This Week's Edo Period Corner

[Bungo]

here's the white hair

 

milt

[Bugyotsuji]

That's a nice Mae-date that you have there, Milt! And those look like yak hairs. Very impressive.

[Bugyotsuji]

OK, here's something in reply! 1. loading 2. posing

In pic 1

*The chap on the left is loading his matchlock pistol. You can see the pistol hanging upright and the short ramrod in his right hand. He has placed his long gun, a lovely castle gun-yo-zutsu matchlock from the arsenal at Himeji Castle on the ground behind him.

*In the middle I have just loaded my long gun, a gun-yo-zutsu from Kumamoto Castle in Kyushu, and I'm trying to balance it upright against my breast plate without dropping it, as I reach to pull out the tanzutsu or bajo-zutsu for loading. My wakizashi is in the way.

*The chap in the background has loaded his gun, and is checking the pan after pouring priming powder into it. You can see the matchcord wound around his left forearm.

[Bugyotsuji]

Mae-date å‰ç«‹ã¦

 

That little chap on your kabuto is called a Shigami (originally Shishigami) or biting shishi ç…å™›ã¿

 

1/3 of the way down the page you'll see three sets of explanation (in J) and some piccies.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/roy333/archives/2006-08.html

[Eric H]

Piers, I think a sword rack should, if possible, contrast in colour and decoration with the sword placed upon it. On a Daishokake there has to be a Daisho.

 

Eric

[Guido]

My Shigami doesn't have hair ...

[Bugyotsuji]

My Shigami doesn't have hair ...

 

He must be a young one! Actually most of the Shigami that I have seen have been hairless, come to think of it.

 

Great set of armour/armor there. I like the design of the dou breast plate.

[Bugyotsuji]

Piers, I think a sword rack should, if possible, contrast in colour and decoration with the sword placed upon it. On a Daishokake there has to be a Daisho.

 

Eric

 

Yes, I see what you mean. The sori of the black saya are picked up by the hills in the picture.

Quite clever. Thank you for showing those. Is that a low ceiling or a cabinet roof?

 

Now I am beginning to imagine how good it would be to own a pair of daisho.

 

I used to toy with the idea of dai-chu-sho; having one katana, one wakizashi and one tanto and absolutely no more, not necessarily matching. I had a lovely shirasaya wakizashi, but in a fit of pique I went and sold it.

[Guido]

Now I am beginning to imagine how good it would be to own a pair of daisho.

I agree. And since it's "show and tell" time, I'll double the bet :

[Bugyotsuji]

Holy Mackerel! Look at those, and yours are matching colours too. Oh, no, how am I going to keep face around here?

 

*Quick question there Guido. You don't rest the wakizashi on its tsuka, whereas Eric does. I've watched carefully in Japan and seen both on many occasions, but my sense of what? mechanics? tells me it should rest on the saya, not on the tsuka, so that the blade is less likely to move inside the saya in an earthquake or something. Never asked anyone, but is there a saho about this at all, would anyone know? :|

[Nobody]

*Quick question there Guido. You don't rest the wakizashi on its tsuka, whereas Eric does. I've watched carefully in Japan and seen both on many occasions, but my sense of what? mechanics? tells me it should rest on the saya, not on the tsuka, so that the blade is less likely to move inside the saya in an earthquake or something. Never asked anyone, but is there a saho about this at all, would anyone know? :|

There was a similar question in the following therad.

 

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1603

[Bugyotsuji]

*Quick question there Guido. You don't rest the wakizashi on its tsuka, whereas Eric does. I've watched carefully in Japan and seen both on many occasions, but my sense of what? mechanics? tells me it should rest on the saya, not on the tsuka, so that the blade is less likely to move inside the saya in an earthquake or something. Never asked anyone, but is there a saho about this at all, would anyone know? :|

There was a similar question in the following therad.

 

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1603

 

Thank you Koichi sama.　That was back before I was born!!!

So, it's perfectly all right to rest the katana on the tsuka if the stand is too wide.

[Eric H]

Piers, the Daishokake is in a wall cupboard whereas my other swords are stored in the lower drawers. Nashiji urushi tends to bleach when exposed permanently to the light.

 

Next is a large vase, the ivory carved and decorated with lacquer by KIKUGAWA MASAMITSU, depicting a parody of the ROKKASEN. The gilt bronze fitting is signed BARBEDIENNE PARIS

 

Eric

[Brian]

Guido.... you are evil :D

Making me jealous there. How about some details of the blades? I assume those are both papered daisho? It's about time we drooled over some of that treasure chest you have

Great pics from everyone else too. Donations of items are welcome so that I can start a NMB private museum here :D :D :D

 

Brian

[IanB]

All,

Not to be outdone, I am reproducing a couple of Daguerotypes of me firing and loading a matchlock. Of course there was no colour photography around in the 1870's so you cannot appreciate how colourful the armour is .

 

Ian

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Guido, I'm intrigued by the Tachi that accompains the armor you've previously posted.

Has it a Yamashiro or Yamato blade ?

[Guido]

How about some details of the blades? I assume those are both papered daisho?

I posted about the first Daishô on SFI five years ago: http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=25155

It was a very interesting experience to coordinate the restauration, and I learned a lot about the different crafts involved along the way.

[Guido]

*Quick question there Guido. You don't rest the wakizashi on its tsuka, whereas Eric does. I've watched carefully in Japan and seen both on many occasions, but my sense of what? mechanics? tells me it should rest on the saya, not on the tsuka, so that the blade is less likely to move inside the saya in an earthquake or something. Never asked anyone, but is there a saho about this at all, would anyone know?

I, too, have seen done it both ways. I'm not sure if there really is a *right* or *wrong* way, even old paintings and woodblock prints are inconclusive.

 

I personally am not concerned with the blade moving in the Saya: all my blades a safely stored, the Koshirae that is on display has Tsunagi instead. One (but not the most important) reason is that I like seeing my guests leaving without missing fingers and / or deep cuts. Getting the blood stains out of the carpet is a royal pain in the neck.

[Guido]

Guido, I'm intrigued by the Tachi that accompains the armor you've previously posted.

Has it a Yamashiro or Yamato blade ?

It has a late Kamakura period Aoe blade (but not in the Koshirae). Some classify Aoe as Bizen-den, others [including me] as Yamashiro-den.

 

Btw, it's first sword on this page http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/japanese_swordlist.htm from the "History of Steel" exhibition in Macau.

[Bugyotsuji]

Guido, thank you for posting that link to your earlier project. Lovely swords, and a very interesting explanation. I particularly like the long kissaki on your wakizashi. A beautiful polish has revealed such workings in their blades. Again I see how much I don't know, and how much there is yet to learn.

 

As to the placing of the tsuka on the kake, you make a good point about the blades being in shirasaya, and thus no danger with a tsunagi in the koshirae. Even with a blade in place, it should be locked to hang in midair inside the saya. Perhaps it is the aesthetic in me which winces when I see for example the photo of the tanto on the previous page.

 

Unfortunately you have now whetted my appetite for a closer association with Nihonto, namely the desire to possess something really beautiful and to be able to look after it and appreciate it as it deserves. But I am not ready yet.

[Bugyotsuji]

Guido, I'm intrigued by the Tachi that accompains the armor you've previously posted.

Has it a Yamashiro or Yamato blade ?

It has a late Kamakura period Aoe blade (but not in the Koshirae). Some classify Aoe as Bizen-den, others [including me] as Yamashiro-den.

 

Btw, it's first sword on this page http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/japanese_swordlist.htm from the "History of Steel" exhibition in Macau.

 

That too was very instructive. Mmmm... Yamashiro-den. I didn't know anything about Aoe until today, even living here in Okayama on the Asahi, right between the Yoshii and Takahashi rivers. I'm going to find out what I can. (By the way, there is a small spelling mistake on the site where it gives Takanashi for the river name.)

[Bugyotsuji]

I don't have anything comparable, but my katana-kake is a folding type and can hold up to five swords. I usually put the katana koshirae, and my boku-to and iai-to on it.

[Bugyotsuji]

Piers, the Daishokake is in a wall cupboard whereas my other swords are stored in the lower drawers. Nashiji urushi tends to bleach when exposed permanently to the light.

 

Next is a large vase, the ivory carved and decorated with lacquer by KIKUGAWA MASAMITSU, depicting a parody of the ROKKASEN. The gilt bronze fitting is signed BARBEDIENNE PARIS

 

Eric

 

Sorry Eric, your post got swept away in the subsequent flow of daisho postings. This is a vase? Does it have a waterproof container inside? That is one massive section of ivory from a noble elephant it would seem. It is such a curious mixture of styles, very Napoleonic(?) and it looks quite valuable. What do you know about Masamitsu and Barbedienne? They must have known each other and cooperated together at some known point in time.

[Bugyotsuji]

All,

Not to be outdone, I am reproducing a couple of Daguerotypes of me firing and loading a matchlock. Of course there was no colour photography around in the 1870's so you cannot appreciate how colourful the armour is .

 

Ian

 

Ian, are you left-handed, or is that a quirk of Daguerrotypes? :lol:

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

It has a late Kamakura period Aoe blade (but not in the Koshirae). Some classify Aoe as Bizen-den, others [including me] as Yamashiro-den.

 

Btw, it's first sword on this page http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/japanese_swordlist.htm from the "History of Steel" exhibition in Macau.

 

Thanks Guido. A beautiful one.

[Guido]

(By the way, there is a small spelling mistake on the site where it gives Takanashi for the river name.)

Which one? (There are in fact some glitches due to them converting my Japanese fonts into Chinese fonts, but I don't see any in this particular description.)

[Bugyotsuji]

(By the way, there is a small spelling mistake on the site where it gives Takanashi for the river name.)

Which one? (There are in fact some glitches due to them converting my Japanese fonts into Chinese fonts, but I don't see any in this particular description.)

 

Takanashi should be Takahashi

[Guido]

Takanashi should be Takahashi

You are right. "Takanashi" would be the more common reading, but "Takahashi" is correct. However, I'm in good (or maybe bad?) company: even the official Japanese website *Yokoso! Japan* get's it wrong:

"Little Kyoto in Bicchu", which was developed by the pure Takanashi River

(http://www.west-Japan-travel.com/map/area_okayama.html, scroll all the way down).

[Eric H]

Piers,

 

Kikugawa Masamitsu, a top ranking artist, a member of a family of carvers in Tokyo in the 19th c., teacher among others of Ishikawa Komei. They made mostly netsuke.

Fernand Barbedienne, 1810 - 1892, was a specialist in bronze casting "à-cire-perdu"

After the great world expositions held in Paris (1867) and Vienna (1873) an incredible interest

for Japanese arts of all kinds grew up in Europe and America. At the time around 1880 - 1890 Paris was the most important place for trading Japanese art objects and the first large collections were built up by people like the brothers de Goncourt and Louis Gonse.

Naturally Masamitsu and Barbedienne didn't know eachother.

I think the vase was primarily intended as an "exotic objet d'art"

In my home it makes part of a lamp.

Next for illustration a netsuke (and the lamp)

 

Eric

[Bugyotsuji]

That's a gorgeous manju Netsuke there, Eric.

 

All of what you say rings true. What slightly puzzles me is how the section of ivory signed by Masamitsu (my first impression was how similar the Mei was to a Netsuke-shi) with that scene could have been independently created. Unimaginable in Japan as a stand-alone object. It must have been an order from Europe. The lost wax decoration by Barbedienne would have been added later, but can you be sure that they never met, or never cooperated?