Bugyotsuji

Resolution. No further action on this venerable old blade. A request for Togi would put a Togishi into making impossible choices. Although it could be tweaked, a Togishi might be tempted to give it the full works, but what would then emerge? Something very different? To summarize package update. Shirasaya created, received. Check. Tsunagi created, received. Check. Tantō blade tucked safely away for preservation. (*Shows typical Sō-Shū second-half of Namboku Chō workmanship. Around Eiwa.) Has accompanying Koshiraé and NBTHK paperwork. 長さ一尺O寸二分 反りわずか 重ね薄く、三つ棟板目肌に地景がからみ地沸つ く。表裏の刃文が違い、裏側は皆焼となる。”Length 1 Shaku 2 Bu, very slight sori, thin kasane, mitsumune, itame hada containing chikei, shows ji-nie. Blade front and back manifest contrasting hamon features, the back showing hitatsura.” (Quoting my sword appreciation sensei.)

Steve, a tsuba collector friend today said he sees the Akasaka possibility, but he gets a stronger sense of early Edo Kyoto, i.e. Kyo sukashi. The sukashi walls are not straight vertical cuts, but rather at an angle, which is for him a strong indicator for Kyoto. Also the mimi are not as rounded as you might expect for Akasaka.

Nice! Are you talking about the smallness of the blade itself or the whole thing? Either way, yes and yes. Yari came in all sizes. (Sadly though, many longer ones have have been cut down from their original length.)

Unbelievable triple coincidence. Just arrived at the museum in town to listen to a lecture on special order swords. Guess what the very first one I am looking at is… had no idea it was here!

I am glad you found the link useful. SWB?

Jussi, forgive the thread drift, but yes, it is a different naginata, but both were special order items, made for the same person, Miyake Ason, about 20 years apart! Funnily enough, I was round there again today, and doubly funny, there was an article in today's Sanyo Shimbun about the one you just mentioned above! I took a photo of the newspaper article about the Date naginata, and the NBTHK explanation of the tokubetsu juyo naginata owned by my friend. I will pm them to you. (All of my information above was correct except that it is not a Prefectural Bunkazai. That was a different blade.)

I read that late Akasaka tends towards thinner tsuba plates, but the three early generations made tsuba thicker at the mimi. Found this recently… Mimi seems quite thick. No immediately discernible tekkotsu.

PS In your original post, Dale, you suggested that the function might be to protect the (other) fingers against kick with a large caliber gun. I like the thinking, and as a shooter I can see what you mean there.

This one is on a 20 Monme 'heavy caliber' ōzutsu from Kishū (Wakayama).

https://ameblo.jp/toudou455/entry-12527870806.html This is a discussion of its possible functions. The writer has searched high and low but says he cannot find anything written as to the definitive use of ナマコ金 Namako-gane, other than that it was a feature of Ogino-Ryu (school of gunnery) guns, and later copied by others. The alternative word he notes is 力金 Riki/Chikara-gane, which could indicate a firmer grip obtained with your other fingers against it, in contrast to and to help the trigger finger aim safely and accurately. (He also repeats what I covered in my previous post.)

Dale, these are called Namako-gané, which is ‘sea-cucumber metal fitment’. There are several varieties of these. One I saw had a hollow (like yours?) that the trigger pulled back into. From what I understand they were a stopper, to protect the trigger when dropped or against accidental firing. They actually look good, I reckon, and do give a more comfortable grip for the other fingers. I have never been totally convinced though. I’ll check my sources once more!

“It’s the exception that proves the rule.” Perhaps that means the ‘rule of thumb’ rule.

Hmmm… could be a Tosa smith in Shikoku. The shape and construction of the butt should clarify this. Family name Ono. There are five Tanegashima matchlock gunsmiths listed under this name, two of them working in Tosa, a large province in the southern part of Shikoku. (There were two in Hyūga in Kyūshū, and one Ono smith in Bizen.) The style of your name is very similar to one of the listed Tosa smiths, so although unlisted I reckon yours should be a relative in the same Ono smith line. Can you spot it?

Congratulations on your purchase, Grahame! 大野善三郎作 Ōno Zenzaburō Saku (I think!) (Possibly Zensaburō?) I’m about to check this smith out. If I find anything I’ll post it here.

All the pieces of an armour set were usually placed into individual soft cotton/hemp/linen bags, each with designation kanji on the outside. E.g. 脛宛 Sune-ate. But with all the materials available today we can protect things better. I remember Mr Morisaki once telling me that bubble-wrap is not good however, as it can trap moisture and can foster rust, etc. "Everything needs to breathe", he explained, while showing me some of that typical Jaanese wrapping paper. (He also disapproved of modern mothballs, and said that to protect against insect activity, dried togarashi peppers were usually placed inside an armour box.)