DaveT

It's not worth €130 a year for four magazines with a partial translation that follows a year later. I also dislike that the forum is closed to members only, this is elitism as it excludes people on low incomes. JoA, AUG69 and Uwe are all board members, so it's always a one-way street when they rejoice the accomplishments. I not going to continue my subscription to this rich boy yacht club. I'll also add that if your face doesn't fit this society will do their best to destroy you. Maybe the Chairman would like to relate how their newest board member Almeric caused a commotion at the Shinsa in Japan shouting at a dealer that he cannot be associated with me. You actually are telling people who they can be friends with now at official events.

I'll try and embed peters original link on Miura Sensei. Seeing this armour in the flesh was amazing. Its now been sold to a prefectural museum so it's going behind glass forever. I've met all the serious katchushi now in Japan, Miura is without the best in our field, after that his Deshi Andy.

I've just got back from Japan, a dream came true meeting Miura Hiromichi Sensei and seeing his amazing work first hand.

I its illegal now in Europe.

I was told by one katchushi that a one-point brass was as valuable as gold due to its rarity.

Super!

We are really seeing a fusion between swords, guns and armour emerge. This cross-pollination of sorts is very educating as we can really gain an insight into Samurai Arms & Armour and how they were affected by the times by understanding the relationships between them. Something that all 4 UK Tokens are promoting. My feedback: Great day! Great people! Great lunch too! A big thank you to Paul, Chris and Bob for making it so.

I know Andy, he is a very skilled katchushi.

Uwe, its working, over 500 people joined up, how fantastic. Maybe you will join too? Ian is posting some of his old papers that have been on the forums for years covered in dust. They are being received very well and they have been re-heated so to speak. As much as we love the forums they are in decline and we cannot prevent it. I'm really supportive of what Ian has done today because he has made a move at actually growing the subject we love.

The group is moderated with an iron kote.

Ian, I know that you intend to stay here on this forum too, but we have to all accept that Social Media is becoming the place as its so accessible for so many. Forums are suffering as a result. Maybe this will help direct some traffic back here when users ask nihonto based questions. What I like here is that you have created a group that comes from the heart, its all about sharing information freely. Well done. I hope you don't mind but I posted this today to my pages: ----------------------- Ian Bottomley is without a doubt the leading authority in the west for Samurai Armour. Forget the others, Ian is the real deal and is respected by everyone as being so. Today Ian opened a Study Group on Facebook where you can interact and learn about this fascinating subject. I would personally urge any of you that love this subject to go and join this group. I believe this will be The Place on any social media platform to learn about Katchu. The membership also includes some very knowledgeable people so this is really the ultimate resource at your fingertips. And it's FREE to everyone. Please go and join and show your support. https://www.facebook.com/groups/japanesearmourstudygroup/

DPD, not a problem.

Not been there. I think that this type of reproduction armour has no soul compared to old katchu. The templates they use are different. But, thank you for sharing the video.

Menpo looks edo as well. With regard to restoration, you have to take into account the amount of work that is required for each piece. Urushi-nuri is not simply painting the surface and allowing it to dry. There are many man-hours involved and the cost of restoration often outways the variability of seeing a return on the investment for many years to come. Also sourcing a restorer who is not busy is a task in itself.

桶側胴 Okegawa Dou, Edo Period. The kusazuri could be rawhide, but then 90% were. Menpo is real. Value, I'd spend my money on Yahoo Auctions via Buyee.

That's the best report I've seen to date on the Expo, well done!

He is the BEST katchushi alive.

John, as you are aware I too have organised two symposiums and have too attended many of the ones you have listed. I can say only this, The Samurai Art Expo is to date the most professional symposium that I have visited or been involved with. The staging areas, staff, displays, dealer booths and lectures, PA were of the highest standard and have really raised the bar. I guess this was a chicken and egg scenario, people did not know what to expect. Utrecht seemed an odd and little-known venue, but the town was amazing with its river and host of restaurants etc. The rail network was cheap and fast, £8.00 return directly to and from the airport. For this to happen again, and this is something that we need a future event must be attended. Those of you that missed this really missed something special.

Gents, it was awesome. A mini DTI if you like and something that we need so badly in the west. A massive thank you to the organisers for braving such an event and making it so professional and to all the dealers who travelled from far and wide to be there with some excellent items. The expo had it all from Katchu to Nihonto. Also how wonderful it was to meet members of the NMB board in person (have some drinks etc). I really hope that there will be another and that it gains the exposure and attendance that it truly deserves.

"Ietada must have been the best kabutomaker of the Edo period"

You hit the nail right on the head there Justin. 99% of this Saotome smith history is complete BS. The names must have been a form of a brand with the succession of generations, a Director of the production belt within the factory (school) of armour making with a whole crew of craftspeople, that's how one smith can be 100yrs old and have made 500 Kabuto.

Really looking forward to this, meeting some old faces and new. I'm leaving the UK at around 3am for a 6am flight. See you all on Saturday at the expo and Bar. Nick, if you get time please post some photos of the expo!

The Saotome book is useless as a resource as there is more free information listed on forums. Sorry but when I picked up my first Ietada I rushed for this book, the information was non-existent. Just the classic one-liner like Tetsu Sabiji 60 ken suji kabuto. Review: 1/10 Verdict: Save your money

The shikoro neck guard has to come off to fix the liner, this means removing the byo and you would need to replace the himo for the helmet cord. I would leave it as is, and you can at least examine the inside.

Copied from Sasama: Shin Katchushi Meikan, just for information. Ietada (家忠) Saotome Ietada (早乙女家忠), late Muromachi to mi Edo period, he lived in Fuchû (府中) in Hitachi province. It seems that there were several generations Iesada active from the late Muromachi to the mid Edo period, although we can see subtle differences in their basically identical interpretations. Ietada helmets can have a suji or akoboshi-kabutobachi, the bowl is generally rather deep and the tehen area can either appear in tenkokuzan fashion or be flat. In the case of 62 plates, we count 62 plates on the outside and 60 plates from the inside as there are 61 hagi no ita. Including the koshimaki-ita tome no byô, there are eight rivets per plate. In the case of a toppai interpretation, there are ten rivets or more. Regarding suji- kabuto, the part where the hagi no ita overlaps is bulbous. On koboshi-kabuto, the hoshi are bullet-shaped and riveted either centrally or somewhat towards the suji. The uppermost row of rivets around the tehen has either an angular elliptical or an egg shape. The same applies to the shape of the base of the helmet bowl. The hibiki no ana are opened at a high position. The tsunomoto is installed centrally on the lower edge of the central front plate and is close to thekoshimaki no ita. The upper end of the haraidate-dai is notched in the form of a saw-tooth. There are two horizontally arranged holes for attaching thetatemono. The lower end of the haraidate-dai is either tongue-shaped or has a central ridge and is ken shaped. In addition, the bottom end can either reach close to the edge of the mabisashi or end noticeable earlier. Both are possible. Another characteristic feature of the Saotome school – regardless of whethersuji or koboshi-kabuto – is the iron rivet with a washer placed on the central front plate on the inside of the bowl close to the tehen no ana, and the two iron rivets on the central rear plate. The „Kokon-kaji-mei-hayamidashi“ quotes Ietada in the Saotomegenealogy as the second generation of the school. The first generation ismentioned as: „Nobuyasu (信康), ancestor, student and later son-in-law of Myôchin Nobuie (明珍信家), was born in the village of Saotome and livedlater in Sôshû Odawara.“ The strategist Saeda Seigyokuken Nobushige (佐枝 碎玉軒尹重, 1654-1742) wrote in the first volume of his work „Renshintan- kikai-sei kugi“ the following: „Helmets by the Saotome school fromShimotsuma (下妻) of Shimotsuke province have their origins in the prosperous times of the Odawara-Hôjô, namely when their ancestor, who was then the arms and armour magistrate [of the Odawara-Hôjô], learnt the proper art of forging from the famous craftsman Myôchin Nobuie (明珍信家) during the latter ́s stay in that area. After the death of [Hôjô] Ujinao (氏直, 1562- 1591), he continued to live secluded in Shimotsuke province where he initiatedthe production of helmets.“ With „ancestor“, Nobushige probably refers to the aforementioned Nobuyasu. Well, this craftsmen is listed in the „Katchû-kô zufu“ and in the „Meikô-zukan“ as „Nobuyasu“ (信安) and „Nobutada“ (信忠) and is a bit mysterious. There are helmets extant with the mei „Nobuyasu“ (信 康) but they do not show Saotome workmanship. So it is likely that the meiwas added later to substantiate a counterfeit genealogy. Accordingly we should not rely on Nobuyasu or Nobutada as the ancestor of the Saotome school and should consider Ietada as the actual founder of the school. (See also Nobuyasu [信康].) However, the name „Saotome“ does not appear in the Hôjô retainer and employee list „Odawara-shû shoryô-yakuchô“ and there is also no mention ofan „arms and armour magistrate“ (bugu-hôkô, 武具奉行). Let us address theentry „After the death of [Hôjô] Ujinao, he continued to live secluded in Shimotsuke province where he initiated the production of helmets.“ The Odawara-Hôjô were overthrown in the 18th year of Tenshô (天正, 1590), that means he must have studied under Nobuie before that time. According to the Myôchin genealogy, Nobuie died in the seventh year of Eiroku (永禄, 1564), so it can be ruled out that the Saotome ancestor learned the „proper art of forging“ from him. Another strong argument that Ietada was the actual ancestor of the school is the fact that it would be quite uncommon for a second generation of a lineage to introduce the custom of using one of his characters for all subsequent craftsmen. Based on that, I assume for the time being that Ietada was the actual founder of the school and that it was him who was a student of Nobuie. On the other hand, his workmanship does not resemble Nobuie but rather Yoshimichi (義通). The entry in the „Sankô-furyaku“ on Ietada is a bit vague and reads: „Armourer who lived in the Nitta fief (新田荘) in the Makabe district (真壁郡) of Hitachi province. It is said that he was a student of the Myôchin Nobuie line but this transmission cannot be verified.“When the Myôchin school gained great popularity in the Edo period through their propaganda, local armourers started friendly relations with the family and shared as a consequence their name, and so some master-student relationships were created which merely existed on paper. It is possible that the Saotome family also tried to create a pedigree which somehow goes back to the famous Myôchin lineage and in this course „invented“ Nobuyasu (or Nobutada) as the first generation to match the artistic period of Nobuie. And with this, the actual first generation Ietada had to be counted as the second generation. The late Yamagami Hachirô (山上八郎) presented in his „Nihon-katchû no shin- kenkyû“ a 52-plate suji-kabuto with the following mei on the central frontplate: „Hachiman Daishin (八幡大神) – Amaterasu Ômikami (天照皇大神) –Kasuga Daishin (春日大神)“. And on the central rear plate the piece is signed: „Eiroku jûninen sangatsu-hi“ (永禄十二年三月日, „on a day of the thirdmonth of Eiroku twelve [1569]“) – Jôshû Shimotsuma-jû Saotome Ietada saku (常州下妻住早乙女 家忠作)“. The signature even mentions that the helmet was a property of a certain Nasa (奈佐). And the „Sankô-furyaku“ writes „thereexists a date of the third year of Tenbun (天文, 1534).“ According to this, we must date Ietada from about Kyôroku (享禄, 1528-1532) to Eiroku (永禄, 1558-1570) and install him as the actual founder and first generation of the Saotome school. But there exists another 52-plate suji-kabuto with a shinodare on each sidewhich is signed „„Genroku jûgo mizunoe-uma nen kugatsu-hi (元禄十五壬午 年九月日, „on a day in the ninth month of Genroku 15 [1702], year of thehorse“) – Jôshû-jû Saotome Ietada (常州住早乙女家忠)“, that means somesuccessors were still active in the mid Edo period. Hinatsu Shigetaka (日夏繁 高) wrote in volume six of his 1723 publication „Honchô Takebayashi-genshi“ that there were „five or six successive generations of Ietada“. Volume eleven of the „Meiryô-kôhan“ (明良洪範), published in the Kyôhô era (享保, 1716-1736), lists the entry: „Regarding the helmet by Lord Ieyasu called sansha (三 社), it is [a work] by the first generation Saotome from Shimotsuma. It is an embossed hoshi-kabuto and bears on the reverse side the inscription of thesansha.“ [Translators note: The term „sansha“, lit „three shrines“, refers to the deitiesworshipped therein which are namely the same deities as mentioned above, Hachiman Daibosatsu, Amaterasu Ômikami and Kasuga Daimyôjin.] Well, there is no such helmet extant from the bequest of Ieyasu but when we count back five or six generations from Genroku, we end up in the aforementioned Kyôroku and Eiroku eras for the founder and first generation. The workmanship is of very constant high quality. There are also sometsuba with the mei of Saotome Ietada which show a well-forged iron but they are works from Edo-period craftsmen of the name. It is interesting that all signature styles of known Ietada mei share common characteristics and also the interpretation and shape of the works are similar. Therefore it is hard to define a generation when there is no dated signature. But pieces with elaborate sankô no byô or iron shinodare and the like are better dated to the Edo period.