IanB

Grev, In view of the fact that there is a burr alongside each mark I would guess it was done with a curved chisel. Ian Bottomley

Sala, The Shonai clan did use a variation on this style apparently but as Geraint says the quality of your hilt shows it is not Shonai. People do keep referring to Satsuma rebellion but if true it would be for a sword given to a non-samurai. I have published an image several times which shows two ashigaru wearing swords wrapped this way, with one holding a yari with looted swords tied to it, one of which is a samurai sword with normal tsukamaki. Ian Bottomley

Piers, It is accepted that the genealogy is concocted and many armourers who are included had nothing to do with them. What is still a puzzle are the Miochin Nobuie helmets. They look old but not one is mounted in an armour that is known to be pre-1600 - they all form part of Edo period armours. Since he is supposed to have worked in the early 16th C. and was supposed to have been the bee's knees, it is all rather suspicious. However, it is a good book and worth having. Ian

An excellent study based on the writings of the Miochin / Myochin armourers. These people are a real mystery and I keep changing my mind as to what really went on. What is definite is that they concocted a fake genealogy around 1660 claiming to have made armour since 'times immoral' whilst at the same time admitting that they were also the makers of horse bits called Masuda. They also claimed everyone and their dog were Miochins, even some of the Haruta smiths who were still working. What must be recognised is that the later Miochin did exist and made some superb armour. Well worth reading. Ian Bottomley

Looks European to me - rather too symmetrical to be Japanese in my opinion. I note the small hole at the end of the handle suggesting it was hung on a cord, the whole thing having a 17th century religious look about it. I wonder if the circular hole once held a relic with thin glass either side. Ian Bottomley ..

Please sign your posts with your name so we know who we are corresponding with. Markings scratched on the parts of a sword are perfectly normal to, as Mark has said, to enable those assembling them to keep the components together. Remember some 2 million members of the military were entitled to wear swords and that is an awful lot of parts to mix up. The crane in silver on the kabuto gane of your sword was the kamon of the Mori family amongst others, and was added to show ownership. Ian Bottomley

On Saturday the 5th May some 50 or so enthusiasts from around the world, including Columbia, Australia, the US as well as from all over Europe, gathered at the Samurai -Arts Museum in Berlin for a day devoted to lectures on the arms and armour of the samurai. Among the speakers were Jan Pettersson, Ian Chapman, Anthony De Vos, Martyna Lesniewska, and myself on subjects as diverse as the introduction of the gun to Japan, the diversity of techniques and subject matter of swords fittings, an armour of the Uesugi family, helmets of the Bamen group and the armours of Kaga province. The generosity of Peter Janssen is legendary and true to form he fed and 'watered' everyone liberally throughout the day and was, as always, the perfect host. It was a pleasure, to re-acquainting myself with old friends and perhaps even more to meet so many young people with a passionate about Japanese arms and armour. My concerns about the demise of interest once the present generation of older enthusiasts pass on was firmly dismissed. Needless to say the festivities continued well into the night as a particular Vietnamese restaurant struggled manfully to maintain supplies of food and beverages. All in all a wonderful weekend that we hope will be repeated repeated in 2020 when it is planned to replace the formality of lectures with demonstrations by experts illustrating the skills involved in the production of Japanese arms and armour. Ian Bottomley .

All, Steel was until relatively recently a difficult material to make and many cultures produced composite blades in which steel formed only the cutting edge and point. In England during the Middle Ages the material for a lot of blades is best described as 'steeled' iron. The Royal Armouries have quite a few Medieval daggers of various types, many of which have triangular sectioned blades of exaggerated thickness to resist bending in use. The collection also has a Roman gladius whose blade is in amazing condition that still displays the owner's name punched into the surface. That has a reinforcing rib about 1cm long running at right angles to the blades surface at the point. Clearly the metal was considered too soft to avoid the point becoming bent over without it. Ian Bottomley

When I used to do archery in the 1970's I fletched scores of arrows using a fletching jig which you can get from any archery supplier. Whilst eagle and other raptor feathers are not readily available, a lot of original Japanese arrows use pheasant feathers and you will have no problem getting those. Note that unlike us in the West, the Japanese used the tail feathers not from the wing. As long as you leave a few mm of quill at each end of the fletching you can put a binding on like the traditional Japanese and make a really good job.. Ian Bottomley

Jeremiah, As someone who started collecting when all wakizashi and tanto were 'arrakiri' knives and all katana were used for executions, many swords and other items have passed through my hands over the last 60 years or so. Looking back, there are perhaps only two or three pieces I parted with which I now deeply regret. Perhaps the most outstanding was a beautiful katana with a blade by Ippo and another was a yari with a blade around 1m long. Circumstances dictated the disposal of the first - essentially the need to eat, and the second was the prospect of owning something that appeared better at the time but in retrospect wasn't. In many ways I agree with Paul, many collections are simply accumulations in which a part is hardly ever looked at. Perhaps you should think of those who will have the thrill and pleasure you had when you acquired the items you planning to dispose of. However, think long and hard over each item before making a decision - some pieces might be better than you think. I recently dragged out an armour I have had for about 30 years. It had sat on its box covered with a cloth in the corner of my armour room relatively ignored until I needed to photograph it for a talk. I am now looking at it with fresh eyes and delighting in what I am now seeing. I have learned so much more than when it first arrived with me and it has now taken on a totally new meaning and significance. Ian Bottomley

Very nice indeed. I have a helmet with the same mon which I put down to the Oda / Ota family. I did a bit of ferreting into Jingasa a few years ago and was rather surprised to learn that these lacquered ones date to no earlier than the end of the 18th when they became fashionable for wear for the daimyo gyoretsu. This type seem to have been called ichimonji gasa or hira gasa and were worn by those on foot. The other type, rather like a bowler hat, are much later and designed for use on horseback. According to a Kitagawa Morisada, they were devised in or around 1843 (this info is in a book published in 1853 where it actually says they were used in 1863 - which is either foresight or a typo). This type had specified colours for the underside to indicate rank. Black being lowest, then red, red with gold flakes and finally gold. They are often very tastefully decorated items, like this, and a good low priced entry point in collecting. Ian Bottomley

Bernard, Not all of these quivers have a rigid plate at the top, or indeed a frame as mentioned by Jean. I have one that has a long silk cord with the usual tassels at the end that is 'chain knotted' to form a series of loops through which the arrows are threaded. It works, but the upper part of the arrows do swing around a bit. I've just been to check I wasn't imagining things, and yes, at the top of the upright is a gilt collar fitted with a gilt ring for the cord so that is how it was when in use. Ian Bottomley

Not a real kenukigata blade. They have the tang section much thicker than the blade itself which is covered with a decorative metal sheathing. As a result the seppa, tsuba and habaki all have to be slid on over the blade and fixed with a rivet through the habaki. I have had the privilege of handling one and they feel very uncomfortable in the hand and would jar terribly if you hit something. Ian Bottomley

Beware also of small shipping outfits and perhaps more importantly think about the package. I handed over a series of items in a locked gun-case that was also bound with shipping tape. At the other end it was found to have been opened somewhere en route and an item stolen. Most of the people working in this kind of trade are self-employed contractors, some of whom supplement the lousy pay. I admit the major reason was probably the gun-case (not my choice) that aroused interest and prompted the curiosity of one of the people in the chain. Ian Bottomley

Bazza, Congratulations a nice thing. Yes, rather too small to see, but at least a real arrowhead. So many of these put up for sale are fakes - what gives them away is that they do not have the concave 'neck' at the junction with the tang. Ian Bottomley

Just a note. The attenuated beast is a rain dragon. Ian Bottomley

The three barreled job looks as if most if not all of it is genuine. Alignment is not really an issue as long as the match hits the pan, but if you look there is a brass leaf-spring underneath that engages with notches in the barrel cluster. Like many of the unusual Japanese guns, these things are definitely one-offs to tempt a buyer, although in this case it looks practical enough. Ian Bottomley

John, You were right to bring this up and we should bear in mind that none of us are infallible and certainly not 'expert' (a term I hate). All to often something is dragged from the murky depths of my mind and I use it assuming I have remembered it correctly. All too often I haven't. Not being a Japanese speaker often leads to pitfalls and traps that I fall into all the time. Some people have a facility for language but sadly not me. I might know the individual words but find Japanese grammar a nightmare and stringing them in a sentence beyond me. This example is a case in point. As I said above I went back to the source and I'm still not convinced I know which is correct. I did have a thought however. Perhaps what we are looking at is a verb with a U ending since we are taking about the act of forming a rivet head. Either way, we all know what we are talking about - a rivet head that is visible on the outside. A concept that can be expressed just as well in English without having to bother with Japanese terminology. There is a tendency for all of us to throw Japanese terms about with gay abandon, thinking it impresses people, when there are perfectly good names in our own language to express exactly the same meaning. Ian Bottomley

OK, I have tussled with Sasama's glossary where he describes the technique of hammering over the rivets on the outside (in theory at least - in practice they are far too neat, being rivets that are not fully countersunk). The kanji he uses are 面　懸　the second kanji normally being pronounced Ken or Ke, but Nelson's dictionary does not give any meaning and refers the reader to the kanji　街 , kei, kai (ka, karu) with as many meanings as you could shake sticks at, but includes 'trapped' 'construct', 'install'. That makes sense since it implies the rivets were constructed or hammered over from outside. However, Nelson's dictionary only includes the simplified system and modern usage so I turned to Koop and Inada and sure enough, there the kanji was under 20 strokes 懸 listed as KEN, GEN kakeru to 'hang up' or 'be suspend' - not what is implied here. I can only surmise that the essential kanji has a meaning and possibly is pronounced in a specific way by the armourers. Interestingly in the Sasama glossary heading the kanji (whose meaning is not described but references the pages where they crop up) are the hiragana カモがい kamogai - at this point I decided for the sake of sanity to give up. Ian Bottomley

Before I wrote the previous post I checked the term in two glossaries because I had kara kuri going around in my head, but both say omote kaku kuri. This could be a case of a typo being copied. I have just looked up the two terms in a dictionary using romaji and KARA can be empty, void, stem, stalk etc depending on the kanji. KAKU can be firm, tight, create produce etc. kuri is an alternative reading of saku - make or produce. I would need to look up the actual kanji to be certain which is proper but kaku seems most likely at the moment. The erm is in Sasama's Nihon Katchu Bugu Jiten glossary - where I first found the term. I will have a look later when I have time. Ian Bottomley

Chris, A very difficult one indeed. There seems to be odd strokes either omitted or added. I am surmising the top character is GO 五　(which Koop and Inada 'Japanese Names and How to Read Them' states is sometimes written without the top stroke). The next looks as if it could be TOSHI 稔 and the last could be a variant of 爪 TSUME (see Koop p.170). I am not convince but it is an attempt. Ian Bottomley

Since the polishing stones are calcareous, the only consolation is that the 'juice' can not be acidic but what a risk using the stuff. . Ian Bottomley

Peter, Thank you for the extra images. The gold sakura flowers on the front of the dou are rather strange but appear quite well done. I rather like the helmet. It is simple but looks competent. From the shape I guess quite late. When the rivets are hammered from the outside, rather than being hidden by countersinking, it is called omote kaku kuri. Ian Bottomey

Peter, You have dome very well for your money. The armour is a bit mixed but there are some nice pieces there. The helmet is difficult as I cannot see much of it, but I am fairly sure it is not Miochin or other major group - there were many thousands of independent armourers. The top plate of the dou is the shape you get with late Oshu dou, a type originating in Sendai. I am intrigued by the gold dots on the front that look like mon, but again it is not easy to see. I am a bit unsure about the mask, the nose of which is not the right one. It looks to me like a late 18th / early 19th century armour that has had a different helmet and mask added. Apart from the fact that it stood for a long time with its back to the light, I cannot add much more. Ian Bottomley

Chris, Your helmet is not rusty, but coated with russet lacquer - sabi nuri. It looks a little dusty in places and you are safe wiping it with a soft cloth moistened with a little alcohol just to get the dust off. Ian Bottomley