Another very cool old scroll found at my in-laws house in Sendai, Miyagi

[petethe canadian]

This scroll describes how to build/make archery targets with dimensions and the rules to be followed in making targets, as you can see there is a large hanko on the scroll. It has been dated to one of two dates, 1781 or 1841 following the 60 year cycle. We have other documents that are dated to 1841 so thats year is plausible but evidently it does have Anei 10 = 1781 written on it. My father in law didn't know these scroll were there and he had no idea how they got there but my wife's family still live in the same neighbourhood where her archer ancestors lived, near Nishi-koen park in the city, from what I have read before it became a park it was the training ground where her ancestors taught and practised archery. We have a lot to translate and it's going to take time but it's all very interesting to me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[John C]

@Iaido dude

 

Steve: You may be interested in this piece.

 

John C.

[Iaido dude]

Fascinating, peteb. Thanks for sharing. I've encountered a fair number of scrolls that are almost like schematics with written instructions on the different types and grades of feathers that are traditionally fletched on arrows for kyudo. Or an amazing one (I don't own it) that details the parts of an utsubo quiver, which really helped me to restore the leather on one that I have. Of course the leather doesn't last for centuries. However, the shiny protected lacquer surface tells you exactly where leather covered it originally. Mine has a smooth black lacquer finish, not the woven basket type of surface for the upper compartment as per the schematic. Tips point down and the archer reaches to the right side to extract the arrow. The image of the two other utsubo previously on auction shows that the seller had the impression that the orientation was reverse, which is why the tassels of the obijime appear to be hanging in the air when I show them in the correct orientation.

 

. . . 

Edited June 24 by Iaido dude

[Bugyotsuji]

Signed and sealed in 安永十年 is 1781, (An-ei 10)

[petethe canadian]

Domo mina san. Here's a look at another hanko from a different scroll, I have photos of all the scrolls, taken section by section and I can post more pics of those if anyone is interested. They took scrolls like this very seriously, on the ones I found the receiver was not allowed to divulge anything he learned not even to his family, it was all very secret. I found 5 books altogether and the thickest one seems to be an encyclopedia of sorts filled with all kinds of information a samurai head of a household needed to know from battlefield medicine to presenting gifts to superiors to how to use lacquer, plus j=how to make oneself invisible, no kidding. There are recipes for the energy balls samurai needed for long marches when they couldn't stop for food etc. Other books I found are how to write, the wrong sentence or reference to a particular season could be regarded as uneducated in Edo city so they took all of this extremely seriously. Another book is about samurai laws, all hand written on washi paper that has dragons embossed in the paper on the covers. Someday we will return these all to Japan either to a museum or university, thats where they belong. I have them to photograph them and catalogue them and hopefully try to get them translated but the encyclopedia is 144 pages so thats going to take some time. My brother in law wasn't interested in any of this so my wife and I brought them to Canada with us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 , 

Edited June 25 by petethe canadian

[Bugyotsuji]

Probably the same year, even though you’ve cut off the important part above.

[petethe canadian]

I have to cut them off somewhere they're too long to capture in one shot if I want them to be legible. This is the start of a scroll, it has insect damage further along I''ll post photos of the entire scroll section by section.

 

 

 

 

[Robert S]

That's pretty much a treasure trove right there, not so much individually, but all of them together giving a picture of a complete "instruction manual" for both general samurai matters and specific matters relating to the family tradition and occupation.  Amazing find!

[petethe canadian]

can't load the next section of the scroll

[petethe canadian]

where do I find the photo resizer here? I looked but must have missed it. OK found it and I'll just load the photos that I can, most are just too big, unfortunate we have some great stuff.

Edited June 26 by petethe canadian

[Iaido dude]

This source material is worthy of a dissertation thesis!

[ROKUJURO]

As it has to do with KYÛDÔ, I am posting a woodprint that seems to show the old WASEDA shooting range. I was told this is where the university is now located.

[ROKUJURO]

Steve,

it is good to see that you oriented the UTSUBO correctly! And in the drawing, the correct arrow orientation in the UTSUBO is also clearly visible.

This is most often wrongly shown in exhibitions and museums. 

[Iaido dude]

Thanks very much, Jean. I'll add that woodblock print to my growing catalog of kyudo-related artworks. 

 

I just received the leather strips and pieces needed to complete the leather restoration and will post the completed restoration of the utsubo on my other thread dedicated to my efforts to set up a wooden horse for yabusame training at home. I had this amazing opportunity to train in Kamakura about 12 years ago that I will never forget. Only bringing focus back to kyudo/yabusame in the past 2 years after overcoming chronic pain from a sports-related nerve injury to my left upper arm and neck that happened about a decade ago. 

 

https://quantumfieldbasedmedicine.substack.com/p/the-clinic-as-dojo-part-i-entering?r=vfrlb

[petethe canadian]

This is the start of the scroll about building archery targets, first photo loaded no problem so I hope the rest will too.

 

 

 

 

[petethe canadian]

The rest of the archery scroll images won't load. Here's an 1825 painting of the layout for a samurai feast for the staff of the place that was hosting the event. The colours are still very vibrant, the washi paper has some damage along the creases but still a pretty cool piece.

 

 

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

I think these are valuable documents for historians. 

[petethe canadian]

Agreed, one day everything we found at my in-laws place will be returned to Japan, thats where it belongs, had I not found them they'd still be there deteriorating more and more, here they're safe with us and they're small enough for my wife to pack in a suitcase when the time comes and she will bring them back on one of her trips to see friends and family in Japan. This is the second of 2 pages I got in Sendai, appears to be written for the same occasion, possibly by the same person.