IanB

The re-cycling of older elements into a new Japanese armour was perfectly normal and goes back a very long way. Two armours in the Royal Armouries show this clearly. One, given to King James I (and VI) by Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, has been lacquered and laced to match but has the dou and sode of hon kozane whilst the shikoro and tare of the mask are kirritsuke kozane. The sode also are of much smaller scales and have different kanamono. The other armour, given to King Philip II of Spain and originally belonging to a member of the Shimazu family, is made up from old plates cut to new sizes from an older armour. I have also repaired a pair of o-sode made from the plates of an old dou. They even used the more curved plates from near the waist by cutting them in half and riveting them so that they were straighter. When you looked along the length you could see the double hump. As Eric says, sangu should have the same fabric and the same edging, be it leather or braid. The best indication of matching of the laced parts is the takuboku ito around the edge. This material comes in so many colour combinations and the dyes fade at such different rates that it is virtually impossible to match them. Uwe's armour does not have fur around the bottom of the shikoro but a hair covering - you can see the cross-knots inside. I agree that the sode are associated. You can tell from the colour of the lacing and the lacquer as well as the fur. Apart from that it looks perfectly homogeneous and a nice tidy armour. Don't forget that many wore mixed armours, even the very wealthy. There is a painting of a Duke of Ferrara wearing parts of two armours - you wore what were comfortable and would work in battle. The famous armour of Kuroda Nagamasa, daimyo of Chikuzen, has a helmet that doesn't match (it is red lacquered whereas the rest is black), but wore it because it was given to him by Fukushima Masanori. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, Having the tekko button to the kote is not rare but is not common. I have seen a few armours made for archers and these usually have this feature. They also have the front part of the shikoro on the right hinged so that it can be swung back to allow the archer to draw the bowstring to the ear. Ian Bottomley

All, Two books are due for release. The first will be a selection of helmets from the collection, the second being about things like jinbaori and accessories. Out of my respect for the late Dr Watanabe and for the kindness shown to me by Mrs Funjino, who was curator when I visited, I have written a few lines about the collection for the cover of the book. The first volume is due out in Spring. I would also add that when I was there not only was everything was treated with the greatest respect, but the staff were very proud of the collection and overjoyed that someone was showing interest. Ian Bottomley

Eric, I'm impressed you could make any sense whatsoever of the discussion on that link. :? :? When I met with Dr. Watanabe he made it clear that he was well aware that his offspring might try to sell off the collection on his death. To prevent such an occurance he told me he had set up a trust to safeguard the collection. We shall have to see. Ian

Eric, Now that Dr Watanabe has passed on, I had heard they had tidied up the place. From your photos it is evidently true. When I went there were some 400+ armours in massed groups arranged on tiers like football crowds. There was a massed area reserved for ashigaru armours, the posher ones packed into the long cases and then the rest! In another place was a forest of yari, umajirushi, walls covered in jingasa and so much more. I spent two whole days there and probably saw only a fraction. I didn't manage to penetrate the basement where I believe there was quite a lot that had yet to be unpacked. I took a lot of photos which I lent to someone who wished to study them and they were never returned. I still have images of soem of the pieces but not the overall impressions. Ian Bottomley

Jon, Congratulations. What you have discovered is a very nice koshirae under that leather cover. I would not be too rushed into getting the ashi off. Whilst they do not match the other fittings, they were not put on for the war - they were added much earlier. It was quite normal in the war to knock off the kurikata and fit a modern ashi over the gap that was left, but this has two ashi, the lower one having no function in a WWII context. They appear to be real tachi ashi and can only have been added before the other mounts because of the taper of the saya. What I think you have is a handachi that somebody has decided to have converted into a tachi. Along comes the war and the sword is dragged out of the kura, the suspension loop of the lower ashi is taken off whilst that on the upper ashi is retained for suspension in the approved military fashion. If it were mine, I would consider re-attaching the loop on the top ashi and getting a new one made for the lower one. Ian bottomley

Eric, Yes that is the one. The rest of the armour is great quality and I suspect there is a real quality helmet under the cover. Ian

Eric, Please excuse my late reply to this thread. Kusari dou are indeed rare for the simple reason they were not very effective. Whilst mail will stop a cut, it does nothing to stop the force of the blow unless, as was usual in those areas where mail was worn as the primary defence, the mail is backed by padding or something solid to dissapate the energy of a blow. There is an Indian mail armour surviving in the Armouries collection complete with its original 17th / 18th century padding which is at least 1" thick - it must have been hell to wear in that country's climate. My guess is that this kuzari dou has the mail backed by nerigawa or multi-layers of hemp. In the Watanabe Museum in Tottori is a mail covered helmet which has a nerigawa shell underneath. There is also the famous mail covered zunari kabuto with the fan maedate in which the mail is simply a decorative cover over a gold lacquered regular helmet. The Watanabe also has the most amazing kuzari gusoku in which the dou is really a long mail coat with large, gold lacquered pierced plates at intervals. The best bit is the helmet which has short horns attached, the basic bowl being covered by a slightly loose blue cloth through holes in which the horns protrude. It looks rather like a cow with a pair of underpants on its head. Ian Bottomley

Piers, a scholarly description - thank you. The image of the groom is from a 19th century edition of Zobyo Monogatari and all the ashigaru are shown with two swords. I suspect the later artist who re-drew the images made the mistake of giving the soldiers two swords since they were military. He has however been careful to depict the sword bindings in the correct way and contrasting them with the criss-crossed bindings of conventional swords. Some grooms in the book wear a spare bridle around their necks whilst others wear a set of reins. The latter have a riding whip stuck into their belts at the back. Whether they were different grades or had different functions I know not. I attach another image showing this variation. Piers - note the pistols carried in holsters at the saddle and the girth tied around the pommel of the saddle. Ian

All, Here is an image I should have posted earlier. It shows a groom wearing the dipper in his belt as an insignia of his position. Ian

Justin, Yup. Sy is used as a convention for shi so the term is Ba shiaku. Having a kamon on it suggests this one was worn by a groom as an insignia. Ian Bottomley

According to Sasama's 'Nihon no Kassen Bugu Jiten' the correct term is BA BISHIYAKU. Whilst they are supposed to be watering horses, most are far too small and far too highly decorated. They seem to have been worn stuck into the belt at the back by grooms as a kind of badge of their job. Others seem to have worn a spare bridle around their necks, or a spare set of reins. Ian Bottomley

Gentlemen, Whether or not they fall under the law, I have seen one real kusarigama, in polish, with its tsuka and saya. That one is in the Watanabe Museum in Tottori. It was supposed to have been made for a member of the Ikeda family and had their kamon on the shaft and on the saya, which if I remember correctly were done in nashiji with karakusa in gold. Unlike a farmer's sickle, the blade was of diamond section and curved downwards like a bird's beak. How old it was I do not know - but late Edo or even Meiji would be my guess. Ian Bottomley

Piers, You are as usual correct. Oh dear either I'm cracking up or the festive spirits have yet to be eliminated from my system. Ian

All This looks as if it is to be one heck of a sale. No doubt the prices will be in the stratosphere. http://cgi.ebay.com/Catalogue-Japanese- ... 463wt_1139 Ian Bottomley

Eric, You are absolutely correct when you say this is 'low end'. Perhaps not quite 'lowest end' but trying hard. The small hexagonal plates on this grade of armour are usually nerigawa, although they don't usually get a coat of black lacquer - normally just a semi-transparent brown. There is a complete tatami gusoku on eBay at the moment I keep looking at that has been there for weeks. The price does keep dropping so someday someone will bid. Last time I looked it was about $3250. The lacquer looks very dull but is intact and may just be dirty. I like the fact that it is complete, obviously homogeneous and that the kote and haidate are on brocade. Somewhat better than average. It is getting pretty near to being a good buy. Ian Bottomley

May I be allowed to add my greetings for the festive season to all you great people out there and my thanks to all for the pleasure I get from reading your posts? I don't really do the 'Bah Humbug' bit cos I happen to like humbugs (but they pale into insignificance compared to Pontefract cakes - thats one to baffle those of you who are not from the UK). When you get to my advanced years Christmas is a rather potent reminder of the passage of time but I still enjoy it, despite the bl***y freezing weather. Ian Bottomley

Piers, Quote: 'a 15th century hand cannon' ignited by banging the nipples on a wall - really. My goodness but the Chinese were so far ahead of the rest of the world. If this technology had spread, the wheel lock and flintlock makers of the 16th ,17th and 18th centuries could have saved themselves a lot of effort, not to mention poor old Alexander John Forsyth who struggled for so long to perfect percussion ignition. Where do the dig up these so-called experts? Ian Bottomley

John, Resins etc are indeed used to consolidate and protect particularly corroded iron objects. The Armouries has quite a few Viking and Saxon blades that look to have been treated that way. For less fragile objects, micro-crystalline wax seems to work quite well. Forty odd years ago I acquired a russet armour that was beginning to show active spotting. Working on the basis that the russet finish was no different from the 'browning' on gun barrels, I coated it with boiled linseed oil thinned with white spirit - applying it with a cloth then wiping it off after giving it time to soak into the rust layer. That armour is still in beautiful condition, is stable and has a soft chestnut sheen. It may not be an approved conservation technique since it is non-reversible, but it has proved to be the best treatment I have found so far for protecting smooth rust patination. Ian Bottomley

Thomas, The re-activation of this thread is a reminder that I have yet to discover the copy of Boots' publication on Korean weapons. I know I did have a copy but I am beginning to think it didn't come home when I retired. After falling ill, my desk was cleared by a colleague who boxed all my books and such documentation as seemed worthwhile. They remained boxed at the Museum for a couple of years until I had recovered sufficiently to retrieve them. I know the odd book went astray in the process so it is possible a bunch of photocopied sheets in a file did likewise. There was masses of paper on my desk that had been saved with a view to being of some possible interest in the future but never was. However, if I do come across them, which now seems unlikely, I know to contact you. I am sorry to have failed you - please accept my apologies. Ian Bottomley

Piers, We have Yxxxxa shutting down all manner of things here but we are far more polite and call them politicians. Ian Bottomley

Ford, I think I have already fallen at your feet, but in my opinion you cannot be lauded sufficiently (is lauding the same as being rubbed over with goose grease or is that larding?). Grey, Whilst I have not really been involved, I do know a little of the background. The daisho pair was originally illustrated in the catalogue for the exhibition in Los Angeles in the late 1960's. Somewhere along the line from then until now, the dai became separated. The catalogue lists the contributors but not what the contributed. I put out a couple of feelers on Bob's behalf and learned that there were some original contributors still extant but couldn't learn who had loaned the tigers. So for the moment, the whereabouts of the dai is a mystery nbut no doubt it still exists. Ian Bottomley

Paul, Allow me to wish you the very best for the Festive Season. I too have imported several swords since the imposition of the ban, the first being very soon after implementation. It was clear that this law was enacted with little or no guidance being given to HM Revenue and Customs, their first communication with me suggesting they were quite uncertain as to how to proceed. As expected by sword was impounded and declared to be a 'prohibited weapon', an assumption that is still implied on their standard letter. My approach was write assuring them that I was a bone fide collector, quoting the fact that I had written books, and that I was a curator at the Royal Armouries. I was also able to provide them with the eBay seller's description that the sword dated from the Edo period, including a photocopy from a textbook showing this era ended in the 19th century and establishing the fact the sword was antique. This they accepted and duly released the sword. Subsequent imports have been handled by me in the same way and have been released without any fuss. I suspect they keep a database of importers they have checked out. They do have a tendency to accept a sword as antique, then charge the full import duty on it rather than the 5% it should incur. However, when you point this out, they do correct the error and refund the money in due course. I suspect this arises because there are two separate departments involved. Ian Bottomley

After being bitten by the bug, I remembered that, as a young kid, I had played with an armour in the stables of the local vicarage. It had been donated to a jumble sale and nobody would buy it so the vicar simply dumped it out of the way. Plucking up courage, I went to see the vicar who decribed how he had chucked it out two years previously, but was informed it might still be under the rubbish in the garden. I excavated what was left of it and after de-rusting it with sand paper, filling the rusted holes with fibre-glass and re-painted it black, re-laced it with football boot laces. It was my pride and joy at the time. There I have admitted my sins. Bit like A.A. this. Not of course that I have any knowledge of such organisations. Ian Bottomley

Brian et al, I have seen several 'display pieces' dating from the Meiji period that consist of a screen or panel with a 'sunburst' of yari heads with often a helmet bowl in the centre. The finest was free standing, about 6 foot high with tsuba inlaid into the surrounding frame. Just occasionally the yari, including the upper foot or so of the shaft are real, but more often made for the purpose, the back of the blades being flat and although made with a short tang, unhardened. They even faked the upper parts of the shafts with copper, silver or gilt fittings wrapped around and nailed into the wood at the back. In these cases even the helmet bowls were false although they looked the part but were very thin metal. As for the size of arrowheads, don't forget that arrows were given as New Year gifts, often with large ornate heads, that were never meant to be shot. Ian Bottomley