Bugyotsuji

Jeff, which is the closest city to you?

If you have a local sword shop and you can make friends there, then the easiest way is to ask them to arrange it all for you. There will be a nominal sum involved, depending on what rank you are aiming for, but you will step into a cut-and-dried process with no heartache. The ideal shop should have been doing this for years, and they can advise you at any point how your process is coming along. Just be happy to allow a few months for the wheels to come full circle. PS Remember there are different organizations out there appraising swords, so you will need to make a decision on whose papers you value most... or if you are planning to sell, then whose papers you consider carry the most credibility.

Thank you John. Not sure yet how that fits, but it is a possible way forward. I think I will print all this information out and show it to some Chinese people at the Confucius Institute. Not that the scroll is worth much, I guess, but for the joy of the game.

Good question about what they fired. Possibly grape, or even those ball-shaped fireworks. (Will check this out.) I've seen examples of them here and there, including the one in Sendai. The Westerners arriving at the end of Edo also came across them, I believe. Our Teppo-tai members went to Seki-ga-hara one year but they came back convinced that they were each haunted by some terrible ghost. Some of them fell ill or had accidents and the whole story of the trip to Seki-ga-hara would come out again. Whenever I express a desire to go for the next national enactment there, they all look gloomy and say how lucky I was to have missed the last trip.

So let me get this right. 1. The Tokugawa allowed the West to erect a stone monument in memory of the beaten army. 2. Kondo, a Confucianist from Bizen (any connection with Shizutani Gakkou, I wonder?) was chosen to compose the writing for the slab. 3. A Chinese calligrapher was asked to do the writing itself. 4. The monument was carved and erected in 1817, the wording indicating the places where the Kubi-tsuka mounds were to be found. (?) 5. In 1865 someone did a rubbing/Oshigata of the monument and created a scroll. Does this sound reasonable so far? :lol: (I wonder if the monument is still there...)

The date may be written with Qing's era name. 嘉慶二十二年歳次丁丑小春下浣 (Kakei ni-ju-ni nen Saiji Hinoto-Ushi, Koharu/Shoshun Gekan) – The end of October in 1817 Oh, thank you, that is brilliant Koichi san. This has been bothering me. Is this way of dating common, do you think? What do you think this scroll is? Did someone go to Sekigahara at the end of Edo (Keio Gan-nen 1865) and rub a stone plaque which had been erected in 1817?

Some of the writing, rubbed from somewhere? The date is on the left, and the headings on the right, centre, and lower right. Ishida Mitsunari is mentioned in the middle, and I have tried to get a shot of the whole sentence.

For Ian and Koichi san, here are some of the scroll. (Rubbing?) You can see the problem with the date. Brian, I will go back and erase some of these pics in due course... if they are all right for the moment. (?)

Ah, that fits a few more of the pieces together. Also, I had heard that in order for the Shimazu mostly leadership to make their breakthrough, much on horseback, they used their matchlock pistols; this became a classic example of how Bajo-zutsu/Tanzutsu could indeed be a useful weapon, depending on the right circumstances. Here are some shots of the Fukuro for Carlo, surprisingly difficult to take. The bottom end is actually square! I have placed a Katana alongside for size reference. (2 shaku, 2 sun, 2 bu, 2 rin)

C'mon Piers, now a pic is mandatory... The sword cover... ?

John is correct. Words to this effect: "This Kanenori Wakizashi is hereby certified as not being registered as an important Kokuho, Juyo-bunka-zai, or Juyo-bijutsu-hin. " June 25th 2007

Many thanks for the followup info, Ian. Interesting about keeping the weight down... Since I came back to Japan I have inherited a scroll listing the gravestones of Western Army leaders (?) who fought at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. It mentions Ishida Mitsunari. The date on it is odd though, and thinking it may be a fake, I am tempted to post a photo here and ask for help. This evening I pulled out a backgammon (西洋すごろく） block for a clean and discovered that I had never really researched the Mon on the ends. Seven gold Mon on black lacquer. Three Ume in a circle, Mitsu-yose-yokomi-ume 三つ寄せ横見梅. Probably belonged to a Daimyo, someone once told me. Wonder which? I have collected various Edo Period dice and counters over the years to complete the set. Last night a friend showed me a 采配　Saihai he had recently bought; I managed to persuade him to sell it to me. Black lacquer with silver ends and a big bunch of cut paper strips. They do not come up so often, it seems. The silverwork has gone completely black; I am sorely tempted to clean it if such can be done gently. There is a sort of Mon on it, but I can't find any record of such a Mon, so it might be just a decoration. Oh, and I was given a rather splendid Nihonto cover which originally contained a long Tachi. Very pleased with this. Now all I need is a sword to put in it... :lol:

Have you considered the old Kanji for 'one'? 弌

Piers, I strongly fear that the existence and/or the possession of the nagamaki (repro) are illegal in Japan. If the blade is made of steel, not being tempered or having no edge does not matter for applying the Japanese sword laws. Thank you Koichi san. Is it a question of the material used then? When I say "it has no edge", I mean that you can run your finger along the edge of the blade. It is rounded, and not sharp. To tell you the truth I don't even know if it is steel. I just used the word loosely to mean metal. I did ask about whether it needed paperwork because I was worried, but I was assured that it is legal in Japan. I will double check immediately. I understood that it would be against the law to sharpen it, and I certainly would not be tempted to do that in Japan. If there is such a problem as you suggest, then I will either give it back, or hand it to the authorities. I have no desire to possess anything illegal here.

And the last angle, Stephen!

And here is the 'inherited' Nagamaki. If you want to trim these shots, Brian, please feel free. I wouldn't know how...I just keep the old camera stoppered way down and pray.

Oh, and if it is a screw, remember that Mekugi screws tend to go clockwise to unscrew.

Hi Moss, your question is multi-faceted and difficult to answer simply. This may be why everyone has passed over it. Besides which, much of it has been asked and discussed before(sometimes heatedly) on this site. So, to clarify your first question. Are you saying that you are aware of a certain Katana in Japan, and it has paperwork, and you want to know if it is likely to be 'Nihonto', as opposed to... xyz (?), precisely because it comes with said paperwork? Is this correct? Your second question is about the validity of paperwork in certain year periods. The quick answer is that yes, there is a common sense that in some years the powers-that-be were more generous (looser?) than they are today. This accounts for why some swords may come with their earlier paperwork, ... and the buyer wonders why there is no up-to-date Kantei-sho attached.. You are aware of course that there is/was more than one organization offering Kantei, and there could naturally be disagreement between them on occasion? The quick answer in my opinion is that the system is generally good, but not 100% watertight. (As always, I stand to be corrected by following comments.)

Stephen, thanks for the interest. Watch this space. As soon as I can find some time I'll take the pics and show what it is based on. Right, these pics show the original article. Centerfold of 'Tsuba to Koshirae' by a Mr 雄一 Hiroi, Tokyo, Showa 62 (1987). Note the Tsuba is shown as for Tachi, as in the first half of the book...

Missing me? Funny thing appeared yesterday. Surprisingly heavy it is too. Ian had shown me a splendid red and black bound Nagamaki in the RA in Leeds this summer, and I mentioned it to some people the other day in conversation. I believe there might even be a picture of it in one of Ian's books. So the next thing I hear is, "Hey, I've been given a repro. It's yours if you want it," the guy says. "The nagamaki was made by a Salari-man. He was training as a swordsmith but never completed his apprenticeship. It's completely accurate, blade, Nakago, Tsuba, habaki, Tsuka and Saya, down to the Ishi-zuki, based on a famous Nagamaki, but the metal has not been tempered; it has no sharp edge, and thus needs no paperwork." Well, it was an offer I couldn't refuse, even though I know my wife will complain the minute she registers that it's in the house. I don't really know what to do with it, but it looks mighty fine on the display stand! PS So why did Nagamaki give way to spears in the Muromachi Period?

You've looked here, right? http://www.jssus.org/nkp/kanji_for_mei.html

Wow, sound as if you've been through the grinder. Definitely time for a better year. Many thanks for everything you have done this far. Happy Birthday!

Talking about hands on, we visited the Himeji branch meeting of the Nittoho today. I got to hold a Bizen old Osafune Nagamitsu, a Musashi Suishinshi Bunka 11 (1813) Naotane, a Hojoji Naginata-naoshi ascribed by Kanzan to Kunimitsu, an Oe Bizen Shigetsuna (disciple of Chogi), and a Go-Dai Muttsu Hizen Tadayoshi. Killed a few mozzies at the shrine. Definitely a worthwhile way to spend a Sunday, despite the jetlag.

Nobody, you are really somebody! :lol: Those leaves are quite similar to clover! Thanks for the correction. (We live and learn) Have just read up on the history and meaning of Katabami, but how to reduce all that into one sentence? If you read Japanese it's on pp 154, 155 of Bessatsu, Rekishi to Tabi, Dai 3 Go, Nihon no Kamon, originally published by Akita Shoten, Showa 53. Essentially this three-hearts-leaved plant was loved by farming folk, but as it began to be used by Bushi it became popular to have the blades inserted. Ladies continued to prefer the non-bladed Mon version. It was used by powerful families who lost out to more powerful ones, so it had a sort of run of bad luck. Nagasogabe Shi (Chosogabe-shi?) of Tosa ruled the whole of Shikoku and used this Mon, but he was crushed and reduced back to Tosa by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Later Tokugawa hammered him as he was subservient to Hideyoshi. General Ukita Hideie of Okayama in the Western army used it at the battle of Sekigahara, but he was banished and died on the island of Hachijojima. According to the author it retained a grass-roots popularity and was eventually perhaps the third most used Mon country-wide.

The Katabami on the right of the right is "Ken Katabami", ie unlike yours it has sword blades between the petals. When I get home I'll check my books for what families used yours, if someone has not already posted.