IanB

Eric, I echo your doubts about kasa jirushi or sode jirushi. A few years ago I was in a shop in Japan and saw what I thought was one hanging on a nail. It is not as posh as yours, just a piece of bamboo with a small square of white cloth sewn on and with an angled swelling line in ink. Without a doubt a very temporary thing. I asked the price and the owner gave it me saying in effect it was no value. I asked if it was a sode jirushi and he said it might have been. Then as I was leaving, he grinned and said 'It might also have been a luggage label'. I'm bound to get shot down here, but sode jirushi seem to have been in common usage in the Bakumatsu period (I've seen photos of guys wearing European frock coats with them), but kasa jirushi seem to have been far less common if used at all. Ian

Eric, Well. Well. You don't see them often. Ian Bottomley

Jed, I have a mumei katana that has had machi okuri much like yours. As a result the nakago extends almost to the end of the tsuka. The reason in the case of my sword seems to have been not only to have shortened the blade but to bring the balance of the blade further back towards the hilt. It certainly feels very light and manoeuvrable in the hand. Ian Bottomley

Chris, Yes, the list of Deryk Ingham's collection has been published previously. I remember sending a copy to JSSUS and it has appeared in several Royal Armouries publications. Since it may be of interest, I append scans from one of these publications that list the swords and blades held by the Museum. Most notable are the two Juyo blades XXVIS.369 and XXVIS.368 as well as the tachi blade XXVIS.297 and the fully mounted wakizashi XXVIS.198. At present the bulk of the collection is in Leeds, UK but the Yamato Shizu [XXVIS.368] and the Gassan Sadakatsu [XXVIS.335] (incorrectly listed as 1900) are at the moment on display in the Tower of London. The tanto that is so similar to yours in shape, but not in date is XXVIS.352. These swords and blades are available for study. Some are on display whilst others are in store and we would need prior notice to arrange a visit. Ian

Chris, Sadly no. It was one of 57 swords in the Ingham collection, and although very well mounted, was not one of the more important items. Ian

Chris, There is an almost identical tanto in the Deryk Ingham, collection now in the Royal Armouries, that is inscribed on the tang as being Ko garasu maru. It is in fact exactly like the top end of that blade, and like your tanto, appears to have been made as such and never to have had the lower part with the grooves. RA's tanto is in a very sombre black lacquered mount with the Shimazu kamon. Ian Bottomley

Justin, You seem convinced your new armour is an okashi gusoku - I don't think it is. Consider the following: 1. The fabrics, a printed cloth imitating shobu gawa, indicate that the dou, kote and haidate belong together. The cloth on the suneate is the same pattern but different. This is not surprising since these get wet regularly as well as splashed with mud and may well have had to have had the fabric renewed during the armour's working life. 2. The brown leather edging, ko sakura gawa, is the same on the kote, dou, haidate, suneate, and sode. So they all match. 3. The kote have tekko and sode bukuro at the top. How many okashi gusoku have those features, particularly the latter. 4. The haidate has ornamental pipings around the leathers - again an extra feature you don't get on very cheap armour. 5. Although it is not certain, there is no reason to think the helmet and hanpo don't belong as well. Now, on okashi gusoku they almost invariably used plain blue hemp fabrics. They were usually edged with braid not leather. They didn't normally do proper kikko but simply used fabric. Okashi gusoku rarely had suneate and when they did, they didn't fit kikko knee guards. The inside of okashi dou are invariable lined with hemp cloth glued on to the metal and lacquered. this has a proper lacquered leather lining. Finally, most okashi gusoku used hemp braid not silk. So, whilst it is not a 'best quality armour', it isn't a cheap issued one either. Although the two birds are not in a circle as in the Koriki kamon, it is possible the armour belonged to somebody related to that group. Or maybe not - who now knows. Ian B

Justin, Look for a kamon with two birds facing each other. Ian

Justin, Note the birds face different ways on the fukigaeshi. Perhaps they should be together Ian B

I can see exactly what Henry was getting at. Turn the tsuba 45 degrees. The two 'bumps' then become a dragonfly's head with its wings spreading out behind. The wings of one dragonfly then merge with those of the next. Only problem is the groove running from the edge - perhaps simply to create a mokko shape. Ian Bottomley

Eric, Yes, something like that but not quite as big in the blade and without a tsuba. The saya in the background is just about the silliest I've seen. To think some poor cow donated its hide to that confection. As for the whereabouts of all the square carrying poles, they are stored in the same warehouse as the noses from menpo, sashimono poles and maedate. I would love to find out where its located. Ian Bottomley

Eric, Your long cover is for a yari. I once had one, with its saya, that it would have fitted. It is one of the very few items I bitterly regret parting with. I remember trading with it but not what for. In those days there was so much about you always had the feeling that another would come along - needless to say it didn't. It is now a very long time ago, but as I remember the blade was some 33" long with a short shaft about 4 foot long. The blade had a very broad deep groove so that in section it was much like a piece of angle-iron for much of its length to keep the weight down. It had this long saya, covered in that deeply dimpled black lacquer, that flared out at the base just like your cover. All I remember was that it was by a Soshu smith about 1580. Ah well - you can't keep everything. Ian

Piers, I too have had wonderful times picking up 'rubbish' in the flea-markets of Tokyo and Kyoto. You are right, so much is regarded as junk that they just don't rate. I've had tsuka covers and saya covers for peanuts - items that just didn't seem to have been brought back in Victorian times and hardly ever occur in the UK. I have two treasures I acquired at the sort of price level you dream about. The first is a tiny boxwood skull, very stylized yet full of character that I paid the equivalent of about 20p for. It has a tiny carved loop on top as if hung on a Buddhist rosary. The other is a short brass rule done in sun and bu, no numbers on it just punched dots - again I got it for pennies but what a delightful reminder of the past. Ian

Piers, How I envy your ability to acquire such fabulous items. Several things strike me. Firstly I agree it just doesn't look refined enough for a normal bento outfit. I also agree that the fact it is lacquered inside and out suggests liquids. I note also that the top 'tray' could be slid in from the side when hanging from its pole and that there does not seem room to have been a cover over it. My initial thought was that the big hole might have held a kind of copper dish for charcoal which would heat the water or whatever in the box but that would damage the underside of the tray. An alternative would be a covered ceramic dish containing soup or possibly sake, with the box filled with hot water to keep it hot. My guess is that it is a 'works canteen' for the lower ranks. The larger drawer containing boiled rice. The smaller one hashi, cups and dishes whilst the two top lidded boxes held pickles etc. That would leave the heated box for soup / sake. Ian Bottomley

Mariusz, Ron, Nope. We did scarecrows a while ago. This time it is a toy figure that balances on a stretched string or whatever. The little figure has long wires on either side with weights on each end that lower the centre of gravity below the figure's contact point with the string so it cannot fall off. What they are called, either in English or Japanese I have no idea. Ian Bottomley

Peter, Along similar lines, I was discussing a Momoyama armour with some friends in Tokyo and trying to make the point that it proved a certain feature was in use at that date. The answer came back 'No its an Edo feature'. I replied but this was so and so's armour - answer 'Yes'. He fought at Seki ga Hara - answer 'Yes'. So because he wore this armour at Seki ga Hara and it has this feature it must have been used in the Momoyama - answer 'No'. After having a few more drinks I finally grasped that it was quite usual for a family to enhanced an illustrious ancestor's armour at a later date. Perhaps having it re-lacquered, a better helmet and so on to reflect the enhanced status he had acquired following his exploits. Confusing ain't it. Ian Bottomley

All, Ii Naomasa's armours, and yes there is more than one, are in Hikone Castle together with the big reg and gold flag carried at Seki ga Hara. Ian Bottomley

Piers, The unlacquered finish has always been admired since you can see the quality of the metalwork. When lacquered there could be all manner of nasty things going on. However, it cost money to do a good lacquer job and the gilded suji on yours would seem to indicate a better quality helmet. Hito nari - yes that was it - just couldn't remember. There are so many of these terms, most of which I suspect were never used in the past. Many years ago I came across a helmet described as an 'hour of the hare helmet' After writing to Sasama, it was all explained - hour of the hare is sunrise - rivets on a helmet are called hoshi, as are stars - at the hour of the hare, sunrise, the stars can no longer be seen - in other words a helmet in which the rivets cannot be seen - in other words a helmet with countersunk rivets. For goodness sake!!!! Ian B

Piers, I think you may have been a little hasty in editing your text. Sasama in his monumental 'Nihon Katchu Bugu Jiten' p.314, illustrates helmets in this style and calls them TOPPAI KABUTO (and uses furigana). He also illustrates those varieties that get concave towards the apex which strictly are in the shape of a writing brush whose name at the moment escapes me. Whilst you don't exactly trip over them, toppai kabuto are not all that uncommon. There are some made by the Saotome and the Unkai, but most are anonymous although I suspect the Haruta were involved. Why your informant should call them 'NAMBAN KABUTO' I do not know. That term is properly reserved for helmets modelled on cabacettes, morions, Korean hats and the like. There is also a large number of odd-ball helmets that get called namban kabuto whose inspiration you can only guess at. But yours are not of that group - they are standard toppai kabuto. By the way, I much prefer the lacquered one. Ian Bottomley

Another kozuka here and I think a rare one. Unlike most shippo work which consists of separate small motifs applied to a base, this one is essentially champ levee with gold cloisones inside. The central feathers in a vivid electric blue and bright yellow are done in transparent enamel over a reflective foil. This last feature makes me think it might be Meiji. Ian Bottomley

John, You are going to have your work cut out replacing the hair on the hishinui no ita. What they don't use is skin with hair on - too much soft underhair I suspect. Every one I've seen has been done by taking bunches of the coarse outer hairs and fastening them in place using a lacquer mixture that may involve filler and rice paste. You have to start at the bottom edge and then work up in horizontal rows like thatching a roof. They seem to have finished the top edge by partially lapping the hair with a strip of paper or leather then finish-lacquering the upper part of the plate. Ugh, what a job. But they do look worth a lot of effort. Ian Bottomley

By chance I stumbled upon this painting which I think settles the matter. Ian Bottomley

Mariusz, If you look carefully you will see the 'figure' is actually mounted on a pole. It is much more clear on the fuchi because it is larger in size and has more detail. On this you can see it is made using a straw raincoat and a farmer's hat. Also the bird rattle on the fuchi can be seen to be made of lengths of bamboo. You can see these are marked on your tsuba. A very nice tsuba and somebody has got a good deal. Ian

Mariusz, The Deryk Ingham sword collection in the Royal Armouries' collection has a fuchi with exactly this image - a scarecrow with a bow and a rope with a bird rattle on it. The fuchi, is of shakudo nanako with gold and alloy inlays and is on a wakizashi with a horn kashira, the artist has lacquered the bird on the kashira. Ian Bottomley

Bojan, That is a very fine helmet bowl. As Justin says it is a 16 plate goshozan suji bachi but with very unusual mabezashi or peak. It is shaped to look like an aoi leaf, is essentially of horse's hoof shape (convex) but also has the concave curvature where it meets the koshimaki. There is a helmet signed by Miochin Munehisa (Mid Edo) in red lacquer illustrated in John Anderson's book on Japanese Armour with a peak that curves up to the koshimaki like this. This is now in the Royal Armouries' collection and the lacquer signature has been written over a chiselled signature. However, there are many other differences so I'm sure it is not by him. I think you helmet is later. Is your helmet signed? Ian Bottomley