the Edo period and the pieces in various metals produced by the Meiji-era artisans (many of which are also very high quality). There is a soft cover catalogue produced by the Tokyo National Museum from several years ago in Japanese and a very nice hardcover book in Japanese and English from a few years ago. Let me know if you need more information about these and I can try to provide links for them.

Hi Clive, I've searched the site at the link provided but can't seem to find the article you mention. Can you help with navigating me to it? Thanks.

The menpo looks to be a very nice Kaga yasurime menpo. However, I agree with Uwe about the teeth - the sloppy riveting, brightness and style of teeth (with sharp fangs), would lead me to believe that these were a very late addition. John

Hi Piers, Are there any images or material available on this collection? John

I have purchased two very nice items from Galerie Dutta. Quite reputable. John

Jack, Firstly, welcome to the forum. That is a very nice kabuto. I think the precision of the hoshi speak to its quality - there's nothing to be apologetic about! In fact, if not for the lack of telltale signs of a Nagamichi which Luc detailed earlier in this thread, this could certainly be mentioned in the same breath. Nice find. John

Hi All, Happy New Year! Although I've been a member for 3 1/2 years, I didn't even realize this thread existed - perhaps because it's only relatively recently that I've been visiting the forum on a consistent basis. Like most, Japan, martial arts and the legendary samurai have been a lifelong fascination and it was about 6 years ago that I started my collection of kabuto, menpo and maedate and I've been fortunate to acquire some fine and rare pieces in that time. I also have an interest in nihonto, but I have yet to acquire anything only because I don't intend to collect nihonto in quantity (famous last words!) and only hope to acquire one or two really good examples once I've gained enough knowledge to understand and appreciate what I'm buying. I also collect jizai okimono, contemporary art, artist's books and a few other things here and there. I've been fortunate to make the acquaintance (though only through emails to this point) with other venerable NMB members like Luc T, Jo A, Ian B, Barry H (who I just saw on Saturday at our local JSS meeting here in Toronto) and one or two others. I appreciate the presence of this forum and hope to contribute when I can. John

Roy, I've always been intrigued by this piece in your collection. The fine yasurime, openwork on the chin and the patina of the iron make me think Unkai. However, I wonder about the row of holes running along the top edge of the piece. This and the shape of the mouth lead me to believe that this once had a nosepiece or upper part riveted to it. Nice piece. John

Would love to see pics of this, Mark! John

The seated figure is actually an original sculpt by the artist. It only stands about 35" high. His work is very interesting and he captures the details of katchu quite accurately. John

Hi Martin, As Luc says, dating menpo is very difficult - and that's coming from someone with loads of experience. With reference to your menpo, it's hard to say from that one picture. I can give you a couple of guidelines, however remember there are always exceptions to any rule with Japanese armour. Older menpo (i.e. pre-Edo) usually have larger orifices, including larger mouths and ase-nagashi-no-ana (sweat hole under the chin). Also, older masks tend to be deeper. When it comes to Etchu-bo or yasuri men (those with parallel etched lines) from the Iwai/Yozaemon school, earlier examples have the nosepiece riveted on while later examples have a removable nosepiece. John

This is very fascinating, Luc! I look forward to hearing how the investigation develops... John

Here's a Saotome koboshi with the 2 rows of rivets on the front row: John

Hi Guy, I think that 3 rows of koboshi on the front plate was a fairly common trait amongst armourers except for the Saotome. Saotome kabuto only had 2 rows. Of course, the one truism that one learns from studying Japanese armour is that there are always exceptions to any rule... Luc probably has more to say. John

Guy and Luc, Those are both beautiful and elegant kabuto! Can't believe how perfectly the shikoro fits the hachi on Guy's and Luc, I love the hidden odoshi on yours. Serious stuff indeed. John