Viper6924

Piers is of course correct. This is a Yonezawa zutsu with all the bells and whistles. To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Yonezawa in better condition. Would love to see a closeup of the pan. A signature would tell us which smith it was that made it. There’s a handfull to chose from that was active during the first half of the 1800s when this iconic matchlock was made. Jan

Love the sakura byo. Don’t think I’ve seen that before 🙂 Does it come with a signature? Jan

I read somewhere that the Shimazu clan would permit some potters the honor of using the ”cross-in-a-circle” kamon. That would give the piece somewhat of a connection with the famous samurai clan. These ”licensed” pieces of pottery always carries the kamon in gosu blue, which is dark blue, green or black depending on the firing. Jan

You found some nice items lately, Piers. You always had a good eye 🙂 Love the small Naminohira tanto. Classic red Satsuma color. A matchlock and a tanto from Satsuma; Mr O would have loved em’ 😉 Well done my friend! Jan

I’m reading this 😂😂😂 We are about 240-250 A4 pages into this book project. It’s a massive project that needs to be done as the misinformation about Japanese matchlocks is quite scary. Beside the editing part I think we need to write about 30-40 pages more in order to cover our bases. So hopefully by the end of this year. Jan

Your latest project looks very nice, Piers. Nice balance between the different parts. It brings harmony to the whole piece 🙂 Jan

Love your renovation of the flask. Before you could find genuine Edo-period flasks quite readily. These days it’s mostly ugly fakes. I’ve also renovated some flask and it’s bloody hard work. Drilling all those holes are a nightmare. One time I had to start from scratch three times due to the fact that the holes didn’t line up. Here’s a flask I rescued a couple of years ago. Cost me JPY1000. The cap was missing as well as the spout which was replaced by an iron pipe that was glued in place. The wooden flask was in an overall terrible state with a lot of damages on the wood. It was only after I cleaned up the flask and discovered the nice wood grain that I realised why the original flask-maker chose this piece of wood to work with. The most rewarding thing is when you let go of the flask and the cap falls in place with a nice snap Jan

The Enamiya line is very well-known and I’ve seen many matchlocks made by several generation gunsmiths. I have what we would label as a classic ”Sakai matchlock” with a signature beginning with Enami, which I think was part of the same line. Do you have some pictures of the matchlock? Jan

A lot of info to process, Arthur New input on old ”ideas” are always welcome. When it comes to history, be it Japanese or other, we can’t afford to stop investigating. Otherwise stagnation sets in. Looking back at books written 10-15 years ago, reveals that the process of gaining new ground, indeed moves in the right direction. Albeit slow at times… When we comes to the topic about what is of Japanese true origin, the one important thing that comes to mind is Shinto. Apart from that, I like to think of the Japanese as the unrivaled masters at incorporating forriegn ideas. They tried and tested everything coming in from the mainland. Bad ideas not in par with the Japanese mindset, was discarded quicker than you can say sayonara. But if the ”import” took root in the heart of the locals, with locals I of course mean the top 1-2% of the community, assimilation and more importantly, development followed. We see this local improvement everywhere in Japanese culture. This is fact plain and simple. Of course this also had an huge impact on the development of Japanese arms and armor development. Everything from the curve of a blade, horsemanship and general development of arms and armor came from abroad. But it was in many areas developed by the skillful Japanese artisans into something better and much more effective. I have a 10 monme Kishu matchlock made in 1863. It’s the absolute pinnacle of perfection when it comes to matchlocks. Compare it to the western version would be like comparing a rusty bike to a Ferrari It’s of course another question if this stubborn attachment to matchlocks was a sound policy, whilst the west was producing Winchester repeating rifles during the same period. Nothing creates develpment like war. Nothing! Look at Ukraine. The locals brought in forreign technology in the form of harmless drones, which you can pick up in any tech-store for a few hundred dollars to spy on your neighbours and changed them into ”messangers of death” for the invaders. Just like the Japanese been doing for over a thousand years. I will keep following this and other threads like it with great interest, as there are nuggets of gold within that will carry history forward. So keep at it, Arthur 😉 Jan

Hi Björn! There are no pictures. Can you try to resending them again. Jan

You never know until you try it 🙂 I actually checked the matchlocks in my collection. Out of the 12, 6 had only plain holes for the mekugi. These 6 guns comes from all over Japan, so there’s no regional preference for one or the other. Jan

Interesting way to secure the amaooi to the barrel. Not sure I’ve seen that before. Otherwise an honest looking matchlock. Mid Edo period? Jan

This one looks very similar to a gun I recently had in my possession. I can bet a tiny beer that this specific matchlock carries a Sesshu (Sakai) signature. As Piers said, the kabuto decoration seems to be an indicator for Sakai. To my eyes, the decoration on the barrel looks good. In there lies the mystery. Because often I find the quality of the inlayed barrels to be much better than some of the brass editions scattered all over the stock. Were the barrel decorations made independently from the brass works? Could some of them, like seen on this specific matchlock, been made during the original production or a later work dated from late Edo to the Meiji era? Jan

Hi Ian! Hope all is fine at your end of the world. It’s funny, me and Piers have just instigated a conversation of our own regarding this very topic 🙂 You write that your Sakai got a Pine-decoration running underneath the stock. Have you checked the inside of the stock. Is there any cracks or old repairs running the length of the stock? Jan

Solid-looking matchlocks, Robert. The first sports some Tabuse-school features and the other one Inoue-school. When it comes to preserving the stock, I use Renaissance Wax for every matchlock in my collection. It gives the stock a pleasant shine and brings out the woodgrain in a nice way. Plus, you only need to use this wax one time. I put some wax on my fingertips and make sure to coat the stock. You only need to apply a thin layer. Then I wait a few minutes so the wax dry properly. As a finishing touch I use a piece of clean cloth with which I polish the stock. The harder you polish the more shine you get. I live in a modern house with central heating. The wax seems to protect the stocks from cracks, so no need to use oil. Good luck! Jan