Bugyotsuji

柴山工 Work by Shibayama? The signature 芝工 looks very weak, so I would skip any attempt to understand why it was written like this, i.e. probably in order to give a cursory impression of Shibayama. (The decorations under the base look to have been undertaken to hide the natural cracking.)

Thanks for showing these. A nice overall package!

Will do, Colin! PS I was joking about the cheating bit. Too many years in education!

Genbu of the north is the ancient Chinese tortoise upon which the universe stands. A snake appears from its rear end. Genbu is the black warrior of the north, chief of the four directional guardians. Genbu is painted on ancient tomb walls in Japan. Genbu later became Bishamonten, chief of the Shiten-no-o guardians. Bishamonten was the god of warriors and listened to their cry. For this reason the turtle Genbu has ears, although tortoises and turtles don’t. Genbu is the turtle shell, the brain pan, the crown, the 甲 shell of armour. 甲 the shell is Number One, the top/best, in the old counting system 甲、乙、丙、丁… Recently I bought a pair of Menuki with a gold-shell Genbu on a shakudo background. You can see the ears, …but the tail is from a Minogamé.

Guessing that no one knows the answer. Genbu is very interesting though for a number of reasons…

You're too honest, Colin. A cheater can lie, and after looking it up, say he or she already knew the answer! As it is, you have gained two points already. The minogame is a symbol of old age, having been in the water so long that waterweed grows off the back of its shell. I once actually saw one in a nearby river, but did not have the camera with me. Countless times I went back to that bridge, but never saw it again.

Turtle/Tortoise quiz question. What’s the difference between Minogamé and Genbu? Do these two traditions ever get mixed up, and if so, in what way(s)? PS Marks/points deducted for cheating!

Happier now to leave them like this. Genbu on Aoi plants

Hydrangea leaf today.

Hmmm… will post photos to illustrate problem. (The remaining tubular copper post has been squished sideways. Impossible to replicate exactly.)

That idea goes easy on the old ticker, Barry, and it makes sense! Thank you. (Just having a curry made by the missiz. This one’s a hit.)

Recently I showed a menuki with a missing central post (tubular) to a couple of people, asking whether it could/should be replaced. The answer was no, as the use of heat would affect the gilding zogan on the front. No alternative solution was suggested. This answer was not really very satisfactory. Apart from aesthetics, is it really a problem to have a missing central post in one of a pair of menuki, or am I unduly worried? Asking for a friend from Ilkla Moor baht 'at.

Anthony, great shot(s). Might just show those on the day!

Haha, no John, just a decorative fan with some martial exhortation written on it. Just in front of it though is a pill-lock squeeze gun, nigiri-deppō or kaihō-jū.

On 6 June we will hold a meeting at Kibitsu Hiko Jinja for everyone to bring a photo and reminisce about Mr Ō. There will be obento for lunch. Mrs Ō has kindly agreed to attend. Last December I made some video shorts of him and the teppōtai performing in the Budōkan. He was physically weak, but stood straight and spoke with authority. Little did I know at the time that this would be his last active role as leader.

Anthony, it is so good to hear from you. Yes, your ‘baby whale’ is happily performing great active service, a new life for the wider community, no small thanks to you and Marjolijn. As to the flaming bolt, what you say makes sense and I will convey your idea to the members. We have a 30 Monme with similar short barrel too, but Mr O was steadfast in his opinion that these were Hiya-zutsu, i.e. especially for firing Bo-hiya. I carefully said nothing.

Concept. Hydrangea example. Look at the ‘coffee bean’ leaf tip. Oak leaf examples. Row 2 from right,No.4 ’Nakagawa Kashiwa’

In one Mon book there was a photo of a somewhat similar leaf labelled ‘Ajisai’ (hydrangea). Nothing like the hydrangea leaves in the garden here, but there are apparently many varieties. This is a one-off however, as I am unable to find any other examples to cross-reference or back it up. In summary, oak leaf for me (but possibly hydrangea).

The 'dry' (?) leaf is highly stylized, but if I had to put money on it, my fifty cents would go on 柏 kashiwa, a Japanese oak leaf. Food was presented on oak leaves, especially in the context of shrines, with a spiritually 'clean' connection to the gods. In kamon, the oak leaf is also shown in kage/sukashi style, the 'bones' (veins) in clear outline. Occam's razor might also point to oak as a safe bet. Would I put a whole dollar on this, you ask? Well, let me think about that... PS Agreeing with Jean about Katchushi, without the 'Ko'. Liking both of those tsuba BTW.

If it’s big bronze I think you need the right size of house to display it. You may need to love the material first, and there could be a steep esoteric learning curve from those that know and appreciate good work and famous artisan names. Kevin Page had a glorious basement full of Meiji bronze figures in his shop in London but much of it was heart-rendingly lost in a flood some years ago.

Very good question, Alex. 9/10

Agreed. Also, note that where Tachi Shi has been well rubbed away, 'Den' looks to have been added at a later time.

Studied under Suishinshi Masahide, so 1800s. Sayings, prayers, exhortations were often cut into sword tangs.

國安 Kuniyasu, first half of YBBB’s translation above.

Fantastic news, congratulations. Lack of communication between departments places heavy stress on everyone!