Bugyotsuji

Oh, as to the large sage w/peach okimono, agreed concerning age. This one is stunningly large, from a goodly-sized antler base, and the carving is not bad. Quite heavy in the hand, it looks and feels at first like stone, marble perhaps.

Mmm… I like that one Pietro. And for shiatsu too! As requested, the tooth, a very small Netsuké which I chose for quality of carving rather than age, per se. a b c d

Hmmm... not aware of what they are, but John, I was wondering whether the ajiro-gasa straw sombrero might not be decorated with a constellation map... oops

The 'bag' may be a Mino straw cape, and it could be symbolizing or recalling the mino-game (Mino + Kame) , the turtle of long life.

The tag on the left does not seem to correspond...(?)

Still a bit fuzzy, but yes, the paperwork does seem to correspond to that tsuba, Marcin. 杢目鍛日足紋鐔 Mokume Kitae Hi-ashi Mon Tsuba 保存刀装具 Hozon Tosogu 平成十一年 Heisei 11, April 14

The paperwork is too fuzzy to read, but yes, the Mei on the tsuba says Ōmi no Kami Tsuguhide, as above. Although I pay J Yahoo action monthly, they have locked me out a couple of years back as I misplaced the password and they send emails to an old alternate work account no longer in use. :headbang: Interesting tsuba btw.

We often decribe Netsuke as tactile objects to roll around in the hands, almost like worry beads. (Shades of the steel worry balls of Captain Queeg in the Caine Mutiny.) Just had an original thought! (All clapping gratefully accepted) These Netsuke of Chinese sages with elongated heads have been explained in one way or another, but last night my daughter handed me a specially-shaped wooden massage pointer that she had bought in Tokyo. As I was pushing it into various acupuncture points in my hands it suddenly struck me that these pointy-headed or other long Netsuke may just have had that very function, for Shiatsu no less, traditional manipulation of pressure points, which would take our understanding a step deeper than that of rolling a Netsuke around in the palm for passive pleasure. Two okimono in background, stag antler Momo Sennin and Bizen yaki Daruma. Four netsuke, one of which is a silk seal. Whale tooth, ivory and stag antler.

Hmmm... normally you might expect two kanji to follow 紀

Something I need to get my head around. Many years ago a friend handed me a tsuba and said 'Kagamishi'. It looked like a sandwich construction, with a copper core and identical design (bronze?) plates on the front and back. Could that have been an example of later Edo period construction?

Hi Hector, you are absolutely sure there is no sign of another kanji anywhere?

Original to what? Never fitted to a sword probably. I do not think it is modern, if that is what you mean. It seems to be in Hikone (Soten) style, which became popular throughout Japan in the Edo period.

Interesting process, Jean. Many thanks. The presenter kind of scrambled it, but the rough-cut carving style 一刀彫 ittōbori is pronounced like ‘It - toe- borry’. (= one-blade-carving)

Yes, Michael, and this 1.8 cm bore is equivalent to a lead ball weight of 10 Monmé. Samurai guns (Shizutsu) are also sometimes called 10-Monmé guns. 十匁筒 (Jū Monmé Zutsu)

Most regular ashigaru battlefield guns used around 1.5~1.6 cm ball. These are called 軍用筒 gunyozutsu. Longer bird guns and target guns (as in the photo) tended to have a bore diameter of 1.3 cm or less. Lethal close up, yes, agreed. Then there was a shorter, heavier gun with a bore of around 1.8 cm, and these rarer elite better-quality guns were called 士筒 or　侍筒 (Shizutsu , literally ‘samurai gun’) for ‘proper’ samurai, as opposed to the mass of ashigaru riffraff.

Long gun, small bore, probably not samurai caliber, hard to judge, but it looks generally ok from just that one foreshortened angle shot.

Away from my books right now, but like Marcin above I spent some time searching the Japanese web and found some possibly related Mon/Kamon, but no exact matches. Sometimes ‘family crests’ were created in the post-Edo period during the proud era of militarism.

That last kanji is probably 嘉 佐渡の守国富基嘉 - 検索

Ah, thanks for that. At 3.556 cm it seems to be closest to 50 monmé Gary.

A heavy Ogino-Ryū. At 2.6 cm internal bore, probably a 30 Monme O-zutsu, Gary.

Checked with AI and it says that it depends on context, but generally means a product that is usable but not made completely to standard. Something with a small rip or tear or scratch, for example, can be the equivalent of B級品, B-kyuhin) or B quality, etc.

PS This could equally go under ‘Other Japanese Arts’ PPS Loving the ojime!

Generally speaking, it all looks to be made up with authentic pieces. You say you recently acquired it, but now you are asking its worth? A nice set anyway! PS 定良 Sadayoshi could be the Kiseru owner’s name. The 谷 stamp is interesting, where you might expect 純銀 Jun Gin etc. The Mei ‘Hamano Noriyuki’ needs further study as it was often copied, and if you look you can find small differences. Put that on hold! Kanzan plaque does look like the top of a Kozuka. Tempted to say too many famous names in one set!!!

A story that doesn't fly.

Jean, which above chart is spelled wrongly? (I was referring to the stamp itself which says 眞金入) Did they deliberately chose different kanji for the same sound, in order to emphasize something slightly different, perhaps a process that was new at the time?