Bugyotsuji

Hi Malae, Are you saying iron front sights, ok, but with various other metals inlaid? (Why are you asking this question?) Yes, I have seen examples, but not sure if I have any photos right now. Here is an iron front sight on a Bizen gun, with a blob of silver inlay.

Moriyama San, this getting old is no fun! Big oops!!! Need to double-check and edit!!! Many thanks.

兼忠 Kanetada 正和十七 Showa 17 it seems

February Eiroku 12 it is.

The registration card simply records what you see and the local education committee assigns a number. 20 March Shōwa 44. Hiroshima. 31011. Wakizashi. Length 42 cm. Sori 0.5 cm. 2 Mekugi holes. Mumei.

Even upside down(?) it’s hard to make anything out.

There are all kinds of background hints that can suddenly help smooth the way in your language-learning journey. For example, someone told me that the Emperor does not need to look up or down on anyone, so he uses simple, almost elementary-school Japanese, necessarily devoid of register. The only male in Japan actually permitted to do this? In the same way, foreigners coming into Japan and the Japanese language will be forgiven for using simple 'desu/masu'verb endings, since in the beginning they are automatically given similar honorary 'neutral' status. As with Japanese children, the ability to communicate basic desires is of primary importance. Refinement of the language will come later. By the same token, you cannot lean on this forever. It is rare (but a valuable insight when it happens) that a Japanese person will correct your usage of Japanese, so you need to listen and be aware of things and to grow in wisdom, otherwise you can become over-confident, and a walking laughing-stock. My life is full of, "Oh, yes, how come I never noticed that before?" (This is why tutors and teachers are useful!) Actually I experienced similar in the US, although on a gentler level. I remember one day when a bunch of us were in the car and I pointed out "Look, there's a car park!", as we were searching for one. My good buddy Charlie March laughed at me. How long have you been here, and you still call it a "car park'!!!" This was a shocking moment for me!

Interesting story about the ukebari, Russ. I always hesitate to cut a hole in one, knowing it will not be easy to sew the edges of the new peephole. But now that you mention it, I once glued one in place, under supervision, so JA’s take does make sense.

Good point, yes, definitely some later adjustments to what may well be an old hachi bowl underneath.

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…