Bugyotsuji

Hi Rick, If you mean rear sights in position, yes, there are tons of photos available. Do you want a generic sight for a gun that is otherwise pretty standard? (Often the shape can depend on the region of manufacture.)

The answer cannot be absolute, but generally there will be a story whether faint or strong behind such annotations. I have two or three objects tied to different *Daimyo. It’s always a nice extra background aspect to have, but how solid is such provenance? Luckily there are works such as Thomas links above, giving you the opportunity to check out or cross-check the story for yourself. *For example a Yama-no-Uchi (Yamauchi) pistol from c.1825. When the family storehouses were opened up a certain local dealer was able to buy up and pass out many objects into the general market becoming rich in the process.)

Heisei 6 = 1994 Interestingly, there seem to be some small differences (e.g. length 71.2, vs 71.3) between the original handwritten assessment and the later transliteration, especially the last line. Could they not read the hand writing, or was it merely a formalization of the language used?

If you follow that ‘shortening’ logic, Jean, you could argue that the Tsuka has been made from a section of the former Saya.

Traditionally people hold the tsuka fairly low down, with the blade pointed up and away from you. They whack the back of their hand, (the hand holding the tsuka), with their other hand/fist. This seems to be to encourage the blade Nakago to break its seals and jump. There are some really tough ones where the holding hand gets beaten to a pulp. Eventually they may resort to the old wooden hammer and peg tap, as a last resort.

Hmmm… mammoth?

Hi Dale, welcome to this site. There is so much information filed away here, ... and the folks range from mega friendly to super ornery, so good luck and I hope you enjoy your time here!

The simple answer Ken, is, as with Nihonto, you can tell at a glance, if you've spent any time with them in hand and studying with books. There are also websites dedicated to pointing out the differences. The difficult answer I will attempt to answer below. It is worth remembering that at any antiques fair you will find hundreds of NLO, but rarely a Netsuke with both fine quality of carving and serious age. There is some middle road with funky (民芸品 Mingei-hin) folkcraft netsuke used in everyday Edo-period life by ordinary people; these can have an old rustic charm of their own, and if you are lucky you can still find them at antques fairs, hiding within collections of more modern NLO pieces. As I said above, everything. The opaque white of the material reminds me strongly of resin 'netsuke' produced recently for museums, or in sweatshops in China, although it could be marine ivory. I cannot see clear Schreger lines, except possibly in the tail, but there are nerve-ending holes fore and aft. The strength and application of the stain. The casual hairstrokes, the crudeness of the carving of the paws underneath. The rough treatment of the himotoshi holes, and the final straw is the obligatory Japanese-looking Mei. All of these shout NLO. Having said that, I do not wish to shock the starter of this thread, as it is indeed a cute object, and many people collect these happily. Over on the International Netsuke site we get a steady steam of people who say their grandmother left them a precious collection and can we evaluate it. Well, sadly, no. (By the way, there are modern genius artisans who produce one-off works of supreme art. Such netsuke are another complete area of collecting, but they can justly be very expensive.)

Cute, sure, but sadly everything indicates this to be a recently-made NLO. (Netsuke-like-object.) Since ivory is a giant no-no internationally these days, just pray that it isn’t.

These late Meiji Koshiraé normally have reverse screws for the Mekugi. One side can be held firm, and the other with clever pressure and reverse twist of the finger should be encouraged to unscrew. (Although we don’t know how your hilt is held on, with what kind of screw, or even if it has been glued…)

The wood of the stock shrinks and grips the barrel. Sometimes there is rust involved which makes for an even more solid grip. You are right; some of these slender stocks look and feel quite fragile. Gentle all-round use of a rubber mallet can be better (and less painful) than the palm of the hand. Tapping everywhere can break unwanted seals, and loosen things up.

Ask Aoi Art if they would be willing, and able, to ship to the UK with confidence.

Like these:

This sounds interesting, Robert. Would you be willing to assuage our curiosity and discuss this some more in one of the Izakaya car threads?

Thread card plate might be a more accurate translation. (?) (A spindle or spool gives the image of something that spins, whereas these itomaki versions are simple flat storage boards for sorting out and storing thread or string.)

Well, that just about does it. These buckets of cold water work wonders! Both guys want me to buy from them as they probably cannot get the same price elsewhere. To be honest to myself, much as I want them, I am pretty sure I would not get the same money back, not here in Japan anyway. In addition, trying to export these would be a labo(u)r of love. And no, I will not regret not having bought them when I had the chance! You heard it here.

One thing I am good at, actually a past master of, but not proud of, is prevaricating. Both guys are waiting in the wings. One of them I managed to put off for a week, but he will sell it at auction next Tuesday if I don't move. It's a bit like letting a woman know your intentions... "On top of old Smokey All covered with snow, I lost my true lover, From courting too slow." On top of which I had a chance to buy a Sukekane wakizashi last Tuesday, a beautiful thing, long Mei Tomonari 58, Ansei 3. Luckily I prevaricated. Later I learned that "the central part of the kane 包 kanji if written with a Ro ロ is by Sukekane, but if it's two strokes/dots, it's by his disciple(s). As works, though, both are equally fine", apparently. Since I ddn't know that at the time, I didn't check for it, so now I'll never know, but it's the sort of thing we learn by studying and listening, and if you know, you know, and if you don't, then more fool you. (Mental note to follow this up.) Scary stuff, this.

It’s difficult to correct you Brian, as the law is interpreted differently by prefecture. The rules as published in Tokyo are relatively clear, but if you try to register a less-than-fifteen cm blade (even with a Mekugi hole) in our local prefecture for example, they will refuse to do it, saying: “Too much trouble.” This I heard directly from the mouth of the chairman of the local NBTHK who tried to register such a blade. So there is some inconsistency. But I do not think it will affect the export of a blade. The trouble is if you ask the authorities for clarity on the matter, they will suddenly go straight-faced and quote the letter of the law. In this case you could find yourself unprotected, so you are back to square one, trying to register such a blade.

It’s not just the UK. Even in Japan it is extremely rare to find one without some damage somewhere. Most are in need of repair.

Looking forward to it!

It depends partly on this end, and partly on where you are sending the blade. You don’t have to deregister it. Your problem will not be with Japan law, unless it’s a national treasure or similar, but with finding a carrier that will take an openly-declared blade. (Or are you putting it into your own check-in baggage?)

Exactly, Tony, and a fine example you have there. (Just needing a pan cover/lid.) Somewhat similar to mine! The Masa 正 seal could be the first part of the owner’s name. You haven’t yet removed the barrel to see if there’s a Mei?

That’s better. I completely missed the two down strokes of 利 way over near the edge on the right! Thanks!

They have another Akabane exhibition running now at Osafuné Sword Museum which I visited yesterday. Out of 5,000 swords chosen to be saved, less than 500 were reunited with their original owners. This chart shows where the leftover swords were allotted, back to where the authorities felt some regional connection.

肥州住忠広 Tadahiro maybe???