Bugyotsuji

Well done on getting it open. That bisen is likely rusted into place. Yes, nothing yet legible, but it can’t be helped. Many were not signed at all. These Chōshū long guns were mostly made in Sesshū, Sakai (Osaka) where the Chōshū agent would go to place the Daimyo’s orders, so there is a very high possibility of that. I have had two or three examples over the years, with just the one Chōshū long gun today; it too was made in Osaka.

Hard to describe, but if you are right-handed, hold the gun upright, with your fingers and thumb gripping the top edges of the front of the stock, and with the hammer in your right hand, bang the barrel out into the palm of your left hand. Don't worry about the stuck ramrod. The ramrod looks short enough to allow hits on the base of the muzzle. (PS This is all assuming that the person who varnished it has not glued everything into position...)

You can cut out the 1500-1600 part, if it's shinto as they say. Their suggestion of Yokoyama 'Ueno' for 上野 is a wrong reading in this context. The smith they (the store) are alluding to is 'Kozuke' Daijo Sukesada, who was a genius in his own right. Sadly there are countless forgeries out there, so you would need to focus on cross-checking yours against genuine signatures. (The old paperwork itself says very little, only recording the two characters, and as Steve says, the Mei Sukesada does not suggest any particular Sukesada. Once upon a time, the word 'Sukesada' simply meant a Bizen sword to the masses.) See https://www.seiyudo.com/wa-090924.htm PS Congratulations on a lovely object with a particularly nice koshirae.

Ah, thanks for the additional shots. Yes, as these guns age, they do tend to form running cracks, often along the grain, each of which presents us with a slight dilemma. If you can see daylight, i.e. the mekigi holes are clear right through (no remaining mekugi pegs inside) then the barrel should part out. There is nothing else holding it in. Remove the ramrod, and cock the hammer. You may need a few taps under the muzzle with a rubber hammer to encourage the initial breakaway. The stock tends to shrink and grip onto the steel of the barrel, and sometimes rust forms in there too. Gentle encouragement all round should help to dislodge it. If you do find a Mei chiselled under the barrel, please post! Even better, though not absolutely necessary, if you can loosen the bisen breech screw. (Not usually an easy job!) Thanks.

Hi Jon, good to see you here, welcome! Choshu is the region in the southwest of the main island of Honshu, where the Mohri/Mouri were the overlords. Cho is 長, short for 長門, and Shu is 州 province or region. As in the linked thread, yours is a smoothbore, not strictly a 'rifle', a typical long gun from this area. The shorter stock and naked barrel/muzzle section is the first great indicator of these guns, as is the style of metalwork inlay on the lockplate and trigger guard. The rear sight with the flat top and three holes is a nod to the Mohri family crest. There are various other characteristics to notice on these. Yours seems like a good example of an updated (post-matchlock) percussion gun. The hammer is slightly elongated, rather unusual, possibly a later adaptation, and I notice the barrel band has been cut away. Not sure what you mean by a split under the barrel. There was a deliberate split on most Tanegashima style guns directly below the karuka ramrod throughout the length of the forestock, but you mean something else? Thank you for posting.

井桁　(igeta) has to be one possibility, a well mouth design. I have seen them reinforced with iron, too. It’s a fun design, either way.

With Shakudo tsuba many people in Japan recommend wearing soft cotton gloves, i.e. no bare hands.

Huntodesu, some of what you write fits the certificate, but… where did you get the rest from?

Apologies, for the deleted post. I see now that the only date given is for the cutting test, not for the blade's manufacture. (You will have to look up Kanefusa and decide if it is Muromachi, which is not mentioned in the attribution.)

Since we can only see part of the problem I would do nothing for the time being. You often see saya out in the marketplace that are temporarily bound with string, elastic, etc., so I would be tempted to do a temporary fix (making sure nothing is touching or rubbing as Grev says), while following Lewis's advice to find a Togi- or Saya-Shi.

o is the correct pronunciation, BaZZa, but to me it looks strange in context, in English, so I tend to use the old Romanization 'wo' of を which is part of the 'wa (wi wu we) wo' line of the traditional Japanese alphabet. You are right to point this out and I need to sit back and ponder...

Great work, Simon, looking a lot better already. Everyone was giving you like signs, but waiting to see who would enlighten us first!

Kiipu's link goes deeply into this and is a good read. There is of course a difference between the 'correct' way to write it, and the 'correct' way for us to read it. The simple answer is that both tsukuru kore and kore (o, or wo) tsukuru are 'correct' in the sense that they are minimal readings of the inscription from which any Japanese would get enough meaning to understand. Listening Japanese would nod in understanding, even without a past tense. Kore wo tsukutta or kore wo tsukurimashita would actually be more grammatically fluent and correct, but would go beyond what is inscribed there. Think in English for a minute. John make this, or John this make. Both convey simple meaning. But if you want to fully 'translate' them, you would adjust into the past tense and say, This was made by John, or John made this. In other words, both Tom and Uwe are correct for a Japanese audience, or someone educated sufficiently in Japanese sword language. Remember, these are classical Chinese characters written with no Japanese endings on them, so we are left to guess how they relate to each other. Thus, personally speaking, I do not think it matters much how we render the ending of such a signature; there is certainly no need to worry unduly about manners or correctness. PS Your blade actually says 造之 'Tsukuru kore', reading the characters as they are. Kore wo tsukuru is a slight nod, or further step towards correct grammar, but is an interpretation, along the path of how to render classical Chinese into readable Japanese...

It may be a treasure map tsuba that the previous owner put back together…

More likely ichō 銀杏, gin-nan, ginkgo leaves design, no?

心哉 can also be read Shinya. https://namedic.jp/names/name/心哉

A single fuzzy photo of a rusted Kanji sets the scene, but Netsuke artists used the 哉 Kanji with the ‘sai’ reading, so I checked a couple of name lists and nothing came up, but… This could be an artist known in other fields so may be worth cross-checking similarly.

I get what you are saying but we can see Hanabishi for example in both areas. Actually my own sense is that the artisan chose some brass Mon (rimmed) disks almost at random, for the pattern rather than any affiliation.

Hi Jake, Here is a Kamon map of southwestern Japan and Kyūshū. I am sure you have consulted such maps already, but please compare this with the area of Kansai and east which follows this post. Kyūshū

People often mistakenly compare it with Arlington, as in the post-WW2 letter above, and although of a similar spirit, true, there are no actual bodies or remains interred at Yasukuni Jinja, purely lists of names. Magnificent set, congratulations. Some years ago a friend called me and asked if I could drive his car for him. A strange request indeed. Following his instructions I drove to the riverside. “Watch this!” he said as he pulled out a Nambu, (totally illegal here) and without further ado threw it far out into the river.

14 years... JUMP

Correct all that old information now while Nobody San's post is till fresh!

As an adjunct to this, there is a kamon on the barrel, but since these were often added later I cannot put too much weight on it. The shape is a 蛇の目 Janome, or snake's eye, said to be talismanic; originally this mon depicted the 弦巻 tsurumaki spare cord reel for a bow which hung at the left side by the tachi koshirae. The most famous user of this mon was Kato Kiyomasa, but since he once called Inatomi Ichimu a traitor, I cannot imagine him placing his mon on an Inatomi Ryu gun. There were several families in mid Japan who used the janome, (Kato, Toda, Hori, Ishikawa, Kutsuki, etc.) but all seem to have kept it as their kaemon, i.e. secondary. There was another famous Mitsuyasu branch of the Kato who served under Hideyoshi in Owari and later from 1629 ruled as lords of Ozu Castle in Shikoku. This family used the janome mon as their main 本紋 'Honmon' or 正紋 'Seimon', and kept it throughout Edo, not as a substitute or secondary 'Kaemon', according to a geographical map of Kamon. So if we had to tie all this information together, it could be the material for a small paper! An Inatomi school gun that served the Mitsuyasu branch of the Kato family, possibly made in Owari province in the early to mid-Edo Period. A likely story! Thank you everyone who had a look, showed interest or even participated in this thread! Much appreciated.

Thanks for that vote, Steve! The scales are now tipping more towards one of those listed 古田 Furuta lockwork makers above, (other readings such as Koden are possible), meaning the gun itself could well have been produced in Owari around mid-Edo, c.1680-1780 ish. “Grrrrrreattttttt!!!” says Tony the Tiger!

Many Daimyo around Japan used the nine-star Kuyomon, including Date Masamune, but possibly the Hosokawa were the most famous. As to Yamagane, I heard just recently that it is copper extracted 'as is' from a mine, meaning that it includes trace impurities, i.e. it is inconsistent throughout Japan. Suaka by contrast is literally 'pure copper' that has had the impurities removed.