IanB

Gentlemen, My favourite has to be an armour made by Ki Yasukiyo in 1847. Not old but of wonderful quality and in superb condition. I acquired it over 45 years ago from Ireland after a period of negotiation that lasted about 9 months. All in russet steel with mid-blue lacing and pale blue hemp died with the owner's kamon. It is signed by the maker in the helmet, on the mask, sleeves and dou. The long inscription on the dou states that it was made for Nakagawa Mochinori, a 'retainer' of the Chohan (the Mori of Nagato) and that Yasukiyo had been a pupil of Miochin Muneyoshi. The subsequent discovery of Muneyasu's diary shows that Yasukiyo was only 19 when he was sent to Edo and that he only stayed there a couple of years, making my armour on his return. Clearly he was already a qualified armour who was sent to learn the fashionable niceties in the shogun's capital. Being russet, the entire surface of the steel is visible and I have yet to find a single fire-scar or other blemish. Altogether a lovely thing and unusual being so well documented. Ian Bottomley

Keith, I am now going to repeat a method that appeared in another thread that will have guns swiveling in my direction from all over the place - but what the heck. Use 'Duraglit' (reg. trademark etc ) silver polish. Just keep cleaning the blade with it, constantly turning the wadding to avoid scratching and throwing it away when it gets dirty. If you concentrate on the pits it will eventually remove all the rust leaving them clean and rust free. I used to sit cleaning blades whilst watching TV since it can take quite a while. Despite the hands thrown up in horror on the other thread, you cannot do any real harm with it since it doesn't really touch the steel, only the softer rust. If you keep wiping the blade with a tissue you can judge the progress. Obviously you cannot use this on the nakago, only the blade. And yes I've used the method for year on rusty blades - some of which have subsequently been sent for polishing. There I've said it. I will now duck down behind the parapet Ian Bottomley

Tony, How I so much agree with you. There are few enough lovers of Nihonto around to waste our lives being aloof and isolated. I look forward to even more co-operation between us all. Ian Bottomley

I must thank Clive for taking the trouble to travel all the way to Birmingham, and for bringing some of his treasures for people to examine. His talk on Hizento was pitched exactly right for the audience. I for one thoroughly enjoyed it, learned much, and felt privileged to be able to handle and examine such fine blades. My gratitude must also be extended to Bob Morrison for bringing what I can only describe as 'masterpieces' created by Ford. To those who have yet to see the film on the creation of the tiger tsuba, hold onto your hats - you have a treat full of revelations to come. And to Ford himself I must bow for creating the dragonfly tsuba. Photographs do not do it justice. It is breathtaking. I hope all who attended enjoyed the day and I look forward to more of such events. Ian Bottomley '

This has been an interesting discussion - despite the fact that I wouldn't know a good tsuba from a dustbin lid, other than the fact that the latter has a handle. What I do detect from Ford's comments is a flicker of a conclusion that I came to long ago with regard to armour makers - large parts of the accepted genealogies are absolute rubbish made up by later workers to sell their products to the gullible. Unlike tsuba, which can only very rarely be linked to historic persons, plenty of armours survive whose original owners are known. One slight problem is that some of these have been enhanced by later generations of the family along the lines of - 'this is great grandpa's armour he wore at Seki ga Hara but it was a bit plain so I've had it re-lacquered and relaced and added a few kanamono and a better helmet etc' kind of thing. Despite this, search the surviving armours from the Sengoku Jidai and find one with a piece of Miochin work in it. They don't exist because the Miochin didn't make armours then. Sure they made helmet bowls with early dates in, but all are part of Edo period armours. If this state of affairs applies to tsuba makers I can understand the confusion. Just to finish I add an image of my only posh tsuba which I was told is a late Umetada piece. Ian Bottomley

Roy, I doubt you will ever find anything about your arrowhead. As Brian has said, they were more or less mass produced. Yours is a kurimata, likened to a skein of geese. The idea that they were for cutting the rigging of ships, or the cords of armour, is of course nonsense. The real reason for their use was that the spreading points widen the potential to hit what is shot at. Since just about all arrows rotate in flight, not even the best Zen archer could not only achieve the correct aim but also ensure the head was a right angles to a rope by the time they met. Stll its a good tale. Ian Bottomley

Roy, Could be Noriyasu. I've a few arrow heads with signatures in katakana that are just too small to really read. Ian Bottomley

Roy, A former member of the Northern ToKen has / had an ivory tachi with the saya made in one piece from quite a large tusk. As expected, the carving was superb, but to get the blade (can't remember who it was by but I seem to remember it was from the Edo period) to fit the curve of the tusk it had no less than 15 hagiri along its length . Ian Bottomley

Roy, Microcrystalline wax has been the standard amongst museum conservation staff for years. Its use on metalwork in the museum world is almost universal and for general use I would endorse it 100% - but obviously not on Japanese blades. On such objects as European armour it has the advantage of being invisible, non-sticky and protective. Dust can be just brushed off and the surface is protected against corrosion for a considerable time. Important in that world, it is also reversible and can be removed with a simple solvent. No doubt the conservator in question fell back on that product as a stock answer. Ian

Whilst I agree the Basil Robinson's book is now long outdated and no longer really suited for a beginner, but, in its era it was virtually all there was that was readily available. Yes, his recommendations for de-rusting iron tsuba seems horrendous to us now. However, I don't think he was the first to suggest it. I seem to think it originated with Commander Newman in his general book on Japanese art. Using boot polish or other wax on a tsuba is not be what would be done today, but it washes off easily enough with solvent and how much harm did it really do? In all probability very little and it may well have saved some tsuba from further rusting. As for using duraglit, remember that at that time almost every blade one came across in general antique shops were more or less rusty or otherwise abused. Contact with Japan to get a blade re-polished was, for the ordinary collector, about as likely as reaching Mars on a pogo stick. At least using duraglit got the rust off without scratching what was left of the polish or removing any more than a microscopic amount of metal. Try ruining the shape of a blade with duraglit if you don't believe me. I note that nobody has mentioned B.W. Robinson's 'Primer of Japanese Sword Blades'. Although not as readily available, it at least tried to set out the basic styles and schools. I remember having a wakizashi bought for my Christmas present and then sitting with Robinson's Primer trying to read the signature. It was 'Tadayoshi' and I can still remember the absolute thrill and sense of achievement I experience. It is easy to denigrate these early efforts but in reality they were monumental achievements. Ian Bottomley

Jean, I'm afraid I have not seen the reserve collection at the Musée de l'Armée. What a pity the collection, and particularly the armour, is not better described. I have been in contact for years and the proper story does appear in books. You are probably correct about the attack on the Bastlle, on my reading of the affair it was guns the rebels were really after. Still it is nice to think they might have acquired one of the Japanese swords. Ian

Jean, I love your brief comment about 'some armours' in the Musée de l'Armée. Did you know that two of these armours were given to Henri IV by Tokugawa Ieyasu and that another two were given to Mauritz Van Nassau by Tokugawa Hidetada? There were also swords and a naginata given to the French King which appear in the inventory of the Royal Collection. Those I can identify with some certainty are: 274; Une hallebard de sept pieds et demy de haut, don’t le bois est vernis de la chine par le haut, et de bois de brèsil par en bas, le fer en manière de couttlas. (a naginata) 301; Un grand Espadon a la tartare, long de quatre pieds quatre pouces, don’t la poignee est une couroye de cuir, la guarde de cuivre unie, le fourreau de bois vernis. 302; Deux Sabres a la tartare, les poignees de cuir, les guardes de cuivres avec ornemens aussi de cuivre, les fourreaux de bois, l’un verny de noir avec fleurs, l’autre verny de rouge (the first may have been a saya with kamon) 303; Un sabre de trois pieds unze pouces de long, a guarde d’argent unie, la poignee de cuir, le fourreau vernis de noir et point blancs. (sounds like a same nuri saya) Whether these still exist somewhere in the collection I do not know since so many weapons were removed by revolutionaries and others. Nice to think that there may have been a Nihonto used at the storming of the Bastille. Ian Bottomley

Kevin, I tend to agree with others that in many respects it is better to leave well alone - sleeping dogs etc. We at least know where we stand and the current situation doesn't stop the import of genuine swords, although I grant it does introduce delays and minor irritations. Remember it isn't only the UK who have got their knickers in a twist over swords and to some extent the UK law was designed to harmonise with those of other countries. Any changes might just make things worse in the long run. The only benefit I can see is that a repeal of the law might be used to apply pressure on eBay to change their absurd stance on swords in the UK, but I have my doubts. Ian Bottomley

Mr. T. Sinclair, So sorry, an automatic response to seeing your surname. Equally thank you so much for the picture as I said, I had to dash out and rather than search for the image decided the point I was making would stand without. I hope you can see how sober the armour is - it certainly isn't built for show. I don't think anyone would really guess what horrors lie under the lacquer. Ian

Eric, A very nice quality katabira and a rarity these days. No doubt such things were common enough but not preserved like conventional armour. Clive, Thank you for posting the haramaki picture, I was in rather a rush and was too lazy to find it. Hope to see you at Birmingham. Just a comment or two in support of Eric's view. Prior to the 1540's the ashigaru were despised individuals whose role was really that of bulking up the forces. Give them guns (or spears) and a few weeks or months training and they had the potential to defeat the best traditional armies of the time. But imagine the change in attitude the bushi had to make towards these despised commoners. They not only had to recognise that they were an effective force and could kill them, but that their own role was now to actually support and protect these plebs in battle. They also recognised that these forces needed to be properly equipped to perform their function effectively. Hence the supply of weapons and armour to these troops. Yes, the equipment wasn't the finest quality in the sense that the bushi's armour was, nor could it be. The sheer quantity needed dictated that, but, it was well though out and effective. A simple dou, a jingasa of iron or nerigawa and sleeves, enough to offer reasonable protection and simple enough to mass-produce. Consider the ashigaru armour shown above. It is of iron, an expensive material and lacquered. Almost all these armours were laced with hemp and had hemp cloth for the sleeves - not as expensive as fancy Chinese brocade, but a costly material nevertheless and one that lasted far longer. This kind of equipment was revolutionary in its day and because it was commonplace by the Meiji period, scrapped in vast quantities. The armour Eric shows is now more rare than the armours worn by the bushi and should be treasured. Ian Bottomley

I have held my council on this thread whilst gently lusting after the armour with the kikko dou. Yes it was made in a time of peace, and yes it is made to look good, but in my experience such armours are invariably of consummate quality. Contrast that with what is regarded in Japan as a 'very high-end armour' - one that all the Japanese armour enthusiasts who have examined it enthuse over. It was bought for the Royal Armouries collection in 1841 but research has shown that it was given to King Philip II of Spain by the Tensho Mission in 1585. Since it bears the kamon of the Shimazu family, it was probably sent to Spain by Otomo Sorin who fought the Shimazu. That it was used in action is shown by numerous cuts on the edges of some plates and a groove plowed into the lacquer of the forearm by an arrowhead that went on to break the mail joining the shino. At some point, King Philip III disposed of this armour, with two others, to the Duke of Infantado of Gadalajara. It remained in his palace in Spain until the 1830's when it was acquired by Eusebio Zuloaga who sold it at Oxenham's saleroom in London. After its purchase, it was re-laced with a greenish woolen braid by staff at the Tower of London. It is a mogami haramaki, black lacquered and originally black laced. A manuscript inventory of the Real Armeria dated 1603 describes it as having a 'panache' or large crest of gilded leather on top of the helmet and a pair of black fur covered kuwagata with the Shimazu kamon in the centre as the maedate. Sadly both these are now missing. Recently, it was decided to undertake the restoration of this armour, eliminating the Victorian braid and bringing it back to something approaching its original state. This gave provided an opportunity to really study the armour in detail. What was immediately apparent was that many of the plates had been cut from the pieces of an even older armour - the edges showing partial lacing holes of the original. X-rays revealed that just about all the plates in one of the sode were made up from odd pieces of iron riveted together to make a plate big enough. Even more surprising was that the entire cheek of the mask was also an odd scrap riveted on. No doubt further X-rays will reveal that other parts have also been assembled from odd pieces. Non of this was of course visible externally because of the lacquering. Why is this armour important? Well it is old, it has a fascinating history and is historically important. It is also an eminently practical fighting armour of the Sengoku Jidai - which is rare. Is it a quality armour? Not really. It is cobbled together from scraps. Is it a work of art? Definitely not, it is sober to the point of austerity. Which would I rather own? Undoubtedly this one. Ian Bottomley

All, Like others, I definitely accumulated until I eventually sold off the bottom end of my proto-collection, 30 swords and a naginata, for £30 and even made a modest profit. I always yearned for an armour in its box and eventually acquired it. Of all the items I own, that armour is the one I could not bear to part with, despite having lived with it for well over 40 years. And yes, I can still get a buzz if I acquire a bit of nonsense that pleases me. What nobody has yet said, and I think it should be, is that there is nothing wrong with being an accumulator, especially when you are a beginner. Yes, every beginner should definitely read the basic books and get a feeling for the terminology before dashing off to acquire a sword. It is moving forward from that level when many beginners, particularly those who are isolated, find difficult. What exactly is an 'extended kissaki'? What exactly does an author mean by the term 'large itame'? So much of what is written about swords is the subjective opinion of the authors and cannot be quantified in a way that eliminates uncertainty for a novice. To many beginners it can be a confusing minefield. It is only after you have handled a lot of swords and seen a lot of kissaki or itame hada that these statements begin to make some sort of sense. Every sword you pick up, handle and look at closely will add to your knowledge in a way that reading books and looking at pictures never can. And if you have bought a sword, one thing is for certain, you do look at it closely. Even junk swords will teach you something, if only the obvious fact - its junk. Ian Bottomley

Roy, Thank you for the images. The collector was a person of considerable taste. Ian Bottomley

Roy, I would argue that when you have seen one lump of cassiterite you've seen it all!! Yes, please show us more - particularly the armour and yari if possible. Some of these early collections contain fantastic quality items because the collectors were rich and the costs low. I used to have a book written by the Bishop of Durham who visited Japan about 1865 and he comments how swords and armour were a 'drug' on the market and the curio dealers were cutting costs just to get rid of stock. There is a museum near here holding items collected by two families who traveled to Japan in the 1870's - 80's and competed with each other to buy good things. Strangely they had given them to the Museum within a few years of acquiring them. I was lucky enough to be present when packing cases were opened after some 70 years or so in storage. There are some great swords in good mounts as well as three armours, two of which I would rate as being as good as anything in the UK, although late Edo period. One was sent out on the schools programme and is now in a poor state but the other is still magnificent. Among the swords is a daisho with blades by I think Tadayoshi III, both blades being less than 2 shaku but obviously as worn. Fortunately this museum does occasionally display some of the items. Ian Bottomley

Absolutely correct. The whole thing is modern. Oops, should have spotted the nose construction. Ian Bottomley

Eric, It had occurred to me that the kikko work was recycled, and yes it was. It started life as the front gessan from a dou. Brilliant! Roy, a very nice momonari bachi with the unusual feature of a fukurin covering the joint flange. They were of course inspired by Spanish cabacets and were very common in the Momoyama since they were relatively easy to make and could be made of thick material and hence bullet proof. To continue the salvage theme, in Liverpool Museum is one, gold lacquered with a shikoro of horse-armour scales. One plate is a single piece, the other is made up from about 20 small scraps all riveted together.Obviously with the lacquer on the outside and a lining inside, you would never know. Ian

Eric, Assembling odd pieces to keep something in use has always been common. I am constantly reminded how valuable old iron was in the past. The helmet bowl you show was obviously from a very reasonable chochin kabuto and would have been far too good to chuck away. When the kikko work was added I cannot tell, but that it has been is shown by: The fact that the hoop that holds the bowl in the extended position is missing - as shown by the fact that its pivot points have been filled with soft-metal rivets. The original maedate tsunomono has been removed and again rivets and the kamon kanamono have been used to block the original holes. The use of kikko is quite sensible since it could be folded up under the collapsed bowl without any problem. A nice thing, although I'm not sure about the dressing gown cord. Ian Bottomley

Roy, Yup, still up here in the frozen wastes. It won't be long now before the glaciers move back in. Love the helmet bowl. Very interesting - note the two rows of rivets in the koshimaki. Looks like a good late Muromachi piece. Ian

Eriic, eBay item looks to be a bog-standard Nara style mask with an obviously modern bit of rusty iron sheet added. I've seen quite a few attempts at creating somen done like this - one, at a very prestigious auction house, which looked half reasonable until you looked inside. The real mask was properly lacquered whilst the new upper part had been given a coat of red paint on top of the rusty surface. The glowing writeup in the catalogue rather coyly talked about the brow-plate being 'somewhat later' - Yeh half past six last Tuesday! In the same sale was a zunari kabuto with an oni's face modeled in lacquer on the front. A good sniff and you could still smell the epoxy resin. Again a fancy writeup and outrageous estimate. Amusingly, I had seen the original it had been copied from a few weeks earlier in the Watanabe Museum in Tottori. Roy nice Kaga style hanbo. In my opinion done by one of the Unkai. I used to have almost its double, with the same filed lines but with a nose and a rather sparse black mustache. These Unkai pieces all seem to have the squat, square-jawed look. Ian Bottomley

Eric, Nice kote. I don't have one but I do have the fabric bits from one that somebody stripped the metalwork off. They are called sahinuki gote and were sometimes much more like a jacket. I saw one once in a shop near Akasaka district. It was a full mail-covered jacket that opened down the front with the kote built in. I was puzzled for a while since there was a gap from the right collar-bone area to the right side of the waist, laced with cord like the inside of a kote. It finally dawned on me it was to allow the wearer to adjust the fit of the sleeve on the sword arm. Ian Bottomley