Bugyotsuji

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.

Congratulations. It looks very good.

Oops. I got all kinds of warning bells and whistles when I clicked on that... PS pics posted above.

Yes, and yes. I'll post a close-up or two today. Get as close as the artist ever got! :lol:

Ah, thanks!

And now I have just seen your 'other' paper with "Nie nyoi shin shin to tsuku"...

Sorry, had to do a bit of research、Bernard. It says for the Choukoku, "omote ura kaki-tooshi no 掻き通し

My goodness, Eric, you do come up with some unusual things! Yes, I have parted with things over the years and just occasionally one thing really causes regrets. Anyway, I was meaning to post this earlier today to illustrate some of Eric's bits, but only just got around to it. I do not think it is old, per se, but quite an interesting scene. (The red seal says 箱根八里）

I think the article needs editing. The word should be "Tsunomoto" (Tsuno is a horn)

Having learned this morning not to be too hasty, may I hedge and just say that your translation is about 90-95% correct! :lol: PS Hokkaido is usually spelt with two 'k's because there is a little hesitation in the middle to represent the Hoku+kai-do so it sounds like Hock-Kaidou.