IanB

Richard, The blade is dated 20th year of Showa (1945) and is signed by a smith called Nobumitsu. Ian Bottomley

Piers, There was a really top grade kama in the Watanabe Museum in Tottori. Dr. Watanabe had collected a mass of stuff belonging to the Ikeda family and he claimed this kama had belonged to one of the Ikeda Daimyo. All I really remember about it was that the blade was fully polished and of flattened lozenge section with I think a hilt / handle and saya in nashiji lacquer. All very posh. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, Nope. A ceremonial sake ladle. Ian Bottomley

Brian, Among the treasures in the RA collection are about 30 yari given as a part of a diplomatic gift to Queen Victoria. On receipt of the entire gift it the spears seems to have been divided up between the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tower of London and possibly Windsor Castle. In total it was probably a set of 50 with 46 of them around 10 feet long and 4 about 8 feet. I assume the shorter ones were for the guys stationed at the corners of the daimyo's norimon. So far I have only seen two of the saya - great big sausages in textured gold lacquer. Somewhere there will be a massive pile of the remainder and possibly two saya from the pair of magnificent nagainata that came with them, These yari have their entire shafts done with abalone pieces in lacquer and like that owned by Piers they shed a glittering shower whenever you look at them. The situation is so bad that we store the bulk of them horizontally in lengths of plastic guttering to catch the precipitation. The few that were put on show were laboriously restored by having the fallen particles glued back into position. Something like a matt acrylic spray might help consolidate what is left, especially if several coats are applied to build up a sufficiently strong layer. That spray doesn't have any effect on urushi and should be removable with solvent at a later date if needed. Ian B

Dr, Fox, Ah there you have me. I hope I made it clear that the numbers I came up with were based entirely on rough estimates. By 1665, there was no real fighting so the work of the polishers would in the main be just routine maintenance of the swords in the town. I think it is reasonable to suppose that blades carried around every day in all weathers might well require a refresh every 10 years or so, Just what degree of polish they received I do not know, but probably not as elaborate as a modern good quality polish. What is not in dispute is that the town did manage to sustain 8 polishers and 3 saya makers. Also interesting are the 4 'silver smiths'. These I take to be workers in soft metals, some at least being the makers of kodogu. This was of course a period of transition from an era of warfare to one of an enforced peace. The institution of the daimyo gyoretsu led to the need for more elaborate equipment and on a considerable scale. I have no figures for Tsuyama, but the Maeda of Kanazawa sometimes marched with over 3000 people but more often around 2000 of which 185 were immediate retainers and some 830 were more distant vassals, the remainder being made up of servants, pages and grooms. That was a lot of equipment to keep up to scratch. Ian B

Piers, The Royal Armouries Museum has a complete kago yari I bought for the collection. The shaft is less than a meter long and has the top part lacquered gold with the usual copper mounts. I doubt the head on that one is more than 4cm but is the same shape as yours with a narrow groove on each face. Most spectacularly it still has its saya which is done with bear bristles. When assembled it looks like a small sweeping brush. I am doing an introductory book that includes yari so when it come to images I will get it photographed. Ian

Ken, Talking of warped yari, Near Matsue is a road-side noodle shop the whole front of which is a large shop-like window. Inside are relics of the daimyo gyoretsu, put there I would guess in the meiji period and obviously never touched since. There is a norimon whose lacquer has all fallen off and forms a mound around it on the floor, kamishimo and jinbaori hanging on stands as tattered rags and so on - everything bleached colourless by a century of sun. Best of all are long yari on pegs on the rear wall. These have now taken a bend at the supporting peg, the weight of the head having bent the shafts to something like a 30 degree angle but without breaking the wood. It is an amazing but tragic sight to see such treasures reduced to almost nothing. Ian B

Peter, The article was only a couple of pages I knocked up for the Northern ToKen Society after finding the census details in ‘Everyday Life in Traditional Japan’ by C. J. Dunn (Batsford, London,1969). I was intrigued about just what had been going on in that town prior to the census. It seems it had originally been Kobayakawa Hideyaki's land but since he died without heir it was given to Mori Tadamasa. He built a massive castle there said to rival Himeiji. Tadamasa's son Nagatsugu took over on his father's death and it was during his tenure the census was taken. Ian Bottomley

Eric, You are absolutely correct. It is noticeable that hunting equipment such as guns, horses and dogs were common gifts between European monarchs. Similarly Capt. Saris handed out highly decorated guns to both Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hidetada and that the English factory sold a considerable number of this type of gun whilst it operated in Japan. Clearly the Japanese gun trade concentrated on military matchlock weapons at this time and that flintlocks and / or snaphaunces were considered as suitable high class gifts amongst the Japanese nobility. Ian Bottomley.

Brian, It was far less of a deal whilst they stuck to the odd mask or jingasa, but as you say complete armours are not being knocked up by an amateur in a shed in the back yard as a way of making a bit of pocket money. On the plus side I have at least had most of my money refunded but it has been a hard learned lesson. Ian B.

Peter, A few years ago I wrote an article based on a census taken in the town of Tsuyama: ’In 1665 there were in this town nearly 1000 houses occupied by warriors of all ranks, including foot-soldiers, with about 4000 other houses in which lived townsfolk of all sorts. There is a list of the craftsmen in the town: they include three blacksmiths, eight sword sharpeners, four silver-smiths, three scabbard-workers, two lacquerers, two shaft-makers, and one worker in cypress wood. All of these were specialists in the manufacture of equipment for the warriors, but there were other craftsmen more generally employed. There was one dyer, but no less than 98 sake-brewers, as well as 222 carpenters, 37 sawyers, 6 plasterers, and an unspecified number of coopers, shinglers, thatchers, paper-makers, tobacco-cutters, tilers and mat-makers.’ You will note that two craftsmen were involved in making shafts. Note it was a distinctly separate craft from the saya makers - possibly because it invoolved the use of kashi or red oak rather than magnolia. I could find only one 'blacksmith' who was a sword maker, a Kanekaga being listed as working in Tsuyama at that period. This was after all just after the Sengoku Jidai so no doubt sword blades were fairly easily obtained second-hand. Since spear shafts were being produced in the town it is logical that spear heads were also being made there so it may be that another 'blacksmith' made yari and possibly arrowheads whilst the third was probably a general iron worker. I found the number of polishers and 'silver-smiths' interesting. Based on the number of military I argued: If the estimate of around 1500 to 2000 samurai is reasonably correct, this would equate to approximately 4000 –5000 or so swords owned by the military and other classes. Let us say there were 2000 long swords and 2500 short swords, giving each polisher about 250 katana and 300 short swords to work on. Allowing 8 days to re-polish a long sword and 3 days on average for a short sword or a tanto, this equates to approximately 2900 man days of labour. Thus each of the eight sword polishers would need to work this length of time before reaching the end of their share of the swords. This suggests that each sword could be re-polished about every 8 to 10 years. Having been newly polished it would be normal for a new scabbard to be made, requiring each scabbard maker to produce approximately 150 scabbards per year that would in turn be passed onto the two lacquer workers to finish the scabbards. Ian Bottomley

Eric, Needham quotes from the Chinese book 'Chhou Hai Thu Pien' published in 1562 ( Needham J. Science and Civilisation in China, Vol5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7: Military Technology; The Gunpowder Epic, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986) that illustrates guns introduced by the Portuguese that are identical with those used in Japan. The Chinese called these guns 'bird beaked guns', one illustration being of the stock / pistol grip of such a gun with the image of a bird's head superimposed. It then goes on to say that they were sometimes called 'bird guns' and adds that this is still the name used for what we call a shotgun. Whilst the Chinese knew of these guns they didn't adopt them, preferring to use Turkish guns as a model. It looks as if the Japanese used the same terminology. Ian Bottomley

I don't want to be a party pooper about this decorated gun but the belt hook is on the wrong way. Who carries a pistol with the muzzle upwards? Ian Bottomley

Peter, You may be right about the buraku nin, they certainly had their ups and downs. They were in demand and had a period of prosperity during the Sengoku era as considerable amounts of nerigawa was needed for armour, but went down again during the Edo period. They were also in demand in the early Meiji as Japan re-modelled its army - needing boots, saddles, harness and so on. One factor that might be a clue about these things is that the shape suggests they are made from leg bones but why are the sections so short - some 3 or 4 inches long? Maybe not cattle or horse but pig. Ian Bottomley

Curtis, As said above - the very lowest level of tourist item. They do however raise a question about where the bone came from. By chance I am involved in an article about leather in Japan and what is becoming very clear is that much of it came from abroad. The Japanese attitude of avoiding the eating of meat meant that few cattle and horses were bred there. It seems that between 1604 and 1635 some 250,000 deerskins were imported every year and probably even more than that at the height of the fighting in the 16th century. Large amounts were needed to make rawhide for armours. I have even found a rawhide gessan plate from that era that has been cut down and reused from a longer piece. I knew they recycled iron, but who knew they recycled rawhide? These wretched bone swords, that number in hundreds of thousands, are made from sections of quite substantial bones that are almost certainly from cattle. Was there a trade in cattle bones in Meiji Japan or were these objects, or at least the scabbards and hilts, actually made in China and shipped to Japan to have those dreadful 'blades' fitted. My guess is that they were totally Chinese and simply bought in by Japanese curio dealers for sale to tourists. Ian Bottomley

Paul, There are several detachable ladder sights illustrated in the catalogue 'Military Accessories of a Daimyo House' from the Tokugawa Art Museum Nagoya. They also illustrate some fabulous guns, powder flasks, loading gear and the rest. Two of the ladder sights have a peg at the base that fits into a horizontal hole through the rear sight block - another has a tapered box at the base that fitted over the rear sight - the taper holding it in place I assume. There are other items that I am less sure how they fitted. Ian Bottomley

Steve, I think you are right. As the demand for armour declined, some armour makers probably started making tsuba as a way of keeping food on the table. It must have been a bit of learning curve for them but I'm sure they could do it. They were after all used to making plates, albeit thinner than most tsuba, drilling holes and so on. I wonder if the fact that wakizashi were becoming more common, increased the demand for smaller tsuba. As for place of work, a lot of Sengoku lords were killed off, whilst the Tokugawa moved the remainder around quite a bit when they came into power. Apparently Kozuke was ruled successively by Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, the Hojo and finally the Tokugawa. By the Edo period the inhabitants must have been unsure whether it was Christmas or Tuesday. Ian Bottomley

Steve, I don't think you will really find a link. There was a Shigenori whose working dates are quoted as being 1573 - 91. He is supposed to have lived in Shiroi in Kozuke province. In Shinkatchushi Meikan there is a whole load about his supposed lineage from various Myochin smiths, all of which you can probably take with a pinch of snuff. If the dates quoted are anywhere near correct, it would fit him into the right time frame but his place of residence puts him some way from Owari. Remember that armourers were generally regarded as outcasts because they handled skins and rawhide, so by and large they were not recorded with the reverence accorded to swordsmiths. I have however found a reference to the effect that during the Momoyama, because of the high demand for armour, leather workers, and presumably the armourers themselves, were courted by the daimyo and given a temporary higher status if they would move to their provinces. During the Edo period any sort of proper treatment of them fell off again although there is more details about their genealogies, generally written by themselves. I also found that during the early Edo period, and probably earlier, some 25,000 deer skins per year were imported from SE Asia which gives some idea of the scale of leather working around that time.. Generally people of status like Oda Nobunaga tended to patronised armour makers like the Iwai of Nara rather than some relatively minor smith in Kozuke. Sorry I can't be more helpful Ian Bottomley

Grev, Yes, the Northern ToKen Society will have a table by the far windows in the first room. Look forward to seeing you. Ian Bottomley

Ron, My heart bleeds for you and your loss. The gun you illustrate is virtually identical to one I bought at Christies a few years ago for the Royal Armouries collection. It was in a sale of items from the 'Tokyo Sword Fittings Museum'. The RA gun is a cavalry carbine with the same captive ramrod, pill dispenser, sling fitting and hammer cocking lever on the outside of the lock plate. I suspect a small unit were equipped with similar guns. Ian Bottomley

Steve, Uwe is quite right in that this style of dou, called a yokohagi okegawa dou, first evolved during the Sengoku Jidai and was produced in the thousands for low ranking soldiers, and in better qualities for higher ranks. The very basic ones have the gessan, that hang over the hips and thighs, sparsely laced onto the bottom edge of the dou, usually in hemp braid which although expensive was far more durable than silk. These cheapest dou were rarely fitted with attachments on the underside of the shoulder straps for a pair of armoured kote, instead, the sleeves were tied to the body before the dou was put on. Since yours has kebiki lacing for the gessan. and attachments for the kote, it is step up from the cheapest. During the Sengoku Jidai they were normally painted with the lord's device on the front and issued with a conical helmet or jingasa in either iron plates or of lacquered rawhide, a pair of sleeves and a pair of shin guards. I note yours is typically lined with a layer of hemp cloth lacquered onto the inside and is not fitted with attachments on the back for a sashimono. It is as Uwe says just about impossible to date since so many of these dou from the Sengoku period were refurbished and re-lacquered during the Edo period. Its present green lacquer is however distinctly unusual. Ian Bottomley

Paul, What I tried to do is give my personal view of how I have seen our hobby change since the late 1960's. It is also a view of someone who lived out in the sticks and who for most of my life struggled financially. What started as great hobby among ordinary blokes has now morphed into a world dominated by the wealthy. That doesn't bother me one bit - it was inevitable once people opened their eyes and saw what the reality was. What does bother me is the attitude that unless a sword was acquired from a major auction house or high end dealer and has papers, it is unworthy of consideration. This is what I meant by financial elitism. Someone I know tried to start a serious thread about really low end but genuine items and it was virtually ignored. Another acquired an item that was unusual but in poor condition. It was totally dammed by the 'experts'. It has now been polished and put to shinsa and has emerged as a superb find. Time and again beginners are told they should only study the very best swords. How? Where? Who takes the trouble to explain what they should look at in such a sword and how it differs from an average blade? They could look at photographs but in most cases they are in books that cost a fortune and are written in Japanese. Even those that aren't are written on the assumption that the reader is fully acquainted with the terminology. If we are to encourage beginners we must be prepared to explain what to us is the obvious. Rather than telling them to go off and read books, far better to let them buy something inexpensive. OK it will be probably be bordering on rubbish but it will ignite their passion and hold their interest. My first sword was a wretched little wakizashi with a strip of iron for a blade that cost me 10/-. It had a sukashi tsuba of saddle parts and handachi fittings in iron with bits of silver overlay. To me it was the best thing since sliced bread. I was proud to own it - I wondered what the design of the tsuba was - what the silver on the fittings depicted. It fired my imagination and had me searching every source of information I could find to learn more. It was in short what lead me to my present state of insanity. This is how you draw people into the fold not by telling them to go away until they have acquired a level of knowledge or until they have saved up enough cash to buy something decent. They will do that later once the bug has bitten. Ian Bottomley

All, Having lived and participated through the growth of our hobby over the last 50 odd years I have seen it gradually change in ways that seem almost to guarantee to discourage beginners. Back in 1968 a group of members of the ToKen Society of Great Britain who lived too far from London to attend the meetings decided to get together in the North of England, choosing Manchester as the most central location to meet. Initially about 12 people gathered in a pub and decided to get together six times a year. Since then the group has had to change the location of its meetings many times and sadly all of the original members, with the exception of myself, have either passed away or have moved on, but the group still exists, still meets near Manchester (now directly on the motorway network) and still welcomes new members. Like all similar organisations, membership has fluctuated but I am pleased to say still remains at around a dozen or so regular attenders. Now called the Northern ToKen Society we have continued to be proactive in gaining new members, exhibiting at arms fairs held in Birmingham and Stockport as well as putting on a display items from the member's collections at the Japan Day held in Manchester every year as well as setting up a website. Over the years I have noted the changes that have taken in the attitude to our hobby. Our earlier meetings consisted in the main of proudly showing each other our new acquisitions - these were days when there were a lot of swords about and they could be bought relatively cheaply but information about what we bought was desperately scarce. We then passed through a phase where Japanese dealers descended on the UK buying anything of quality in quantity. The result was that prices rose and the supply noticeably dwindled. The big auction houses, who had looked down their aristocratic noses at this 'Oriental rubbish' began to recognise there was money to be made by selling Japanese swords and armours, pushing price up even further and their availability even further down. However contact with the Japanese had a plus side that resulted in much more information being disseminated among the Nihonto community and giving access to Japanese polishers and shinsa. It was in those golden days I had a Tadayoshi wakizashi polished for £35 and that price also included shipping, insurance shinsa and shirasaya. Sadly this era of increasing knowledge and the delight of discovering unrecognised treasures morphed into a period of what I can only regard as financial elitism. Too many began to adopt the view that if you were not paying considerable sums for papered blades in shirasaya you were not 'a serious collector'. The irony was that that these collectors failed to appreciate that anyone can acquire quality with money and didn't need any expertise whatsoever to do so. I felt then and still do it is those who because of their limited funds cannot acquire high quality swords from the art market yet still manage to pluck out good blades from what appears to be a pile of junk who should be applauded. I was long ago turned away from collecting swords to collecting armour for the simple reason I couldn't afford the swords I wished to own. I now own armours worn by the highest to those issued to the lowest. I love them all because there are no pretensions - they all did what they were made for and helped to save peoples lives. Ian Bottomley

Piers, As always you are absolutely right. Mekugi is an obvious choice - a tapered 'thing' that holds 'things' together be it a sword or the lock in a gun - perfect! Ian

What a fantastic thread. I have been following it closely and must thank Ron, Piers and all the others who have contributed. Piers mentioned the lack of a suitable term for the tapered 'pins' that retain the lock into the stock. The term used by traditional gunsmiths in the UK is 'nails' since that is what were used before screw threads became more common. Even today a gunsmith will refer to side-nails when talking about the screws that hold the lock to the stock. Since these items function and hold in the wood by friction, in the same way as an ordinary nail does, perhaps 'lock nails' might be a suitable term. Ian Bottomley