Bugyotsuji

Hi Shaun, the scene looks more Japanese than Chinese. Is there a signature at the bottom right? PS Where are those photos stored? There are several easy ways to downsize photos, including using the menu inside your phone camera.

The bore is 0.59" which is 1.49 cm, around 5 Monme, originally an army long gun. Many of the crudely scratched numbers will have been notations for the workshop artisans. Can you get overall shots Mike of the gun from the right side and the left side? Might help narrow down where it was made? An angled shot into the pan with vent hole visible might be good too. Do you know exacty where that Yama 山 kanji is located? The underside of the barrel is smooth otherwise?

The barrel decorations were probably all added in Meiji, after the end of the Edo Period. It was common then to add a Tokugawa Mon in brass like that, and the single character is likely the ‘Kao’ of the inlay artist. There is a single upside-down 山 Kanji character which means mountain but makes no sense there on its own. Nothing else written under the barrel? There are crudely scratched numbers 二十六 (26) which may be an order run number. The serpentine and lock plate look good. The pan cover is probably a replacement, as too the amaooi rain guard. The priming pan looks a little messed up. Were you able to open the large bisen breech screw? There are various other comments one could make, but some of the most important parts are not visible in those photos. A good study piece!

There were two Bizen Norimitsu in that time period, with different characters, one 則光 and this one 宝光, but maybe it is 重光Shigemitsu?

Not able to get everything, sadly, but 関住白口貞弘作, where 口 = a kanji I cannot read. Assuming that it is a place name in the Seki area that begins with 白... (?) Or 白鵜, a play on the sound of his name 四郎? Shi-ro-u Giving up for now.

Good question MalX!

Interesting find! Is the hachimanza on the tehen magnetic, or brass, copper. etc? The Kamon looks to be the Honda family crest.

The Horyu paperwork clearly says there is a last kanji in the date, but that they cannot read it, using an open mouth box to indicate this i.e. 徳治三+口 I have found in the past that experimentation with different lighting conditions can (faintly) bring up a character that shinsa teams do not have the time to properly investigate. Certainly with just one dark photograph of your nakago, we here do not have a chance, but you, with time and patience, might. .

Thank you Moriyama Sama for Nebiki-matsu, that is the word I was looking for! (Shown also in Dale's guard with the roots encased as Kadomatsu).

吉日 it’s formulaic but 吉 = lucky/auspicious + 日= day

Sotetsu were given to Okayama and planted at the temple to Ukita Hideie, so it could symbolize this gift from Hachijo-jima. Another possibility is the New Year's kadomatsu ceremony where a whole baby pine was used, with roots. Some pine branch outlines and needles look quite similar.

Try ‘sotetsu’ Damon, and the story of the Ukita being banished for centuries to Hachijojima Island.

Agreed, but why do dealers use such fuzzy photos?

https://travel.gaijinpot.com/bizen-osafune-sword-museum/ General background information

Ken katabami, Ukita. The large Ukita contingent (who lost as part of the western forces at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600) would surely have lost credibility post battle and become homeless ronin.

The certificate is Chinese.

Ken-katabami, = Katabami flower with ken blades. 剣片喰

This was a seminal book Jan. Hoping the new one can come to fruition!

Trying to sleep as I must be up at 4:00. Can’t believe how many people have chosen today of all days to get in contact! The two on the left are in the museum in Tanegashima. The top one may be an original barrel, but it was in a fire and rebuilt in Meiji. The bottom one looks to be a sort of copy maybe from mid-Edo.

That is a very good question, Fabien. When (and where) did the Japanese fishtail butt start? There is a Chinese link to fish, and dragons. Here are some early gun photos. 伝来銃 Denrai Jū is the expression for the fabled beast, the actual two gun(s) which arrived on Tanegashima Island. Top right 暗黒期 = Dark Age Apologies to Sawada San, using for educational purposes.

Sadly no, Colin. It’s with Jan and he was still editing it last time I heard. It needs a kick-start. The world needs this book!!!

Lovely video! Yes, some of these are the ‘German’ forward-snapping matchlocks I had heard about. Great find! The lock mechanism is very similar but the stock and butt are more like guns of the English Civil War, quite different from Japanese matchlocks which also have cheek-piece butts, not for use against the shoulder, as you say. The bore measurements are interesting. The 15mm light guns correspond roughly to Japanese military matchlocks.

It’s as you say, Fabien, and some of us have spent years tracking down the answer to this. The quick answer must be yes, they were Portuguese snapping matchlocks with the sprung-and-released serpentine falling forwards, away from the shooter. All subsequent Japanese matchlocks, large and small, follow this remit, with a myriad of detail, geographical and gun school variations. Sawada Taira in Nihon no Furujū calls this age, from 1542-1600, (roughly the first 50 years), the Dark Age, because so little has survived, and even less is dated. There are a few photos of guns or parts of guns in his book that have been passed down with attached stories. The museum in Tanegashima has two guns in their large collection which they confidently call ‘original’ but this story must be taken with a pinch of salt. Ian Bottomley says there is at least one quite original gun in the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya, which they do not show people. Something I discovered, or realized, as they were staring everyone in the face, is that early dated Goto Kinko work showing designs of guns and accessories, must actually be among the very first illustrations of imported (or careful copies of) Western guns, before the luxury of subsequent Japanese modifications. Find examples of forward snapping Portuguese matchlocks from Goa (and Africa) and you’ll be seeing roughly what reached Japan, before the Japanese sensibility started refining the concept. The oldest Japanese matchlock guns I have handled tend to be rather spartan, functional but heavy in relation to the bore. (This is all covered in the book Jan and I have written. Hoping it can more forward…)

Hi Deborah! Thank you for having the courage to post here. All activity is welcome. Your little Shishi or Foo dog is probably Chinese, judging by the material and carving style, so although Netsuke-like in size it’s better to think of it as a fun object, something cool in the hand on a hot summer’s day, or to hide in a bonsai pot or miniature garden.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, Dale. I really need to show Jan this thread!