Help Identifying Kabuto Makers Mark

[cglog254]

Hi all! I am researching on two suits of samurai armor that were acquired by my institution. I have very little familiarity with this field but have put together a decent amount of information. There is a makers mark on the inside of one of the kabuto, and I have only been able to firmly make out the kanji for 作 and 住 (though I am not entirely sure about the second one). I showed two of my Japanese colleagues images (which are low quality, as they had to be taken through a tear in the interior lining of the helmet) and they came to the same conclusions, and told me to seek out someone who may have more familiarity with older Japanese. I am attaching those same images here in hopes that someone can point me in the right direction. We are waiting for some specialized equipment so we can get better images of the makers mark. Thank you in advance for the help!

[uwe]

Welcome Charles,

 

I guess your helmet is signed “武州住秀重作” (Bushū jū Hideshige saku - made by Hideshige of Bushū province). Probably mid Edo!?

Pics of the kabuto are welcome 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

中谷要人(秀重)

*Nakatani Yōjin (Hideshige)

On a hand-drawn map of armourers of Japan, I have just found the name above listed for the Edo/Bushū area.
 

*Alternative but less common reading ‘Nakaya’.

 

http://blog.livedoor.jp/kayoko1227/archives/31862120.html

On this page is a reference to a Buddhist bell with an inscription of this name and date of 1630, saying in the Shin Kacchushi Meikan that this refers to the ‘armourer of Buyō’ (Bushū) Nakatani Yojin Hideshige.

 

[cglog254]

On 9/9/2025 at 12:27 PM, uwe said:

Welcome Charles,

 

I guess your helmet is signed “武州住秀重作” (Bushū jū Hideshige saku - made by Hideshige of Bushū province). Probably mid Edo!?

Pics of the kabuto are welcome 

 

Thank you! Do you have any idea why the Kanji in the kabuto is so different, particularly 武 and 秀. Is it just practicality in the act of etching, or is it a difference in Japanese language between the Edo period and today? I have attached an image of the kabuto to this message. It is not in the greatest shape. If you can determine anymore information from the picture, please share!

[cglog254]

On 9/9/2025 at 12:52 PM, Bugyotsuji said:

中谷要人(秀重)

*Nakatani Yōjin (Hideshige)

On a hand-drawn map of armourers of Japan, I have just found the name above listed for the Edo/Bushū area.
 

*Alternative but less common reading ‘Nakaya’.

 

http://blog.livedoor.jp/kayoko1227/archives/31862120.html

On this page is a reference to a Buddhist bell with an inscription of this name and date of 1630, saying in the Shin Kacchushi Meikan that this refers to the ‘armourer of Buyō’ (Bushū) Nakatani Yojin Hideshige.

 

Thank you so much for the reply and the additional information! The reference to the armor smith on the bell is very cool and could potentially be very critical in my research. I was under the impression that the kabuto was much younger than 1630, and I have attached a picture of it to this message. Do you think it could fit the date range that would be provided by the bell? Also, is it possible to share this map of armorers? Thank you! This is very exciting!

Edited Wednesday at 07:29 PM by cglog254

[uwe]

Charles,

 

sometimes you can find remarkably diffrences in the way the kanji were executed in a mei. It depends on the person who carved the characters. You can run into simplifications, abbreviations, sôsho (grass script), or a mixture of all. There is still a lot left to explain....

 

However, I attached a picture of another example that might help!

 

 

 

This single picture is not telling much. Can you provide images from the front, sides, back (all with the same angle), top and bottom?

[uwe]

...just stumbled over a specimen out of my archive:

 

 

Guess we can be quite sure!

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for the menpo ‘Hideshige’ Mei example, Uwe.

 

Here is the map. I have a final printed version of this, but not here at the moment. See 1. the whole of Japan, then 2. the Kanto section and finally 3. the block of names attached to Tokyo/Musashi/ Bushū. Your smith is between the points of the caliper.

 

PS 函人 ‘Kanjin’ is an old word for an armourer. Notice this unusual Kanji is used in the description 武陽函師 Buyo Kanshi master armourer, under the bell photo above. 1630 seems reasonable to me.

 

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2.

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[cglog254]

5 hours ago, uwe said:

Charles,

 

sometimes you can find remarkably diffrences in the way the kanji were executed in a mei. It depends on the person who carved the characters. You can run into simplifications, abbreviations, sôsho (grass script), or a mixture of all. There is still a lot left to explain....

 

However, I attached a picture of another example that might help!

 

 

 

This single picture is not telling much. Can you provide images from the front, sides, back (all with the same angle), top and bottom?

Thank you for the information! I am not very well versed in this so I am sorry if my questions seem basic or redundant. Do you have any sources where I may find references to Hideshige of Bushu Province, or more information about him? I do not have pictures from all angles at the moment, so I am attaching what I have on hand. I will photograph from all angles tomorrow and post them to this thread. I am unsure if I will be able to photograph the inside of the helmet tomorrow because the shikoro is very poorly attached due to degradation, and we are trying to avoid causing any unnecessary strain or damage. We are looking at methods to properly document the interior of the kabuto without damaging the shikoro, and I will send pictures when this is achieved. Your help is greatly appreciated! Your information regarding the mei has made my week!

[cglog254]

5 hours ago, uwe said:

...just stumbled over a specimen out of my archive:

 

 

Guess we can be quite sure!

This is another Hideshige? Do you have any more information on this particular example and/or image of the mei? We are trying to compile as much information as possible on our kabuto, and this would be extremely use for comparison! I am also attaching image of the hanbo that was acquired with the helmet. There was no visible mei on first inspection. Do you have any ideas where one would be if it existed on the hanbo? Would mengu/hanbo have traditionally been made by the same craftsmen? Once again, I am sorry for so many questions! There will probably be more as we attempt to document both sets of armor in our possession. Thank you so much for all your help!

[cglog254]

4 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Thanks for the menpo ‘Hideshige’ Mei example, Uwe.

 

Here is the map. I have a final printed version of this, but not here at the moment. See 1. the whole of Japan, then 2. the Kanto section and finally 3. the block of names attached to Tokyo/Musashi/ Bushū. Your smith is between the points of the caliper.

 

PS 函人 ‘Kanjin’ is an old word for an armourer. Notice this unusual Kanji is used in the description 武陽函師 Buyo Kanshi master armourer, under the bell photo above. 1630 seems reasonable to me.

 

1.

2.

3.

Thank you for sending pictures of the map and going out of your way to locate the smith's name! I am curious where this map came from/how it was produced if you have any more information.

[Luc T]

The menpo of Uwe’s picture is added later to this armor.   

[cglog254]

17 hours ago, uwe said:

Charles,

 

sometimes you can find remarkably diffrences in the way the kanji were executed in a mei. It depends on the person who carved the characters. You can run into simplifications, abbreviations, sôsho (grass script), or a mixture of all. There is still a lot left to explain....

 

However, I attached a picture of another example that might help!

 

 

 

This single picture is not telling much. Can you provide images from the front, sides, back (all with the same angle), top and bottom?

Uwe, I have attached pictures of the helmet from all angles except the bottom. I have also attached images of the mengu which was with the armor from all angles. The kabuto weighs 3.29 kg. Please let me know if there is any other information/images you need. Thank you!

[cglog254]

8 hours ago, Luc T said:

The menpo of Uwe’s picture is added later to this armor.   

That is what I thought. Thank you for clarification!

[Shogun8]

The hanbo seems to have once had a guruwa (additional plates which protect the back of the neck), judging by the remnants of the hinges at the rear of the jaw. This is a rare feature for a hanbo.

[Bugyotsuji]

13 hours ago, cglog254 said:

Thank you for sending pictures of the map and going out of your way to locate the smith's name! I am curious where this map came from/how it was produced if you have any more information.

From what I remember a group of NBTKHK (Japan Armor Society) members created this before having it printed out. The names outlined in red indicated they were older than 1600, and the black ones (like yours) post 1600. For the print copy of this hand-written version I put wavy red lines around the ‘old’ names. (I’ll see the official version in due course, but I don’t have it here.)

[uwe]

Hi Charles,

 

thank you for the additional pictures!

 

Here are the signature of my example above: