IanB

Oops Ian

Piers, You were a brave man to fire the miniature - not because I thought it wouldn't take a charge, but because it was a true work of art and in such pristine condition. The Kunitomo gun reminds me of the set of guns in Nagoya and the one we have in the RA that I showed you. I know ir isn't quite the same just that it has that look. Ian

Alan, This was Basil Robinson's sequel to a good little book called a 'Primer of Japanese sword-blades'. The Arts book has much more on fittings, many or all of which were in the Victoria and Albert Museum where Basil was a curator. It was the first readily available book in the UK on swords, and I had a copy from the local library on loan for about 2 years. Ian bottomley

Barry, It had to happen. It is sad to see that the Irish officials have fallen for the same 'made by traditional methods' phrase as the UK. Why on earth they thought it necessary to include this is beyond me. It really allows those importing mixed-metal junk from China to carry on importing since many Chinese swords were made in that way traditionally. How you would prove it was 'hand-done' is another matter. I've no doubt that once the Irish officials have had a few months practice, things will settle down as they have here. Ian Bottomley

John, These were not uncommon during the Edo period. The idea was that you had your saya made with a liner so that when it was time to have the blade polished, the liner could be pulled out and a new clean one fitted, thus saving the cost of an expensive new lacquered saya. I've seen quite a few over the years, sometimes only revealed when the kojiri has been lost. Ian Bottomley

Piers, That makes a lot of sense. I would imagine the erosion rate in the bore would be horrendous. Having said that, my dear old dad used to recount the tale of when he made a wooden piston for his motor cycle during WWII. When his faithful old bike conked out, he was unable to get spares and being a joiner, decided to try and turn one in the wood from a table leg. Apparently it worked after a fashion but tended to over-run after he had switched off. I suppose the wooden cannon would be similar. I am reminded of a small cannon (about 2" bore) we have in the Royal Armouries from China. The bore is lined with a very thin copper tube around which is wound a considerable thickness of silk and iron wire. There are four loop handles made from silk and wire worked into the structure so that you could tie it to a log or something. I love to imagine four coolies holding it but I doubt that was how it was used. Ian

Do I detect large birds gliding in majestic circles overhead? I hope than when they do leave the ancestral hovel they go to guys as great as you. Ian

Piers, A model of tact and diplomacy as usual. I too must face the inevitable one day (although I have no intention of dropping off my perch just yet) and the thought is frightening. The very idea of disposing of armours I have had for well over 40 years is too much to bear. I am convinced they have a personality and have almost become good friends. Very many years ago my wife had to go into hospital for what could have been a life or death operation. I set up about half a dozen armours around the living room to keep me company and give me reassurance. The plan worked. Their kami gave me comfort and all went well. I told you I was a loony. Ian

Piers, So they are really eprouvettes. I must say I have never seen one before. Ian

Piers, Delightful little objects. They remind me of the miniature cannon and pistols made in the late Tudor and Stuart period of Britain as kids toys. Some of the miniature pistols are shaped like wheel lock dags, but have a simple serpentine pivoted to the side so were in fact tiny matchlocks. The cannon are usually fairly simple but have trunnions which suggests they were originally mounted on a carriage. People have found hundred on the Thames foreshore and by metal detecting. Ian

I have seen Japanese made blades in the shape of Chinese staff weapons, usually with the blade emerging from a fancy dragon's head that acts as a kind of tsuba. I suspect most are early Meiji since they may well have appealed to the tourists. Ian Bottomley

Like an idiot I assumed the cartouche was blank so that someone could engrave something on it. So OK, it is something significant. A mirror? If so that must represent the Shinto faith. So the two major religions of Japan, and the hidden religion are all giving up their animosity and becoming bosom buddies. Ian

OK Piers I'll have a go. The two major sybols suggest to me the two religions - Buddhism and Christianity. On the left is a sprig of laural so I'm guessing it symbolises peace. On the right I'm less sure. Is it a lotus leaf and flowers? Quite what a lotus would symbolise in this instance I'm not sure but 'longevity' seems about right. Summing up - an occasion in which the two religions joined in peaceful conjunction. Ian Bottomley

Piers, Thank you for the images, what a delightful pair of flasks. I suppose it depends upon the date, but during the Sengoku Jidai the gunners would only need a priming flask since the main charge was carried in the form of paper cartridges. I like the delicate little bullet pouch. I bought one for the Royal Armouries collection with the horn spout arrangement that allowed a ball to roll out into the jaws ready for easy access. The flask attached to it seems to be of heavily lacquered leather with a bone top like yours. Ian

Lorenzo, Ah, this is what I suspected and mentioned in my post above. Fuji is of course wisteria which grows as a creeper over other trees. The tsuka you show is bound with material cut from the wisteria vine and presumably given a coating of lacquer to preserve it. What a beautiful job that binding is. Ian Bottomley

Piers, You've done it again. Saihai and powder flasks are things we gaijin can only dream of and you seem to be wading knee-deep in such treasures. Ian

I think the three interlocking circles is Tokyo Arsenal. Ian Bottomley

Nolan, Do not be unduly concerned about imports. You simply have to go through a delightfully orchestrated ballet that goes something like this: HM Customs and Revenue will seize the sword and write to tell you that you are a vicious, horrible criminal trying to import an illegal weapon. You then reply to say that you are not and give written evidence from the vendor that the sword is antique. They then, after a suitable wait to make the point that they are in control, pass it to another section who decide the duty payable. They of course don't look at anything other than the price and hence levy duty at the full VAT rate. The sword is then released and you have to pay the full amount plus the £13 or so added by Parcel Force (who have been payed to deliver it anyway). You then write to HM Customs again and point out the obvious fact that since it was released, they have acknowledged it is an antique and that it should have incurred only 5% duty. After a suitable wait again, they will accept they overcharged and will remit the excess charge; again taking a sufficiently long time to put you in your place for your temerity in suggesting they made a mistake. Absolutely no problem. What is important is that they get a piece of paper from the vendor who assures them that it is an antique and hence over 100 years old, or that it was made before 1954, or that it was made by a registered Japanese swordsmith. These are the exceptions in the amendment to the act. This bit of paper can then go into the file and they are covered - the whole point of the exercise. They take absolutely no notice of anything attached to, or stated on, the parcel. Make sure you have separate copies of all the documents and send them copies of those so that when they lose them, you can send them again. Ian Bottomley

Carlo, On that topic, a classic is a book on Indian armour published by the National Museum in Dehli. Many of the helmets are in fact Persian but the classic is a helmet from the Deccan (I think described as 18th century) that is in fact Japanese. It is interesting however since it has been decorated in India with panels of floral ornament. I would have described it as Edo period and it may well have arrived in India during the second half of the 19th century. Ian

Clive, You thought you had problems with the publisher. Having completed my first book written in conjunction with Jock Hopson, I visited the publisher to discuss page layouts. During the process I noticed that her copy was covered in red deletions. It seems she had decided to cross out all the Japanese terms and use the literal English translations! The session then degenerated to the level of 'If you know so much about Japanese armour why didn't you ******* write it yourself' and some even more choice remarks. When finally delivered, sentences and even paragraphs were missed out even though I had corrected them at page proof. They don't care - its just cash to them Ian Bottomley

Jean, It was exactly that. But the interesting thing was the wooden barrel. In the 'War Land' museum is a cannon made from a tree trunk, hollowed out and bound around with twisted bamboo. The inside was well burnt so I suppose it was used. I saw another one in Sendai Museum that I think dated to the end of the Edo period. What you shot from them is anyone's guess - I suppose round stones. Ian

Piers, The monument may well be still there. I have been a couple of times and there are markers and flags all over the town indicating the position of the various armies headquarters. The local museum had a few relics dug up in peoples gardens, I remember seeing a shakudo kozuka with a gold dragon and a very decayed 62 plate helmet bowl. They also had, on my first visit, a large-bore gun with an oak barrel bound with iron bands having a 65mm bore and weighing 13kg. Not a cannon but a very large hand gun. The label said it had been made for Oda Nobunaga by Kuki Yoshitaka (a ship's captain) for the attack on Isshiyama Honganji. It was later used at Seki ga Hara by Ishida Mitsunari. I made a little sketch of it at the time and noted the trigger was above the lock sticking out above the lockplate behind the serpentine. Even more interesting one exactly like it was sold in the UK about 1994 or thereabouts. I only saw it in a catalogue some time later. On my second visit to Seki ga Hara a few years later the gun wasn't there and I failed to convey my query as to what had happened to it. If you go, do not miss 'Seki ga Hara War Land'. It is a treat beyond description. They do have a small museum with some very good items but last time I went it had a very decayed look. Ian

Piers, If memory serves ( I wasn't actually there you understand) Ishida Mitsunari did a runner about 3.00pm at Seki ga Hara. The remnants of the Shimazu army being the last of the Western army standing and facing thousands of Tokugawa forces. They performed a full frontal attack and burst through, making it back to Satsuma. Strangely they were not penalised later. Mitsunari was hunted down and beheaded on the Rokujo ga Hara execution ground in Kyoto within days of the battle. He would therefore have died around mid Sept 1600. Ian

Piers, I thought I had posted a reply of envy on this thread but it has wandered off into cyberspace. Wow! I like that even if it isn't hardened. There are a couple of differences to the nagamaki you saw in the Armouries. The first is that the blade of the one I bought in Kyoto does not have grooves, but is still very thinned down along the back to keep the weight down. Secondly, the ishi-zuki is totally different. It consists of a similar oval socket but the base terminates in a large fork. I'm sure the koshirae of the Armouries' nagamaki is late Edo, but the ishi-zuke seems very old, showing considerable corrosion. The lower part of the tang has that type of overall granular pitting you get when iron is exposed to air for centuries but kept dry. Higher up it has the look of a more normal nakago. I came to the conclusion that it had been stored for a very long time in a saya but out of the shaft. It was then decided to remount it, presumably when there was a revival of archaic armours and weapons in the late 18th century. Ian

Brian, We all owe you an immense debt of gratitude. A very happy birthday and many more of them. (or are you are like me and pretend they don't happen). Ian Bottomley