Bugyotsuji

Ian, thank you for your reply. I was waiting and hoping you were lurking here somewhere. The phone rang today and I was told firmly that the correct word is Namban. Now this is a person that I cannot contradict openly. A friend of his (and through him, mine, but indirectly) is one of the top appraisers of kabuto and Menpo in Japan, and has a fabulous collection. I suspected that this information may have come from him, so I just accepted it as passed along. Big mistake, possibly. Thanks for the heads-up. (I noticed Sasama's book on his shelf when I visited his office a few months ago. He also liked the lacquered one, like No.1 on p. 220 but no Hachimanza, so I am wondering if they were trying to get me to swap, not expecting me to buy both.) I will definitely mention that Sasama calls them toppai... which reminds me, I just bought that book second-hand recently! Jet lag does wonders to the brain. Let's have a look... hmmm... I see what you mean. Anyway, the iron one (cf No. 15), seems to hit the spot with Japanese people as there was a bit of a competition to get it, and people offered me all kinds of congratulations. Tetsu-sabi-ji seems to be popular here, as is Uchidashi. (Well, these features add to the price.) PS You were referring to the Hit-tou-nari Kabuto (writing brush) and not the Momo-nari, right? PPS No.9 is a Kaki-nari (persimmon) shape, also quite similar. Many thanks again for your advice. I will go back and re-edit, fiendishly cleverly as always... :lol:

Koichi sama, what about the second meaning in your dictionary? 道心堅固な僧を敬っていう語。 In other words, an expression praising a monk who is steadfast in the way (of Buddha). Or, http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/133268/m0u/ 悟りを求める心を起こした人。道心堅固な僧。"Someone who has set his heart to realize enlightenment".

Thank you Leonard. Small, but I like it! I would be interested to know more about it too.

Mmmm... some of the above very nice. I particularly like Ian C's first 'soapstone' copper one for the delicate tracery.

Quick note of apology. In the posts above, and previously, I have referred to these helmets as 'Toppai' (pointed top) or 'Donguri' (acorn). While the expression 'Donguri' exists, a close friend has recently insisted they be called 'Namban Kabuto' They are comparatively rare, he assures me. Possibly true Namban are. The Tetsu-sabi-ji above is especially interesting for the eyebrows Uchidashi in the Mabisashi. Toppai (sounds like 'Top Pie' as in Apple 'Pie') Kabuto... !

Can you get another shot of it from the front, and the right side up?

Congratulations. Ben fatto. It looks very good!

Bought this one and only some years ago, but having seen the examples above, am now wishing I had studied a little more first.

Strange. Markus said this summer for the English version, but ...maybe it is out already? It certainly looks good!

Here come the promised pics. Trying out two different Maedate. One, a Hachisuka Kamon mirror with a 13c date on it... http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%9C%82% ... 0%E6%B0%8F And the other, the Ki 木 Kamon of... 高木氏（源氏）、木村氏（源氏）、木内氏（藤原）、鈴木氏(藤原）、青木氏（丹治）と多くの武家が使用しています。 ...according to this blog: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/xcfmh521/58136814.html Hatamoto Kuroiwa-shi (but no cross pieces...?) cf http://www.finesword.co.jp/sale/kodougu ... /k1310.htm

This thread is a little like the 1001 Nights, where the young wife had to come up with a new story every night to save her own neck. (Kabuto naming since edited) The Maedate above was well received and was even photographed for the SamuraiBaka blog. People thought I should not have polished it, though. After the photos above I polished it again until it shone so brightly that people had to turn their faces away. It looks great, and that is how it must have looked when new. (Shades of Himiko firing the sun at her opponents from the mirror on her helmet?) The back of the Maedate is still untouched, however, bent and dark and deep with lovely jubbly patina. The pointed 'toppai' Kabuto I am rather fond of, but when a Tetsu-sabi-ji Toppai/Namban came up over the weekend I just had to have it. So, following some sacrifice of other beautiful things I am now the proud owner of not one but TWO pointy Kabuto, one in lacquer and one in iron. PS Photos may follow at some point...

Quick 'final' follow-up on this tsuba. I showed it to a respected Tsuba collector yesterday and when I mentioned the opinions on this site concerning Choshu/ Echizen Kinai his eyes lit up and he smiled. 'Yes', he said, 'particularly Echizen'... and then he added 'Mid Edo'. PS. There is a wonderful display of Tsuba and Koshirae from private collections on the 3rd floor of Okayama Castle this month. On the second floor are perhaps 20 exceptional swords. http://www.city.okayama.jp/kankou/img/s ... etuten.pdf

Glad to be of help, Frank.

A pretty little thing, nice for someone's collection.

I think I am seeing Kashu Ju Myochin Munehisa Kao

Congratulations on your first tsuba! Have you taken the shots on a tsuba-design background? My eyes are confused...

Good point, David. I get a fairly 'good' feeling from this tsuba. There is rust in the interstices, BTW. A friend of mine is very well versed in patination/repatination. I was just discussing this tsuba with him this morning; I will definitely show it to him this weekend and see what he comes up with! :D Filed away in my brain are 1. Bizen Shoami, 2. Choshu (Chrysanthemums) 3. Echizen, Kinai. I just discovered that Amagi Castle in Okayama was home of the Amagi branch of the Ikedas, and one of their Mon was two opposing butterflies... something like this: http://fairgroundattraction.cocolog-nif ... 0544_2.JPG Anyway it's all grist to the mill. Many thanks for all the people who have taken the trouble to comment so far.

Two large oval windows, one on either side... hmmm... yes, Marie Antoinette's coach, I have been looking for this feature. But that Echizen Kinai tsuba in your link above with the two cranes is by far the closest so far, Lorenzo.

Guido...　frottage? 分かった！頑張るぞ～　

The lower of the three, the Kao?

Still trying to find which family might have used this crest. The main theme is Agari/Nobori-Fuji, rising wisteria, to which this family will trace their general spiritual roots, I guess. The tips are pointed outwards. At the top between the fronds is a Kage/In sukashi chrysanthemum of ten petals. In the center/centre is what looks like 岩　so a family name beginning with Iwa- or Gan-...? The top of the character is quite stylized and reminiscent of the single Mon Kenzan with a Ken blade in the central stroke. 山　

Thomas, I will keep Choshu in mind. These people moved around, carrying their styles with them, which makes it very hard for us to see a distinct flavor/flavour of geography at all times. Thank you. Guido, yes, it does have that appearance. You could say that it is in very good condition for its age. I will be rubbing it with a cotton cloth. I hadn't heard of Bizen Shoami until I looked it up and found it does indeed exist! :lol: Lorenzo, the eighth tsuba in your Echizen Kinai link looks very similar in execution. The stolid, rather thick appearance of the two-paired theme, and the obvious concern for strength above artistry make my Celtic ancestry want to cry out that they are by the same Tsubako. My Anglo-Saxon side calls for calm. One distinctive feature is the two large oval windows either side

Echizen. Hmmm... Thank you Lorenzo. Where do you see this? Every drop of knowledge is precious.

Thanks for looking. The silence tells me three things!

The dealer suggested Mid Edo, Bizen Shoami... but not quite sure why, except that a) Bizen is local to here, and b) the 'butterflies' reinforce (to him) the impression of Bizen, with the Lord Ikeda family Bizen-cho Mon influence. 7.7 cm diameter. The iron is deeply carved, and the butterflies (moths?) seem to have both top and bottom, reversed on the reverse. The leaves and the wings have faint designs on them.