Bugyotsuji

Jumping on the bandwagon for a second. Apologies to Henry. I asked a Shirogane-shi to replace a missing strip of Sekigane in a Tsuba, which he did very nicely. I expected the copper would go dull and gain patina pretty soon, but even after two years it's still shiny. Should I take it back to him?

Three reactors have melted down. They and their spent fuel rod pools are causing endless problems for the struggling workers, on top of which the rains and then the unbearable heat and the typhoons are approaching. Eric, the word you have used is country slang, shyoi, which probably comes from standard Japanese verb Se-ou or 'to carry on the back', = Se-oi kago, which are still on sale! http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E8%83 ... 24&bih=579

You mean Shimosaka? It's funny. I was just offered a Shimosaka Oomi-yari on Sunday... Just found this concerning a different Yari with a Shimosaka Mei: 銘には「下坂」とあり、筑後国柳川藩主田中吉政に仕えた刀匠「下坂八郎左衛門」のことであろうと言われています。 On this page: http://maedakeiji.jp/sub5.html

Watching the footage of the earthquake and tsunami I have been surprised to see how many of such articles are still used by the old people in that area, Eric.

I have heard a Kinko/Shokunin looking at a tsuba for the first time and then saying after some moments, "Neratteru tokoro wa wakaru na..." or "I can see what the maker was aiming for". In other words there must have been thousands of attempts to emulate/recreate famous tsuba, in sincerest honor/honour, many of which attempts will be extant, all slightly different, and each of varying quality.

My goodness, Eric. That is redolent with hundreds of years of everyday life. You can even sense the mood of the person and the surroundiung culture in which it would have been used. Is that your room there?

Ian, use of the word 'fabulous' has me eating out of your hand, but to tell the truth I think the dealer was having trouble selling it. It seems that few people collect things like this here now; a little rust and some cracking in the woodwork and it is doomed for the dump. I didn't dare take it home for fear the wife sees it, "we don't need any more clutter" (typical thinking of 99.9% of the population) so it now sits proudly (to me alone?) in my office where instead of doing office work I have been gently cleaning it up. I am really glad that you can see something in it. There was an old Professor here, a Gakugei-in who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. He had the best collection of Meiji Biidoro glass in Japan, among other wonderful things in his house. I used to watch this thin old man at antiques markets leafing through old books and unrolling scrolls, and I felt that he was somehow 'rescuing' little bits of history from some impending final disposal. He had an eye for things that no-one else seemed to possess, and many of his purchases turned out to be very valuable indeed. Thank you for your explanation which seems to be eminently sensible and sits well with what's there. I suspect there may once have been a flat lid to lock down the top tray, or it would have filled with rainwater. There may also have been a larger tomobako that this whole No-bento might have slotted into. Maybe one day at an antiques fair I will spot a square section pole to fit nicely through those carrying handles.

I have been looking at typical Nobento on the web. This seems to be quite different. I may have been a little hasty (not like me) in pronouncing the large box for sake... OK so here's the question. What was the large round hole in the lacquer box for? Simply an insert for a flask? Or was the box filled with water through that hole at the way station and then a bung or lid applied and tied around it, so that water could be poured out sparingly through the corner hole? Or was the corner hole used for pouring out spillage from whatever was in the box? Any thoughts? 1) There is no evidence (eg scratches, rubbing) that I can see, of a string having been passed around the box from any direction in order to tie down a lid. 2) There is no evidence inside on the floor of the liquids box of a round flask-like object having been placed there. Likewise the inner edge of the rim shows no sign of any hard object having fitted snugly into it. The lacquer looks pristine. Is it possible that this picnic frame was actually never used in earnest? Or.... was this possibly a lady's portable washstand and Ohaguro set?

Interesting theory Lorenzo. That could explain why the marks are over the weakest, ie the longest unsupported section of mimi.

Love that photo. Some great replies here. Many thanks. I should have mentioned that the nick shots were taken from 1~2 cm away. They look too deep for someone casually placing the sword even on a concrete floor. The opposite rim bears no evidence of counter bracing. So I will assume that someone either used this tsuba for whacking the edge of something hard enough to dent steel, (ignorance, iconoclasm?) or they hit it with a Mozo-to or sharp-edged iron implement as an experiment in ... what?

I am now, Keith. Thanks. I was thinking more of the Satsuma troops who believed in the Men stroke with a katana. This Tsuba was on sale at the Old Edo market for 70,000 yen. We haggled for a bit... Here are some shots of: a) the iron shoami tsuba; the edge in question marked with stick b), c), d) the same area of mimi from different angles e) an unmarked length of mimi for comparison.

That must account for the popularity of the quick single stroke out up and down before the opponent had a chance to react... (just charging the battery)

Thank you Ford. That brings me back to the original question. Where might we expect to find (sword?) nicks on the mini of a Tsuba and why? In your opinion, we wouldn't! So now I will find an excuse to go home, take some shots of the offending tsuba and await comments... :lol:

Piers, I think that 20 strikes on a tsuba during only one fight is very unlikely. It reminds me this. I am waiting to see the pictures to clear it out :D Ah Lorenzo, sometimes you do make me laugh. Whoever said the Italians had no sense of humor/humour? (What? No-one said that?) :lol:

Och, what an idiot am I. In the process of playing with the sliding latches to remove the rust and discover how they locked, it became apparent that the tangs hit each other. ??? But that was the way I bought it yesterday! Now I have just discovered that there are inserts in the uprights to receive the tangs. Duh...

The following 'No-bento' (?) evokes the Edo Period to me. The iron reinforced carrying handles with square holes show where a pole was pushed through for carrying, e.g. on the Sankin Kotai trip to and from Edo. Perhaps it should be more gorgeously decorated with Kamon etc., but its very dark simplicity called me to it. Despite some damage, it is in generally good condition with all the main bits still extant. The large sake box has a spout hole in the top corner. Black lacquered wood and iron. Pics. Exploded and unexploded, with closeups of the sliding locks.

What do I want for my birthday? Moriyama san and Morita san often provide detailed readings here of difficult Mei. Each one is a labor/labour of love, a treasure in itself and an instruction for the members. I wonder how many of these are dotted around this site? Would it not be fantastic to have them all together in one thread, or even a list of links if the photo load is a problem? Something along the lines of: "Unlocking Baffling Mei" - Illustrated Examples from the In-House Experts To rescue these and collect/collate them in one place would be a lot of work for someone to do, (I am not putting myself forward), but might there anyone out there with free time for such a project? If not, then back to my dreaming... PS Most of the above explications will be concentrated in the Translation section, I guess. PPS Should this have been in the Izakaya, I wonder?

Thanks for the detailed fill-in!

Thank you Thomas for your considered reply. I will post a crystal clear, super close-up shot this evening! (Crescents crossed... :lol: )

Many thanks for the thoughtful replies. I have a shoami katana tsuba with about 20+ nicks all concentrated to one side of the cutting edge. They are at various gentle angles and depths and widths, but in one area the cuts are so close that the mimi begins to look like the serrated edge of certain coins. Perhaps it had to do with the fashionable techniques of the time, yes, but also with the peculiar combination of two opponents in one particular fight, rather than any general rule? If so, the anywhere theory sounds good. This got me thinking about the material of a tsuba. Presumably one consideration would be how the metal receives a cutting edge. To some extent it would need to be just soft enough to absorb a blow and slow down the opponent's sword. (?)

Where might we expect to find most (sword?) notches/nicks on the mimi of a tsuba, and why?

Back on pp.90-91 of this thread, John was guessing who might have made a Chigo-zashi boy's sword. Below was his guess, and at the time I made no particular comment. (The Mei itself reads Amahide.) Well, I showed it to someone who is more an expert in Kodogu, and I was talking to him again today and his opinion is that the blade being Masame in character, and the whole of the Koshirae is to him typical of Shinshinto Mino, specifically Jumyo. 寿命　 So your answer may have been a whole lot closer than I gave you credit for. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2554&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=1335 Apologies if this is a part repost, but credit needs to be given where credit is due!

Looking at the various shapes of the seppa-dai, I wonder if the seppa were also specially shaped...?

Well, this is one other area I know nothing about, but may I just say that if it really is what it looks like, then someone has given you a wonderful present!

Thanks for the background. Wonderful story. PS Forgot to mention that the iron helmet has Yotsu-wari-bishi, (Takeda-bishi) Kamon on the fukukaeshi. In case anyone is interested, the trick to get all the plates to join together at the top of the helmet is said to have been quite a prodigious exercise. Chopping them off (like the top of a boiled egg) and inserting a Hachimanza was an easier way to get a neat-looking finish.