Bugyotsuji

Thank you Jacques! (Which two smiths?)

Vocab usage here, wearing my translator’s hat. 三光鋲 Sankōbyō, (or Sankō no byō), are the three ‘shining’ rivets holding on the mabisashi (and centrally the harai-daté dai), named it is said to represent three heavenly bodies, i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars. Personally speaking, on balance I like the package above, but it is not easy to judge, especially from photos. The hachimanza may be newer, and the suemon on the fukikaeshi look slightly too large, as if a later addition.(?) No big deal though.

Probably I am a bit thick, but Jacques, could you please spell out your question? In the jumble of Gassan signatures above I can see many similarities, and many differences. Your question is heavily suggestive, and the pain is unbearable, but I am not sure what exactly you are asking…

The two-volume Lazarnick set and the two-volume MCI (Meinertzhagen Card Index, British Museum) are the standard Netsuke references, but heavy and generally not cheap! (There are many other wonderful books on Netsuke but Eijer’s book treats kagamibuta specifically.)

Would never say this on a public forum, but when I was at college in the US we were given hiragana and katakana to learn as homework. I sat on my bed, leaned back against the wall, lit up, inhaled deeply, and then set to work. Amazing sometimes how you can concentrate. Anyway, I learned the whole bang shoot at one sitting. (Not for a moment suggesting that this would work for anyone else!) Some things were hard, though... too many to record here!

It was more a question of language use, really, Curran. From the other fittings alone, I was already getting a feeling that they would not put a real Yamakichibei on there. Even so, I would want to say something like, "I'm pretty sure that", or "It gives me a strong feeling that...", etc. Absolute statements can challenge people, put their backs up. Wait for the inevitable backlash, the demands for absolute proof, etc. I guess I prefer to be more diplomatic!

Re "is not" Steve, that is kind of absolute, no? Are you 100% sure it is not genuine, or 95%, or 90%?

By the way, Andrew, I did not mean that one was better than the other, just that there are many types of Netsuke, and yours is more like a Manju than a Kagamibuta. Here I have three which would have been classed in the West as Manju, but I have discovered that in Japan they can be referred to as 'Senbei/Sembei Netsuke', as they more closely resemble flat 'osenbei' senbei crackers than a fat Manju. You asked about size, Marcus. In the Ashmolean there are some amazingly large examples, especially Manju, but in general kagami-buta too will be about 4~5 cm wide, I would say, as a rule of thumb. But rules, as they say, are meant to be broken. See Eijer's lovely book above for some stunning examples. Here are the three senbei examples. Two are ivory slices and one is narwhal. The narwhal (left) and one of the ivory slices bear a kamon on the central silver fitting. The third has a copper(?) 20-petal chrysanthemum kamon on either side, with a loop fitting underneath. The dark copper is finished in lovely wood-grain patterns that are said to be hard to replicate today. Photos follow And the cord attachment loops

The old membership rule of engagement here was your real names, both first and last names. This was relaxed to real first name, but an initial only for your second name would be acceptable.

What do you mean, like a date?

Sadly I do not have my books here with me, Fabien, but I will have a look on the J web anyway. Watch this space. (I am sure I have posted photographs on this site before, but where???) Along these lines, right? https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=f59e2138defda713&hl=en-gb&udm=2&fbs=AIIjpHw5jcGp5x8w5sPu9pd-XOjzX8T8LDH52M06z8ECvG05SiNOuMbaa3_CinAYbFBgf3Q7EwlzPgGJsx80tia7oYnyw_4qi11-MbzeZm6C1tn4rKcdf4bVHL691qtKhyizSxNvjN8RcWpSR9NMBULCNdTNKb4K0doug8fsjdlKC3tKBJ04UXS0XT4vdjD_EycIF9xEi99bC0UwH3f32nyVf1Kg4hFI3Q&q=巻張の図+銃身&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVwLHazZuPAxV0WUEAHUBPHC0QtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=390&bih=663&dpr=3#sv=CAMSugQajQQK5wEKuQEStgEKd0FMa3Rfdkc3WEJuYXMwWmhxYXVuOUVyMGZsRVQ2WjE2WkRKM1g5bzJta0ZQTjZ2QTVGSnF1QUlUby03c181ZTRNQ1FyX2ZXZmUtaDZ6eWpoeUNoYklOUk1kNFctWkt2eUZjTUtSR3dIS09DaTAxWXNlMzdvQ0ZjEhdldW1tYUx2YkpQUDFpLWdQMk1faTRRbxoiQUZNQUdHcTNTRUpQYllOb0pJenp0VllZalhfNGhiMi1ZQRIDODQ5GgEzIhgKAXESE-W3u-W8teOBruWbsyDpioPouqsiBwoDdGJzEgASjgIKzwESzAEKjAFBTGt0X3ZFYkRfV084b1IxNDBWcmx0b2p3eG4xcVZhMjhCRExwbFZQbDdfRHR5QVFnRnZvNi1ObUx0eGNJTklSbDdsN1FEU21teEhOUjYxeEdnRFkzYkxNREwyN2JQVWZjN1F6MXhRVkJWbmd4TmVPN045TWNFSjZIZjR6QS1yNVdFajREbFlSMFVjcRIXZXVtbWFMdmJKUFAxaS1nUDJNX2k0UW8aIkFGTUFHR3FZT2Znc29wUWFuQVBvalpWVmdFMTU5STNVaVESBDQ2OTgaATMiGAoGaW1nZGlpEg5JaHYyOXMwRGlqaVMxTSIXCgVkb2NpZBIORDhQRnVkQ0U4ZFBxTE0qEGUtSWh2MjlzMERpamlTMU0gBCokCg5PWVpMY3BaS3hNTWhmTRIQZS1JaHYyOXMwRGlqaVMxTRgAMAEYByD5--7oDDABSgoIAhACGAIgAigC http://www.teinenjidai.com/manabu/monoshiri/h27/06_1/index.html

The Shinsa team look at about 6,000 blades a year, I once heard. Some days when you are not feeling too sharp yourself…

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Some great advice above. When you look back, your path will have been different again. I’m lazy, so I only put in those hours when I felt the motivation, wasting much time in between. One rule of thumb that always helped. If you learn a new word, try it out on someone in a real situation within 24 hours, and it’ll stick. がんばって 頑張って Ganbatté!

Andrew, I think yours is more of a ‘Manju’ glutinous rice sweetmeat type, at best a kagamibuta cross. Most kagamibuta 鏡蓋 are tightly inset with a flat lid (the ‘mirror lid’ section) set into an uncarved, usually round frame. The string connects to a loop on the back of the lid and exits from a hole in the underneath of the frame body. Here is a well-worn example that I used to own. And here is a child’s one I posted earlier. (Top right)

PS I once had some work done on a matchlock pistol by an artisan at Osafuné. When I questioned the squiggles (like your なツお example above) he explained he had signed it シげツね　Shigetsune, his artist name, in a jumble of hiragana and katakana.

For you as a metal artist Marcus it must be the shape, the medium and the cameo ‘canvas’ I am guessing, somewhat like a tsuba.(?) The only kagamibuta (‘mirror lid’) I still have is signed Shibayama, showing a fan and fireflies over water, a summer evening scene. But the base material is not metal…

Also Marcus, if you can find a copy, this is a lovely book on Kagamibuta.

Beautiful. Please see George Lazarnick, Vol.1, Netsuke & Inro Artists. PS That says ‘Natsuo’ in flowing kana form. (Not ‘summer’) Two or three clicks should magnify and clarify the image Kinkarakawa purse sagemono set

You are right to be suspicious, but can still be used as part of a background display, or use for the village festival, hang in the hall, etc.

John, thanks, yes, the idea of a name was foremost in my mind, and the second character kept open that possibility, but no combination with that badly-scratched first character gave me a likely name. In my gut I feel the first is 制, with the bottom left 巾 'balloon' part stretched too far to the right (slip of the nail?), and two upright 'blade' strokes becoming a circular flourish. I would be happy for someone to step in and point out something else. If not a name, then an alternative of a description or designation presented itself, i.e. 'safety catch' or 'safety mechanism'. Unfortunately I cannot be sure of anything without more input on that first kanji.

Long before ever buying anything, I joined the local NBTHK branch in Japan, and attended their meetings for several years. In those days it was mostly old men who spoke little, listening only to the Sensei explaining what he had brought. No one brought their own blades, even if they had any. Maybe some did, but that would have been a secret. When I put up my hand to ask a question, people turned around and stared, but I noticed the teacher seemed eager to answer. Some evenings when I kept my mouth shut, (as I had been advised by my elders and betters), he would ask me afterwards if I was all right. He encouraged me to ask freely, relieved at the give-and-take, and the sound of someone else's voice. Gradually over the years the older members faded away and dropped out and younger ones, male and female, came and joined. Even so, none seemed to want to possess their own blade. They were there to learn. When I questioned this, it was pointed out that the more they learned the higher they aspired, but at the same time the more financially distant those good blades became. A friend who had once been a member in the old system seemed to take almost twisted delight in the fact that members never actually bought anything. Eventually I was able to asure him that in reality people were now beginning to buy blades of their own. And they are. Thus it is that in Japan at least I would say that sword collecting is, to some extent, not over but changing in nature, and beginning anew.

There is a Chinese word 制安, but since I do not have my Chinese dictionaries with me, I am not sure what it means.　 (Safety?)

At certain angles the second one looks like -yasu. 安 矩安…(?)

I sense that ‘not near to us’ does not really convey the Japanese word ‘rusu’. Someone is ‘rusu’, i.e. out of the house, not at home, (far) away, but their absence is felt. They are actually near to us (me) in spirit if not physically. And ‘hito’ often conveys someone close or dear to the one writing the poem. Even possibly one who has passed away. Spoken with poise and composure but hiding a deep connection and longing.

The NTHK paperwork likes the ubu nakago, and talks generally about large numbers of such blades being made by the Sukesada smiths in the Sengoku period, this one 'late Muromachi' but is unwilling to specify further in any way. (The other local certificate simply records, stating that this is a faithful record of the blade and Mei.) You can spend hours and hours and hours in large sword databases comparing styles of Sukesada Mei etc., but when you come up for fresh air it is rare that you will be further enlightened. A glimmering picture may be forming in your mind, however. The blade patterns can also help.