Bugyotsuji

Are you wanting to give it to a museum, Matt? I am sure a museum with the right collection would be interested, but we have not yet seen the whole matchlock! The little mark is probably the lockmaker. It seems to be in the shape of an Uchide-no-Kozuchi mallet. If the middle kanji (?) is 国, it may be possible as a bonus to work out the lockmaker’s name. I’ll check it out when I get home.

Hi Matt, Everything you have shown so far looks legit. Early indications are that your gun was likely made in Sakai, Osaka. You are missing a pan cover and pin but they can be made up for you. Hara (or Gen) 原 on the butt probably indicates the owner’s name, or the important part of it, such as Harada, 原田, etc. Looking forward to some overall shots and an under-barrel shot if there is a ‘Mei’ signature.

Unless I’m missing something, those Menuki are not just legit, they are really very nice.

Tsuka seem to come in endless variety, always something new comes along. Thanks for sharing. As to the tsuba, my impression is that it is made and patinated to look old, with a rather unsuccessful attempt to imitate a Mei.

Hi Clark, welcome to our corner here! First of all, thank you for your honesty and objectivity, which are rare qualities today, and refreshingly appreciated! It is good to know that what we suspected is not far from the truth. Also it is very interesting to learn about where these NLO are manufactured. Your masks have a pleasingly rustic appearance. Mingei 民芸. They could easily be older than your estimate, I feel. The Okame looks almost Korean. The closest signature I have found so far is a Suisen 水仙, but not yet a Suizan unfortunately. Can we see the backs of your two? Anyway, we are all learning here. Sadly I let some of my good Noh mask Netsuke go, but I still have a couple somewhere, oh, and a hyottoko ojime! Thank you for posting and introducing yourself!

Nice potential! PS ‘Rust’ is a better word than ‘tarnish’. You would need to consult a trained Japanese blade polisher ‘Togishi’.

I guess BaZZa is asking for some context.

祐包 The one at the end of Edo and into the beginning of Meiji had a different kanji for Suke.

These things do pop up in the market every so often, but many are in a terrible state. I had a couple of kabura for a while but they were sad-looking objects. Would you look to repair, or do you want pristine examples? PS You probably mean quivers in the title, not quills!

Brian, yes, our paths often cross.

Finding myself reluctant to join this conversation as clothing styles varied greatly not only by class but also by area of Japan. Kimono fashions in Edo for example, were quite different from Kyoto and Osaka. I can imagine someone looking at examples of Netsuke and then trying them on their obi for size, grip, etc., but there must have been some measure of flexibility rather than one rigid rule. Some obi were relatively hard, others soft. As pointed out above, the obi-hasami type of Netsuke may have been somewhat impractical and that could be one reason (beside the ending of the era) that it was not in fashion for long.

My impression from admittedly shallow experience is that shinaé manifest across, not along, the blade.

Two threads running now!

No. 2 is Hara/wara (Gen) 原 No. 3 is… Gei/Kujira??? 鯨

Ball molds Tama-Igata of various sizes. Lead ball, range up to 100 Monmé. Lead ladle 玉鋳鍋 Tama-inabé (Various chunks of lead for melting)

Pa Blo Pi Casso, I reckon!

正阿弥盛世　from Iyo in Shikoku apparently.

One possibility for a flared bore is repeated use of an iron ramrod (or cleaning rod) at some stage in its life. My friend Jan Pettersson has been trying to map out when exactly iron ramrods were first used in Japan, but they were certainly less liable to breaking than the more common wood or bamboo types. Rare overall, but Yonezawa guns particularly featured an iron ramrod.

Great. If I get a minute tomorrow I’ll post some molds for you to compare yours with. See here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/28754-accessories-for-the-tanegashima/page/2/#comments

Yes and yes. You bought the first lot? It’ll be interesting to see what you discover once they’re in your hands. The ‘netsuke’ resembles those made in Hong Kong around the turn of the previous century, perhaps 1900-1920…(?)

Uwe, how did you get that!?!?

正阿弥 Shōami on the right?

Museum displays sometimes need a little tweaking here and there. This is a high zunari. The kabuto pole section is usually adjustable, and in this case maybe could be lowered a notch, or they have inserted too much stuffing in support of the ukebari. (Possibly they've lifted the kabuto higher to give visitors a better view of the menpo.)

If the bore is flared internally, that usually indicates many years of heavy usage with a ramrod, or even heavy cleaning, which has gradually worn the muzzle end wider.

Hoping we are not commenting publicly here on people’s goods for sale at all! Having said that John, I am pretty sure you are correct. Oh, and the netsuke beyond may be tagua nut, vegetable ivory. As to lathes in general, they were using hand and foot power to push-pull small spinning lathes with long strings, way back in the Edo Period at least.