IanB

Piers, Do you think I could afford to feed in on my pension? Ian Bottomley

All, I have just remembered that there is a very similar sword in Nikko Toshogu Shrine by Hisakuni. Ian Bottomley

All, I think the fact that the mei is so near to the blade rules out any sort of yari, except perhaps a kikuchi yari, which is a totally different shape anyway. All conventional yari have a narrow nakago to enable it to be fitted into the wood of the shaft, whereas this sword has the nakago almost as wide as the blade. It can hardly have been made from the blade of a yari since the edges of the existing nakago are too thick, there would not have been sufficient metal unless the whole blade was made narrower. This suggests to me that it was made the way it is, slight curve and all. The Royal Armouries has a very similar tanto, but not as swollen at the tip, that states it it is a copy of the upper part of Kogarasu Maru. That too has the slight deviation between the axis of the blade and nakago. Ian Bottomley

Jaques, The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds has a blade by Sadakatsu dated 193? (memory going here) to honour the birth of the Crown Prince. The details are exactly like the sword you refer too. Ian Bottomley

Moriyama San, I too would like to thank you for all the effort you have put into your replies. Ian Bottomley

All, I have aready pointed out to the Home Office that if they persist in using the term 'samurai sword' any barrister will shred the prosecution since it is effectively meaningless. I have also pointed out that the definitions they keep coming up with apply to just about every cavalry sword ever made anywhere. I thing they have taken it on board since they are talking about a meeting. What worries me more is the question of carrying a sword in a public place. As the law stands now you cannot legally take a sword out of your home and take it anywhere. Equally you cannot buy a sword in auction since it cannot be taken to the auction rooms, which themselves might be construde as a public place, nor could you take it away if you bought it. We know what is meant by the law, it just hasn't been thought through. Ian

Henry, It has just dawned on me what you mean and that you do not know my name. I have never had any intention of writing under a pseudonym, it just never occurred to me. For the record the name is Ian Bottomley, Chairman of the Northern ToKen Society and until September, Senior Curator of Oriental Arms and Armour at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Sorry about the unintended oversight. Ian

Henry, You have really hit the nail squarely on the head. Our hard-working, overstretched and omnipotent leaders go to all the trouble and effort, without waiting to be asked, to ban things and pass laws against various behaviours - and what do the crooks do just ignore them. Is there no gratitude left. Ian

Brian, There have been an abnormal number of killings with knives and guns amongst rival gangs here in the UK. Many years ago when I was a lecturer in further education I noticed a lot of young men of immigrant parents who had been born and brought up here suddenly start talking with West Indian accents. Now they have imported the gang culture. Carrying knives and guns is 'cool' and in some cases, a shooting or stabbing is the mode of initiation. In reaction to this state of affairs, very vocal pressure groups have been formed by grieving parents and the like who think the answer is to ban anything that can be used as a weapon. Hence the ban on handguns following a mass shooting and now swords. I am more than sympathetic to their losses, it must be dreadful to lose a child who is often only an innocent passer by, but they are targetting the wrong thing. The problem lies with the kids who are basically feral. Ian

Gentlemen, Remember that all that has happened so far is that a consultation result has been published. There is still a way to go before a law is actually drafted and passed. I have already been in touch with the Home Office voicing several caveats that will need to be addressed before the final legislation is drawn up. They have taken these on board and expressed the possibility of a meeting in the New Year to try and ensure that the final draft does not impinge too much on our right to collect swords. Let us see what happens. Ian

Brian, I agree it is sad when a government feels it has to legislate in this way. In reality it is knives that are the real problem but there is no way anyone can come up with a suitable definition that does not include kitchen knives and the like. A former collegue wrote a superb article on firearm legislation in the UK that showed there was a statistical correlation between the amount of legislation and the increase in gun crime. No doubt we will see a similar rise in sword related crime (for 'sword' read machete, bayonet or anything else - to the UK press they are all 'samurai swords'). There now arises the slight problem of who is going to apply this legislation and how. The average policeman wouldn't know a real 'samurai sword' from a bucket handle. We will see. I am intrigued by your comment about the 'spy'. I suspect I do know who you mean but there is little anyone can do. Ian

Hi, Definitely a gunbai with what look like a variation of the Oda family kamon. The central invocation is 'Hachiman Dai Bosatsu' with the first character 'hachi' done as two pigeons facing each other - the pigeon being his attribute. You see a lot of helmet crests exactly like this - some real but sadly a lot are fakes cast in brass. Some of these signalling devices are iron so they could be used to deflect arrows or spears but you must have needed quick reflexes and practicing must have been on the tricky side. Others are delicate objects - I've even seen one in silk guaze. They are of course still used by the umpires in sumo. Ian

All, At last the Home office have put out a press release with regard to the ban. Paraphrasing, and please remember it only for the press, the results of their consultation are as follows: Replica 'samurai swords' will be added to the prohibited weapons list. When the act comes into force, buying, selling or hiring these objects will incur a penalty of up to 6 months in prison and a maximum fine of £5000. Carrying a samurai sword in public is already an offence that could result in up to 4 years in prison. Genuine antique swords are exempt from the ban as are those made in Japan up to 1953, or subsequently by a Japanese registered swordsmith. Also exempt are those replicas used in martial arts or for similar purposes. Thus I think that all of the lobbying done by everyone has had the desired effect. I did notice in a newspaper that there was to be a requirement that they should be kept under lock and key, but I see no problem there. What does slightly concern me is the carrying situation. There does need to be a qualification, that I am sure will be added, to the effect that real swords can be transported provided they are suitably wrapped and not available for immediate use. Can I personally thank all who have contributed in this saga for their efforts to ensure we can continue with our wonderful hobby. Ian

Dino, Many years ago a dear old friend thought he would save money by investing in a winchester (2.5 litres) of clove oil B.P. for use on a local museum's collection of some 120 swords. This is pure distilled clove oil to British Pharamcutical standard. When applied all looked well but the smell was rather overpowering. However, after a month or so the oil oxidized and turned bright purple! It came off again with more oil but the effect could be a bit of a surprise unless you knew what to expect. Ian

All, I have just received an email from Steve Smith of The Northern ToKen, UK to say that Jonathan Batt of the Home Office has been in touch with him and that the results of the consultation on the sword ban will be published on the 12th of December. Hard copies will be sent to those being more directly involved with the process. Ian

Paul, I don't think it was a rank thing - just prefereence. The Stibbert one looks like a rich Edo period piece whereas that in the Armouries is much more austere and could be late Momoyama / very early Edo. They are so rare I suspect they were not particularly practical. Its a nice idea that the odoshige gets protected but in reality you could only cut a small proportion of the lacing on a conventional shikoro with a single blow. Ian

Paul, Whilst lying abed last night it came to me that the concealed lacing may well be described as ura-odoshi shikoro or some such phrase. Ian

Piers, Your three-barreled Chinese gun may in fact be Korean. I bought one for the Royal Armouries collection that had belonged to a previous curator. It had appeared in several gun books as an example of a very early Chinese firearm. Since I could not attend the sale it was a telephone bid that won it, together with a fabulous Turkish bullet mould and other oddments. When it arrived, the shock! It was only about 8" long including the socket. I then found an illustration of such a gun, on a short stick, being carried by a Korean horseman. Apparently the small guns were used for signalling. Ian

Paul, Ah the Stibbert. Last time I went the Japanese section was closed for restoration. Italy's immigration control have a special routine in their software that flashes a message to all the arms and armour museums in the country to close as my passport is checked. A couple of months ago I was in Torino and passed by the Artillery Museum which has a chain across the entrance. A guy explained with much waving of arms that 'since it was Monday . . . and had it been any other day . . regretfully it was closed for cleaning'. I am assured it hasn't opened for 34 years. I won't give up on the shikoro. If need be I will contact friends in Japan. Ian

Paul, I hang my head in shame about your first query. I just don't know. The usual bible on all matters armour - Sasama's Nihon Katchu Bugu Jiten is silent on shikoro laced internally as indeed are books written by Yamagishi Sensei. I have searched all my likely books and a pile of Japanese museum catalogues and failed to find another example that might have named the beast. There is another example in the Royal Armouries collection, on a captured Korean helmet bowl. Your second query is possibly easier. What you illustrate is a combination of mengu and guruwa. I suppose the combination would be described as a guruwa tare. Ian

Carlo, Yes guilty. I am undone! Horo were originally an arrow defence and only later were used as an alternative to sashimono. Gunyoki shows how it was originally just a rectangle of cloth tied to the watagami of the armour and to the waist. As you rode it filled with air and balloned out. It was only later that a wicker or baleen structure was put inside to fill it out when you were stood. I have an image of a scroll of Tokugawa insignia that shows 12 in different colours and designs for different officers. Other armies had similar. There is a good depiction of a black one amongst the Takeda forces on the Nagashino screen. Ian

All, See: Needham J, Science and Civilisation in China, Vol5, Part7 The Gunpowder Epic, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986, for a fully referenced, comprehensive acount of early Chinese and Japanese use of gunpowder and guns. He also discusses tetsubo as used in the Mongol Invasion, but this was before some were actually found in Hataka Bay. As for the bajo zutsu, they are interesting and I too would love to own one, but think for a moment how useless a matchlock pistol really is. What do you do with the match until you need it for the fast draw? Ian

John, Thanks for the pictures. Calgary have some nice items, which I have never seen in the flesh but have always wanted to. Pity the kuwagata on the omodaka laced do-maru are wrong way round. It is nice to see the labelling of parts diagram that was originally used by H. Russell-Robinson for a Royal Armouries exhibition in the 1960's is still going strong. Ian

John, I know about Stephen's writings. We go back a very long way togethr and he lives only a few miles away. I include a couple of pictures from the Nagashino screen to show what I mean. These are from two copies in Nagoya, Tokugawa Art Museum. You will see that this is Tokugawa Ieyasu arriving and there are two guys with the diagonal sashimono - one striped and one yellow in each case (although the stripes are different colours). Note how the pole starts just behind the right hip and how the tsukai ban's sashimono is clearly vertical. It looks to me as if the guy with the more square flag with the gold sun might also be on the slant. Ian

John, Very, very nice work. Information like this is a gold mine. Perhaps you can help me with a question that has been puzzling me for a year or two. On the famous Nagashino screen (I have only had my hands on the Osaka Castle one) there are scenes of the major players arriving on the battlefield with their attendants. In each case one such attendant has a long narrow sashimono fitted diagonally on the back and sticking up over the left shoulder. I have seen two armours with pairs of eyelets in the backplate, one at the centre of the waist and the other over the left shoulder blade that might have been for such a sashimono. Any ideas of what function these guys had? Ian