Bugyotsuji

Eric, have a gander at these! http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/fukurokuju.shtml http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/jurojin.shtml

Thomas, it has also been said that Hazama zutsu, (guns fired from the Sama, or Ha-zama) were trained on attacking troops massed on the opposite shore of the castle moat. The idea was that, at that range, you cannot guarantee to kill any one person but you can seriously wound someone within the mass. Four or five of those around the wounded ashigaru would then be removed from the fight as they carried him back and out of the fighting. Ron, thanks for the technical back-up. I was aware that increased length of a smoothbore barrel does not really improve accuracy, but in those days it was the received wisdom and the driving force behind longer gun barrels, I believe.

Eric, quoting myself from the previous page, that is what is written on the bag. The two elegant figures... (Trolls, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ) are two versions of an ancient Chinese scholar/god. Often confused with each other, they are called either Fukurokuju or Jurojin in Japanese, and are usually depicted with high foreheads. The short one is a two-hundred-yr-old 'Netsuke' that I bought about two months ago. Originally worn decoratively on the top edge of the Obi to hang Sagemono from, now worth several hundred dollars. The taller one is a fairly modern 'Okimono' (standing object) and the moment I saw it I wanted it for addition to the family. (No, not trolls, or gnomes or eggheads!)

Yes, Thomas, the 'Hazama-zutsu', or castle/ship slit/port guns, were mostly found in the the country of Awa in Shikoku, so when one thinks of Awa-ju, the image is of a long and heavy Hazama-zutsu, with a rather small bore. They tend to have sights that can be adjusted, but most have lost these, with only the sight base remaining. The Lord Hachisuka of that Tokushima area is said to have set up targets and gathered up the people to have regular shooting exhibitions within the castle, (accuracy being considered better achieved with a longer gun). As to statistics, I will go and have a look. Thanks for the information about the Korean Cheonbochong. Look forward to the pics!

Eric, have a play around with this page, but go down below the stones. You will find some of the Sanskrit letters that were popular and the meanings and associations that they carried for the Japanese in the middle ages. http://kuubokumon.com/bonji.html

Gnomes, you say??? Come here and say that!

Evalerio should be able to tell you more about them, Eric. I like the colour and design! See: http://forums.samurai-archives.com/view ... 6b85fc34ac In the meantime, my Dad says whoever calls me names should come and see him first.

軍扇　gunsen, war fans? How big is that bag? http://www.kyokusho.com/mikawaya/touken/O-02.htm

It kind of looks like 小川歩子

Thank you for those links. I didn't realize that the bale was set in the ceiling beams and rice was drawn off from the sack with a hypodermic like that!

Ah, now that is very close, but not exactly the same, because those were used in every household, but the one in the sheath above is a) not hollow all the way through and b) it was used by an inspector in the district government warehouse.

Well, points for imagination but, no. Hint. This tool was used by an official when straw was still in daily use in Japanese life. PS If anyone cannot stand the suspense, let me know and I will post another piccie.

Double post here. One is an Ishi-tsuki for a Yari. Now about two or three years ago someone on this site (...Jean?) asked me f I could get Ishi-tsuki. They do occasionally come up, so for some reason I bought this one this morning. A bit rusty. Length 8cm, internal diameter 2.7cm, internal depth 2.5cm, two holes. The second object is ... well, let's see if anyone can guess correctly! Overall length 24cm (9.5 inches)

Where is it written, Justin, under the lid? The writing looks very new.

Armor/armour was often passed down and recycled. There are pointers for telling the probable age of manufacture, which include knowledge of popular styles, evidence of usage, etc. Helmets are a specialized sub area. As we on this site study the qualities of sword steel, so people like Sasama Sensei and Ian B. Sensei became members of study groups in order to prise/prize out such arcane secrets.

No, I think you have done pretty well so far!

Maedate are completely interchangeable so it is unlikely that the one on there has any association with your armor/armour, Justin. Dealers swap them around to find one that looks good. All your research on the Maedate will tell you is solely the meaning of the Maedate itself, if you are lucky. Your Maedate is the character for Heaven. 天　This might be a lucky word which one family liked. The character will have been written many different ways, one of which is this, your Kuzushi or 'stylized' character. So directly translated 天の字（崩し）　simply means "The character for Heaven expressed with poetic licence". This does not mean you can continue to exercise poetic licence. The name points to one Kamon. If you wanted to change or develop it, that would require a new fixed name for your new creation.

...and... http://kamon.37gi.com/products/detail.p ... t_id=10062

I've had a flick through some Kamon books. This is not perfect, but 鳩 the dove/pigeon is the closest I can get at the moment. Didn't Trevor suggest anything? http://www.otomiya.com/kamon/animal/hato.htm Or Kumagaya, and look at the two bottom left, one with its beak open... http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/bukemon/bk_kumaga.html

The reading is correct.

Justin, congratulations. My wife (used to be a bride once upon a blue moon) now understands that it guards the house. Potential burglars see this shape in the darkness... (oh, and mirrors are good too!) Plus, tell her it is an investment which cannot go wrong!

Well, I enjoyed Braveheart, despite the unforgiveably clumsy muddling of 100 years of people and dates. (Arthur was a step too far, though...) In the same way, I enjoyed The Last Samurai. It's the emotion that counts, so there! (Besides, my family on my mother's side are descended from the brother of Robert The Bruce so I hate to see him vilified.) (Plus, one of my students, Shin Koyamada, played Nobutada in Last Samurai and flew around in Tom Cruise's private jet, so how could I not like the film???)

As far as I know, Eric, these were called Tsuka-bukuro. There was also a Saya-bukuro for the sheath. With guns they used a Teppo-bukuro. Presumably with a spear, the Fukuro was to cover the Saya, so it could have been a Yari-no-saya-bukuro, or a Yarizaya-bukuro. This weekend I have been asking around experts and dealers to see if there might not be a Hasami-bako Sao carrying-pole somewhere. Even worm-eaten. The general opinion is, as Ian says, they are as rare as hen's teeth, (to use the gentler of the two expressions). Now if the porters gladly threw them all away or turned them into axe handles, short spears, etc., then I wonder if it might not have been an expression of freedom from the feudal era? If each one of them had one family pole handed down, then each of the people caught at the bottom of society might have been happy to trash this symbol of their slavery???

You may well be right Eric. Someone has made a kanabo-looking object out of readily available material.