Bugyotsuji

Trying to sleep as I must be up at 4:00. Can’t believe how many people have chosen today of all days to get in contact! The two on the left are in the museum in Tanegashima. The top one may be an original barrel, but it was in a fire and rebuilt in Meiji. The bottom one looks to be a sort of copy maybe from mid-Edo.

That is a very good question, Fabien. When (and where) did the Japanese fishtail butt start? There is a Chinese link to fish, and dragons. Here are some early gun photos. 伝来銃 Denrai Jū is the expression for the fabled beast, the actual two gun(s) which arrived on Tanegashima Island. Top right 暗黒期 = Dark Age Apologies to Sawada San, using for educational purposes.

Sadly no, Colin. It’s with Jan and he was still editing it last time I heard. It needs a kick-start. The world needs this book!!!

Lovely video! Yes, some of these are the ‘German’ forward-snapping matchlocks I had heard about. Great find! The lock mechanism is very similar but the stock and butt are more like guns of the English Civil War, quite different from Japanese matchlocks which also have cheek-piece butts, not for use against the shoulder, as you say. The bore measurements are interesting. The 15mm light guns correspond roughly to Japanese military matchlocks.

It’s as you say, Fabien, and some of us have spent years tracking down the answer to this. The quick answer must be yes, they were Portuguese snapping matchlocks with the sprung-and-released serpentine falling forwards, away from the shooter. All subsequent Japanese matchlocks, large and small, follow this remit, with a myriad of detail, geographical and gun school variations. Sawada Taira in Nihon no Furujū calls this age, from 1542-1600, (roughly the first 50 years), the Dark Age, because so little has survived, and even less is dated. There are a few photos of guns or parts of guns in his book that have been passed down with attached stories. The museum in Tanegashima has two guns in their large collection which they confidently call ‘original’ but this story must be taken with a pinch of salt. Ian Bottomley says there is at least one quite original gun in the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya, which they do not show people. Something I discovered, or realized, as they were staring everyone in the face, is that early dated Goto Kinko work showing designs of guns and accessories, must actually be among the very first illustrations of imported (or careful copies of) Western guns, before the luxury of subsequent Japanese modifications. Find examples of forward snapping Portuguese matchlocks from Goa (and Africa) and you’ll be seeing roughly what reached Japan, before the Japanese sensibility started refining the concept. The oldest Japanese matchlock guns I have handled tend to be rather spartan, functional but heavy in relation to the bore. (This is all covered in the book Jan and I have written. Hoping it can more forward…)

Hi Deborah! Thank you for having the courage to post here. All activity is welcome. Your little Shishi or Foo dog is probably Chinese, judging by the material and carving style, so although Netsuke-like in size it’s better to think of it as a fun object, something cool in the hand on a hot summer’s day, or to hide in a bonsai pot or miniature garden.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, Dale. I really need to show Jan this thread!

Ah, thanks, Colin, the 21st might just be workable....

Probably nothing to do with this, or distantly related, but there was a folding-knife maker from Taisho before WW2 called Higo no Kami, and one of the smiths was 肥後守春重Higo no Kami Harushige. Originally registered in Meiji 32. The Emperor favored these knives. There is even a Higo no Kami Museum! Some clicky links here... https://www.bing.com/search?q=肥後守博物館&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&ghc=1&lq=0&pq=肥後守博物館&sc=1-6&sk=&cvid=EC6CAAD4226A40A8BC24728F7128EA84

Need to draw up a list of firm conditions first, lessons we learned from that last time around.

It's getting more and more difficult, to know where to be, and how to be able to live legally and permanently there, and yet still maintain your options to move back if things go pear-shaped, or if you change your mind. There are so many beautiful places on this earth, but if you put down roots, will you be able to ever move freely again? Try getting permanent residence once more in the UK for example, if you decide you want it, and try buying property there. All my adult life I have dreaded being backed into a corner, that moment where you are rendered out of options, i.e. check-mate. "The home is where the heart is", maybe, but will the authorities allow it? Edit, seeing Alex's reply. I'm like that too, like to take my time over purchases. I even encourage sellers to go ahead and sell what I am interested in, to try and save myself! If I come round again and it's gone, what a relief! If it's still there though, I'll probably buy it. (Brian from what I remember is more of an on-the-spot guy!)

Not mid-September again?

Are you sure that reads Harushige? Not saying that it isn't, but did you find examples of non-standard versions of "-shige" like that? The cut of the nakagojiri looks to be iriyamagata, said to be Yamato, then Hokurikudo and (later) Shinto, according to Nagayama Kokan. The choice of tsuba gives me a Mino feel to the package. Love the moon above the clouds.

Do you mean two different sets of characters? The top one is kind of double-stamped but I get a feeling of 長春 Choshun in the Japanese reading, Changchun in Chinese.(?)

You could also look at this another way. When did they start coating wooden saya with lacquer? The question is asked here: https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/craft-rock/45531/ Part of 小菅さんの the expert's answer is that some very old sword furnishings in the famous Shoso-in storehouse are lacquered, and that was in order to preserve the wood. Conversely, the article says that uncoated wooden saya have not survived well because of their fragility compared with the iron blade. So it could be that some form of wooden saya, if not quite the refined 朴の木 hou-no-ki magnolia saya that we are used to seeing today, was used before anything else, or at least in parallel with other possible materials.

三つ柏 check out the famous Makino Daimyo family ‘Mitsu-gashiwa’ mon. https://www.google.com/search?q=牧野氏　家紋&client=safari&sca_esv=a9f1afb3224ba41e&hl=en-gb&ei=2b1baIz3IPbq1e8P9rn0gQs&oq=牧野氏　家紋&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhLniafph47msI_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&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

Ah, ok, then in that case, as others have said above, go for it!!! (The wait will be exciting, and don't forget to let us know the result! )

The best 'they' have. So you don't actually have it? Is it in Japan, and would you be able to ask them to submit it for NBTHK shinsa for you? If you have the patience, time and money, then sure, why not submit it to the NBTHK? If the same attribution comes back, that would make the attribution super solid. (Sometimes an unexpected result comes back, but in this case you don't think it will.) As Jussi says, you could always throw away the result if you don't like it. Ultimately 'gold standard' NBTHK papers tend to hold a little more weight amongst potential buyers, if resale is what you are worrying about. If you are confident in the blade, though, that is the most important thing.

Shoami perhaps, though that last kanji… 正阿弥

Does a magnet stick to it?

That’s the reverse of the tsuba!

The Hachisuka family of Awa, Tokushima, were famous for this Kamon. One branch of the Hachisuka family used it in reverse. You can see examples of both in the Tokushima Prefectural Museum.

Next time around it’s a deal, Jussi. Great that you are able to travel on your own initiative like this. A mixed bag, but altogether worth it I am sure. Drop in for one of the local branch meetings of the NBTHK; Mr Koike always has special blades lined up for viewing.

You have to guess what Jacques above means by “should be”…

ChatGPT being diplomatic I see. Did you see where it found the information? (This NMB site is quoted as reference.)