Bugyotsuji

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.

You've done a fine job there, Jay. Really something to be proud of, restoring a piece of history like that. Small-bore Sakai guns from the mid-Tokugawa period onwards tend to be flashy, highly decorated for the rich merchants who would buy them, but yours is more understated, which may be because it is an older version.(?) According to Sawada Taira in his book Nihon no Furuju (and he is a proud resident of Osaka), guns of up to 3 Mon-me were sporting guns for hunting small game, or for target practice. Military guns only start from 3.5 Monme (bore of 13.2 mm) and above, most often around 5 (14.95mm) or 6 Monme (15.78mm). When you talk about the wider diameter of the front of the barrel, do you mean the exterior diameter, or the bore? If the exterior, then I suppose a bulge at the end could stop your hand from slipping off the end of the barrel when loading in cold or wet weather. (Last year I came into possession of a long Sakai gun like yours, and then more recently a shorter, heavier 5 Mon-me military version with larger bore.) For reference:

堀内宗完 Try Horiuchi Sokan https://www.google.com/search?q=鍔+鑑定　堀内宗完&client=safari&hs=g2i9&sca_esv=c2befdc87a32043e&hl=en-gb&ei=T9NQadnMEuOs0-kPyrbToQc&oq=鍔+鑑定　堀内宗完&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhnpjZQg6ZGR5a6a44CA5aCA5YaF5a6X5a6MMggQABiABBiiBDIIEAAYgAQYogQyCBAAGIAEGKIEMggQABiABBiiBDIIEAAYogQYiQVInU9Q0RNY6zVwAngBkAEAmAF5oAHfAaoBAzAuMrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCBKAC9AHCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgIFEAAY7wWYAwCIBgGQBgqSBwMyLjKgB4cFsgcDMC4yuAfkAcIHBzAuMi4xLjHIBxKACAA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

Nice. 'Kanzan and Jittoku' is a popular subject for Netsuke and Okimono too, throughout Japanese art.

Later, on the PC In the top pic, the powder measure bottom left is more modern. The Tamaigata ball molds look OK but you have to be careful to check whether they are later versions made for fishing weights (with small holes for the line). Genuine ones are expensive, the fishing versions are cheap. The lead ladle handle looks new and the musket balls too, but it may be an old ladle with a replaced handle. There is one hayamichi and four flasks. The top two, bamboo and horn look legit from here. Middle pic The central flask with ballbag looks Japanese, probably for a hunter, and the net ball(?) bag on the left likewise. Not sure about the others ecept for the European-style flask on the right. Bottom pic. On the left is a hayamichi traveller's purse. The two bottom flasks look like decorative imitations for tourists. The one on the right looks like a powder flask that has been cut in half and joined to the bottom of a crow's beak ball bag, a bastardized thing that could be genuine and something a Japanese matagi (hunter) might have used. Confidence rating: 85~90%