IanB

Gentlemen, Two points strike me as significant. First is that the barrel is texture / stippled on top but not below. This suggests it wasn't seen and that originally it sat in a wood 'stock' of some kind that was confined between the muzzle and breech moulding. Secondly I can see a change of patina behind the touch hole, especially on the right side. This suggests a band of some kind to hold it into a stock. Now here is a mad idea. If it did sit in a wood stock on a smooth board and was charged with a given quantity of powder, the distance it slid on firing would indicate the 'strenght' of the powder. Just a thought. Ian Bottomley.

BaZZa, A very nice gun although it does look as if someone has 'had a go' at the pan cover and possibly the lock as well. As Piers has said there should be an amaooi that fits into the notch in the front face of the pan and into the long slot behind the pan. They often have a sliver of brass that slides into a grooves in the barrel and the back face of the amaooi to stop it lifting. The upper edge of the pan cover is usually thinned and slides under the bottom edge of the amaooi to act as a water seal. Ian Bottomley

Could be an attack of wind. On the subject of old samurai photos - I once saw one of a group in a street scene of a couple in armour and a guy with a yari wearing his katana in the usual position but edge down. After sniggering about it being a posed shot of a farmer who had been pressed into service who didn't know how to wear a sword, a Japanese gent pointed out that for a spearman it was correct. It moved the tsuka up out of the way when thrusting the yari by sliding it through the left hand. Ian Bottomley

Jan, It seems Bannerman was a dealer who owned a mock castle on an island. He bought up mountains of gear after the civil war and stashed it in the castle where it decayed away, ammunition going unstable - a nightmare. I would have to read it again to get the details but it seems the whole place was a death-trap. Ian

In 'Civil War Guns' there is an interesting description of Bannerman's organisation. Ian Bottomley

Geraint, Ken, As a former curator at the Royal Armouries (and now a Curator Emeritus) I took the view that anyone wanting to see items in store were perfectly within their rights to do so - after all the collection is the property of the nation, NOT the museum's, and certainly NOT the curator's, who together are simply custodians. Sadly this is not the view held by others, but it is worthwhile pointing the fact out to them if they are uncooperative. I accept there may be difficulties for that to happen immediately the request is made, but in my view the difficulties should be genuine and valid ones. It is inappropriate to expect someone who has travelled to a museum to have to repeat the journey just because the curator can't be bothered rescheduling their programme for the day. Believe you me I have met some curators like this. By far the best example was a curator emulsion painting the back of a case about 2m high and 6m long. It took so long that the company making the paint had stopped making and selling that colour before the job was complete! Ian Bottomley

Greg Irvines paper is obviously a report based on a seminar and omits the Royal Armouries collection who for some reason was not represented. The collection, housed at Leeds, contains some 87 swords / blades, including the former collection of Deryk Ingham generously donated by his widow and sons. of which about 40 are recently polished blades, mostly papered, two of which are Juyo. Also in the collection are some 10 or so armours, two of which were diplomatic gifts to James I (and VI) in 1613 and more importantly an armour presented to King Philip II of Spain in 1585. There are numerous staff weapons, about 30 being presented, with a naginata to Queen Victoria. together with a horse harness on loan from the V&A. There is also a horse armour and harness belonging to RA. What the collection is very light on is tosogu, being represented by a few iron tsuba from the Ingham collection. Ian Bottomley

Basil Robinson, formerly a Curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, was an officer who had the good sense to ask the Japanese prisoners if anyone had knowledge of swords. One admitted he did and was told to sort through a large pile and pick out the best 12. From that selection Basil obtained he blade called 'Dew on the Grass' which was ultimately polished and put in shirasaya to appear so often in exhibitions. Ian Bottomley

All, So far all has gone well with the new study group. Facebook can be a bit confusing, especially when you don't spot 'comments'. When that happens you don't realise there has been interest in something when in actuality there has been a lot of activity. What has been a very pleasing revelation is that there has not been a single derogatory or offensive comment. All who have logged on, that is some 548 so far, have been more that polite and very positive. It has been a very worthwhile endeavour. Ian Bottomley

All, I have taken the plunge and started a new study group on Facebook dedicated to the serious study of Japanese Armour. It is called 'The Japanese Armour Study Group' - not terribly original I know but I hope it will prove accurate, especially with regard to STUDYING,. All of the katchu enthusiasts here and elsewhere are invited to contribute. Hope to see you there. Ian Bottomley

By far the best source on the Saotome is Dr. Orikasa who did a considerable amount of work on their origins and subsequent work, but concentrating on their helmets rather than tsuba. He did produce an English version titled 'Studies on Arms and Armour' if you can find a copy. Ian Bottomley

From what I have gathered, these missiles consisted of a wooden stick which fitted the bore of the gun, extended by a paper tube and a wooden nose cap. The fins were copper. They were filled with hemp rags and gunpowder, the aim being to scatter burning rags over enemy buildings in the hope of starting fires. The problem was getting the fuse right so it didn't go off in the muzzle of the gun, nor after it passed the target. Ian Bottomley

I would suggest the answer is much simpler - it saves having to polish the groove, especially on yari which were low cost weapons. Cutting the groove is dead easy, I have seen it done, but polishing involves specially shaped stones and a lot of hard work polishing the rounded ends. If you look at the grooves on yari where the lacquer is chipped, you will see the metal is very rough underneath. Ian Bottomley

Charles, I once owned a katana with such a pull-out liner, although I never removed it for fear of ever getting it back in. You could see the upper edges of two very thin pieces of wood inside the koiguchi. I suspect you would have to take off the kurikata to get them out. On a similar theme, I once was taken to visit a lacquer company, the man in charge showing me a cabinet of five drawers in which were 3" lengths of wood shaped like half saya, each lacquered in a different way. They were apparently for a samurai to choose his new saya decoration. What I found amusing was that the owner told me very proudly that they had lacquered all the items for the coronation for the Emperor. This involved making a set of the things and sending it to the Imperial Palace for approval. They then made another set for the ceremony, the first set having been contaminated by being handled by mere mortals. Ian Bottomley

An interesting video that covers the basic facts. It is a pity that Mike Loades didn't talk to someone who knew about Japanese warfare of the late Heian period. As we know, theoretically individuals would challenge an opponent and take part in mounted archery duels where the riders rode passed each other in a counter-clockwise elongated loop shooting at each other as they passed. In practice a rider can start shooting when his opponent is to the left of his horse's head and continue until he is to the left- rear of his horse. It is this latter stage that the horo protected the rider as he gained distance from his opponent, fitted another arrow to his bow and wheel about. In reality others would be shooting at them as well and basically it 'covered his back' while he concentrated on what his opponent was doing. It went out of fashion following the Mongol invasions when this stylised mode of combat proved useless against an enemy who didn't play by the rules. It was revived in the late 18th century when there was an antiquarian revival during which no fighting took place and the samurai simply posed about wearing old styles of armour. Obviously unless they were actually galloping about, the horo just hung flat against the back - hence the basket to give the appearance of the warriors they were copying from old paintings. Ian Bottomley

Yes, I'm afraid they do. I first saw such a botch job in a sword shop in the Ginza about 25 years ago. Old saki cups 1000 Yen each - powder flask very much more. Ian Bottomley

Matt, You are right - mea culpa.. I should have realised sooner as the tutoring of these pupils was under the supervision of Myochin Muneyasu. Ian Bottomley

Simon, The left hand illustration is very indistinct and may be part of a date.. The other is not Yoshiie as I first thought but Yoshihiro. 宗吉門入吉広　(note the -hiro in a modern font is a simplified version). Ian Bottomley

Alton, Yes, horo were protection from arrows, billowing out when riding and deflating when struck and absorbing the arrow's energy. They were really a Kamakura / early Muromachi thing. There is one curious image in the book Gun yoki that shows a mounted samurai with the horo over his and his horse's head (?) - don't know what that is about. The illustration you show is labelled Morimoto Gidayu Hidetori and forms one of a series of 50 prints called Taiheiki eiyu den. by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861) and hence dating from the period when there was a kind of 'gothic revival' going on and copies of ancient armours and so on were being produced. Not understanding what the horo was really about, they came to the conclusion it must have a frame inside to keep it ballooning out. Ian Bottomley

Alton, It was only during the Edo period that horo were used over a frame of bamboo.Originally it was simply a cloth with the top edge attached to the rear of the shoulder-straps of the armour and the bottom edge to the waist. When galloping it filled with air and ballooned out. The Tokugawa used horo of different colours to identify units or special officers in their forces. Ian Bottomley

Maurice, The inscriptions are religious invocations to shrines and Hachiman Dai Bosatsu, the divinity of war and archery in both Buddhist and Shinto religions. These inscriptions are not uncommon on armour. Ian Bottomley.

I've stared at this until I started seeing stars but I think I read it as Muneyoshi mon nin Yoshiie.宗吉門入吉家 . What is now driving me mad is I cannot find my copy of the Myochin Muneyoshi diary which lists his pupils to see if there was a Yoshiie. No doubt it will turn up somewhere but that doesn't help in this case. The only reservation I have is that it is not that well cut and for that date the inscriptions are usually well done. Ian Bottomley

Simon, Myochin Muneyoshi was based in Edo during the 19th century and took a number of pupils. I have an armour by a Ki Yasukiyo who states he was a pupil. There is a diary in which the pupils are recorded, Yasukiyo arriving at the age of 19 and staying three years before returning to the Chohan (Nagato) where he made my armour. Ian Bottomley

Javier, Many thanks for posting that. What it shows is that the Japanese were seriously searching for a means of protecting against bullets, not only in the materials they used, but also in the type of helmet. Zunari kabuto like this are often considered as cheap helmets, but even Tokugawa Ieyasu had two armours, now in Shizuoka fitted with them. The large plates and fewer number of joints between the plates were important factors. Ian Bottomley,

Yes, it looks like it is a ban on sending blades through the post rather than anything else. Ian B