Bugyotsuji

Certainly the lower hole has removed the right foot of 門

What he said above. I’ve had some really fine work done with laser welding.

A dragon is a snake with an über fancy head, legs and tail!

The monetary value? In the US? Are you wanting to guess what was paid for it at 'an antique shop' in Japan? I am guessing somewhere around $50 +/-. The real value surely lies in the symbolic gift, a link between you and your teacher, of an object that was made at a historical point in time as part of the long historical culture of Nihonto.

James, is it squarish, a perfect square, rectangular or what?

Rather than kantei papers, the pamphlet is simply an export permit for your Tadashige from the Japanese Bureau of Cultural affairs, dated Heisei 18, certifying that it will break no cultural artifact laws by its export.

John, thanks for the heads-up. I remember Daruma from when we lived in Kansai, an erudite magazine which aims high. Sadly no, I do not have that issue, but it does look interesting! I have just one single book on andon/shokudai, in Japanese with 100 b/w photographs, my old fall-back. It's amazing the variety of lighting equipment you can come across from way back when.

Finding myself agreeing with much of what has been written above.

Needed a vertical pin. Notice the ‘Western’ style key in the above padlock. The one below had just the right vertical pin length.

Not sure about the China angle John, but I think most of the old locks with a sprung prong key that we find were common throughout Asia. As to my made-up word ‘drum’, perhaps ‘cylindrical’ padlock might have been a better expression.(?) Such external locks and keys are of course another collecting field about which I know close to nothing. The funa-dansu safe was missing all four of the keys including the internal ones so I was happy when a locksmith agreed to make me a set. You have done a really neat job on your suzuribako, John, something to be proud of.

Bruno, the one on the right is upside down. Looks like a (haiku?) poem on the left.

Does the blade attract a magnet?

And in a more concentrated form on a ‘funa-dansu’ ship’s safe, designed with a heavy front so that it would float door-down (relatively watertight) should the sailing ship sink. These were expensive (for me on my salary) about 20 years ago but they’re a tenth of the price nowadays. I had a set of keys made for it, and one day about 10 years ago I found an old drum lock that fitted it perfectly.

It kind of has the same spirit as this old box, the one with which I started this thread…

Yes indeed. Well done. Many thanks.