IanB

Brian, Could the square holes be for a form of screwed mekugi? If the female part had a square body it would stop it turning. Never seen one but never say never. Ian Bottomley

Gentlemen, My sincere thanks for taking the time and trouble to give your opinions. It is much appreciated. Ian Bottomley

Gentlemen, Thank you for your opinions. I too had lent towards Bizen but was put off by the tang shape. Yes, I think it is ubu but the lack of polish in the machi region makes it difficult to be dogmatic. What is definite is that there is no yakidashi. I have taken some measurements of the thickness across the back with a digital caliper and this suggests to me that the blade hasn't been shortened. Since the mekugi ana is punched and not drilled, I feel it is earlier than later. The yasuri are in fact quite faint in the flesh and the colour of the tang is fairly dark - the photo is a bit deceptive. My gut feeling is that it dates from the early shinto period but I stand to be corrected. Ian Bottomley

All, A few months ago I acquired this blade in a local auction. Although not rusted the polish has dulled somewhat but sufficient survives to reveal a very interesting hamon. Being an armour buff at heart, my range of sword texts is rather limited and I have failed to turn up anything similar in what is available to me. The blade is ubu and mumei with a 21 1/2" nagasa with the hamon in nioi deki. I cannot see any nie anywhere (but that may be the polish). The hada appears to be a fine itame, mokume. The boshi is very obscured but looks ko-maru. The yasuri are kiri. I would be grateful for any suggestions. Ian Bottomley

All, A few years ago a gentleman in the UK sent me some photographs in an email about a couple of swords he had bought from a friend in Northern China and asked for my comments. One showed the side of a saya with embossed plaques showing samurai galloping around on horseback and similar scenes. The overall shots were of a pair of tachi with the usual, if somewhat over-done mounts and applied ornaments along the saya. One had the hilt covered in metal plates, the other same with applied ornaments. I replied to the effect that they seemed as far as I could judge from the pictures rather elaborate Chinese copies of tachi. He was however persistant and sent more photos. One of which showed an ashi which far from being crude was superbly chiselled in silver, of a mass of sakura, with the stamens in gold. A careful look showed that all the conventional mounts were en-suite, silver sakura with gold details. Intrigued, I asked about the blades and was sent two large photos of each sword with close-ups. Both had blades signed 'Sa Yukihide saku kore', one dated 1853 and the other 1857. Neither tang showed much patination and the two signatures were by different hands but reasonably cut with sujikai yasuri. The nakago-jiri in both cases was kiri. One blade had a dragon horimono on the omote with a prunus branch on the ura whilst the other had prunus on the omote and bamboo on the ura. Again, in both cases nicely done. So what he had were two court-tachi style swords, one with the hilt and saya covered with not very nice metal plaques (apparently copper) and the other covered in same, both with matching mounts of high quality, but with rather unpleasant 'samurai theme' ornaments and a pair of interesting but almost certainly fake Yukihide blades. Further enquiries revealed that the guy he had obtained the swords from told him they had been hidden by his family during the Cultural Revolution and only brought to light now that things have relaxed. My gut reation is that they might be relics from the Manchuko court that were supplied in the early Showa period. Since I have not permission to publish the pictures, I hope you will forgive me in not doing so. Ian Bottomley

All, One of my more pleasing duties as a curator was to comment on items brought into the museum by the public. One day a gent came in with a gunto he had bought from a friend of long standing that had reputedly been in the friend's collection 30 years. By chance the museum had bought a selection of repro swords from India on the basis that in a few decades they would have patinated and become very difficult to identify. Yes, you have guessed it - the gunto was one of these. I asked the gent to wait a few moments and brought our fake gunto for the gent to compare with his recent purchase. He went rather pale and muttered 'The b*st*rd' through gritted teeth and left without saying another word. A Sad end to a relationship I feel. Ian Bottomley

Brian, The kamon of two rows of three coins(?) is that used by the Sanada family whilst that engraved on the reverse looks like a mulberry leaf. As far as I know the Sanada did not use this at all. One variation of the latter, without the circular frame, was used by the Matsura family who were daimyo of Hirado but the best match I can find, in Seishi Kamon no Jiten, is for the Ono family. Why or how the two families Should be linked on your kashira I do not know but someone else may. Ian Bottomley

Adam, We are not all barbarians in the UK. Yes, a lot of the trade, and some collectors, have fallen into the trap of 'gilding the lily' by having blades 'freshened up' by non-Japanese techniques, but I see far less of it these days. Contact with Japan from the UK has not always been easy. When I started collecting in the 60's, Japan was as remote to me as the moon. I did have a blade polished about 1970, by Mr Hakusui of the Japan Sword Co. and it cost me £35 - many weeks wages. I think you will find that nowadays the members of both ToKen Societies regularly send blades to Japan, despite the erratic attitude to such unimaginable behaviour taken by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (now renamed Customs and Revenue). This noble body seems to levy duty on a system based on tossing a coin -heads you pay heavily for the privilege of them allowing you to spend your money abroad, tails we will levy a modest charge for no reason other than it brings a bit more cash into the coffers. Ian Bottomley.

Anssi, Lacquer is remarkably resiliant provided it does not dry out. I have forgotten most of the chemistry I knew, but as I understand it it is made up of polymer molecules surrounded by attached water. If the latter is lost it is irreversible and the result is a dry looking absorbant finish that holds fingerprints and other stains permanently. To avoid this, a humid environment (60% relative humidity) and just as important low light levels. About 50 lux is considered reasonably safe for temporary display. Long term storage should be in the dark, hence the use of brocade bags. Ian Bottomley

All, Finally a snippet of news on the proposed legislation. Yesterday, Sunday, a television show called 'The Politics Show' did a feature on the proposed ban. This was only broadcast in the West Midlands area so many of you may not have seen it. It was fairly brief and the reporter was at least sympathetic - making the point several times that it was rather 'knee jerk' and about as enforcable as the 'Dangerous dogs' legislation that was brought out. Various politicians appeared making sound bites about 'the public are demanding this legislation' and 'the police are demanding it' and so on but at least they did conceed that collectors and martial art practioners would be exempt. Clive Sinclair was shown briefly with some of his collection to put our case - many thanks to him for that. We were ensured that the police would be able to distinquish real from replica but the slightly disturbing aspect was that the idea of certification was mentioned. This idea had been ruled out in talks with Home Office officials. So we are no further forward in reality but things do seem to be going in our direction. Ian Bottomley

Piers, Yes, I think the blade of the kogatana was a brass tsunagi. Ian

Piers, How I envy you being able to wander around picking up treasures like the powder flasks and hammer . Your mention of the brass-blade reminded me that years ago I had a silver mounted tanto of the highest quality (solid gold signed menuki) and white deer-skin bindings. That had a brass blade in the kogatana. Of the two priming flasks I do like the lacquered one. Ian Bottomley

All, Not to be outdone, I am reproducing a couple of Daguerotypes of me firing and loading a matchlock. Of course there was no colour photography around in the 1870's so you cannot appreciate how colourful the armour is . Ian

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