Bugyotsuji

Coins and tsuba both start with a metal pancake. Both are fascinating objects that can transport you backwards in time. An artisan once told me that a quality iron plate for a tsuba might cost US $250 today, even in its raw state. Tsuba are larger and more tactile in the hand, allowing you to connect with the maker and sometimes the user(s). Each Tsuba holds little clues, apart from any inscriptions on it, and part of the allure (besides the cameo-like aesthetics) is the hunt for the story behind it. Hard, indeed, but that in itself can add interest, sometimes taking years to narrow down. In some cases you may find an exact date (if a recorded smith added his/her age, for example), but in many cases smith lists will record their place of work (eg Edo) and rough working years (eg Bunsei). Some will remain a puzzle, but you can always consult people and solicit opinions to help narrow it down, if you like it enough. You will find that tsuba collectors may have found a particular niche. One of my friends for example only collects Bizen Suruga. Some are more broad, liking Edo soft metal, others iron. Horses for courses applies! (General thoughts, maybe echoing some posts of others above…)

This small tsurumaru bolo/loop tie turned up in an antiques fair the other day. (Silver-plated on copper base?) On the front it says 孫六 Magoroku. On the back 日本美術会館 Nihon Bijutsu Kaikan and 銀P (silver plate). Reverse

The Kamon on your gun is a version of 丸に抱き柏 Maru ni daki kashiwa ‘Embracing’ oak leaves in a circle. This was used by several families including the Tsuji Daimyō. https://irohakamon.c...runidakikashiwa.html

That really does look as good as dammit, Fabian. Good work. Some of my teppō have original pins, others were made later. Many years ago I bought a beautiful Hino gun at a sword-and-gun shop in town. The pin was missing from the pan lid/cover. When I pointed this out, the Bantō walked over to the Tanegashima which were stacked against the wall, had a quick look through, and casually extracted one for my ‘new’ acquisition. (Someone else’s problem from then on!)

Last name 陳暁 Chinshō, Chingyō? PS These Aoi Takezō smiths were active from Bunsei to Ansei toward the end of the Edo period. PPS The first photo shows the double helix method of barrel forging 二重巻張 Nijū Makibari

Some details to the reading of this name will need further research as this particular smith does not seem to be listed. Anyway the smith served the Kishū Han in Ise Matsuyama, (勢州 meaning　伊勢 Isé). 勢州大石青井丈蔵　… … Sei Shū Ōishi Aoi Takezō plus this further personal name.

Hōki no Kami Fujiwara Nobutaka

Re advice. Do not polish the tang (remove the patination) any further.

Naomichi, (real name) Soda Matabei, used the 'Go' Nyudo Michinao, moved from Kyoto to live in Osaka. Around Koka period. Carved (chiseled) his own work.(?) PS I don't think even AI would be able to read that old style Japanese (yet), but I'd love to be proved wrong!

Modern up-and-coming smiths (and most sword-related artisans) cannot make a living solely from sales of their traditional craft. There is no such moneyed market in Japan these days. Many are forced to seek side jobs just to feed themselves. It’s a thankless task to carry on this tradition, but some brave few feel compelled to somehow keep it going. The Mayor of Setouchi City (where Osafuné is located) just returned from a sales trip to Paris for example, looking for rich clients to support swordsmiths in the Bizen area. (Lovely blade by the way!)

Stephen, pm sent.

If you want more certainty, you can formulate a set of rules for yourself, such as (somewhat like coins) only buying tsuba with NBTHK certification papers attached. At least until you feel comfortable with your own eye.

Yes, Stephen. A long convoluted story, but all’s well that ends well. Having paid rent here for over 30 years, we eventually got a deal on a house not too far away that was being vacated. We had some work done on it, such as fixing the roof and replacing unsafe floors, etc., and wifi was installed last week. There are said to be eight or nine million such ‘akiya’, a phenomenon which has appeared with the aging population. The wife is happy, so that’s 75% of the battle won, and I too reckon this will work in the meantime.

Moriyama Sama, 改 is what I thought it might... be, but is this a 'mistake' or an acceptable, alternative way of writing it?

Incidentally the word Sotoba is said to trace back to the Sanskrit ‘Stupa’.

It looks as if you are successfully narrowing down your focus. Both of those look ok at a glance. The most important thing to me must be this searching and honest question about your motivation: who do you want to impress? Yourself? Do you feel pride and pleasure every time you look at it? Others? Do you want casual friends to be impressed? Do you want armor experts to be impressed? Are you strong enough to take silence or (casual) criticism from others? Will you have a further budget in the future? You may want to upgrade, or even add to your collection, as your knowledge grows. Good luck and happy hunting!

That's very interesting, Jussi, thank you. Fought for the Hosokawa! https://en.wikipedia...ki/Akamatsu_Masanori (Temporary off-topic warning. Nothing to do with the price of fish, but I have a tanto made by a Daimyo. Yours has increased my known numbers of such smiths by one!)

In Jussi’s post photo 4 above, the dedication to Kanezumi may reflect the unusual way the potential client wrote his name, rather than how the KaneX smiths inscribed their own.

Many of those butt protectors get damaged, but they mainly did their job! As to the breech screw it’s obviously up to the owner. Some are so rusted shut they break under undue force. Some Tanegashima gun barrels are actually solid at the butt end, i.e. they do not have a ‘Bisen’ screw. It makes for a tighter seal in the system. You can swab out the barrel when you clean it.

Belated apologies in advance for serious thread drift. Just a quick reply to Ed. Examined it in sunlight but found not a trace of silver. In the photos I took though, you can see faint scratches in the surface of the iron in close proximity around the sun/moon. Were these caused during a process of removing silver, or are they evidence of a rust removal session? Hmmm… Now back to the “Any old iron?” topic!

Internal bore taper may indicate later use of a metal ramrod towards the end of the Bakumatsu when every ounce of bang was demanded from these old muskets. I have seen a tray of lead ball prewrapped in washi paper square patches for a tighter fit. When guns came over from the West, a huge amount of interest meant that such wadding details were eagerly copied and passed on during the last 50 years of the late Muromachi and Momoyama periods. As to the correct amount of black powder, I think you should consult one of the muzzle shooting associations, especially in the US. They will know about Tanegashima, which do well at smoothbore events, but they work in ‘grains’, which I do not fully understand. Here in Japan we are issued with 10 grams for a large long gun, 8 for a smaller bore and 6 for slim barrels, but this is for blank firing. (For my hand cannon they give me 50 grams.) I would start with perhaps no more than 5 grams and a loose ball until you find your comfort zone, and later insert wadding between powder and ball. These guns bear no proof test marks, so there is an element of pot luck! (One of our troop put 8 grams down his little gun barrel and blew the pan and lid off over the watching crowd. In 20+ years of demonstrations, I have seen barrels rupture in spectacular fashion a couple of times, one iron and one bronze. Generally though, Tanegashima have a good reputation for reliability, even today.) Opinions will vary on how to repatinate. One of our members always uses gun blue, with good black results, almost new looking, but first the barrel must be totally free of any oil residue. I brought a bottle of gun brown back to Japan with me a few years ago but I’ve never seen anyone using it, so I cannot really say. I hope others will join in here and fill in the gaps in my knowledge! Looking forward to extra shots of the barrel, breech screw, stock and butt, etc.

These are all Kyubei smiths from Kunitomo. Yours may be the seventh.(?)

Hi Fabian, Happy New Year! congratulations on your second Tanegashima long gun. There is so much information you give it that is hard to know where to start, but thank you for your detailed explanation regarding your on-going project. From what we can see in your photos it looks like a genuine piece, with even some parts present that are often missing. A too-tight lock plate is quite common, for the reasons you give. Unfortunately very hard to date without some further detailed indications, but most likely to have been made in the c.1750-1840 timeframe, from which most survive. Do not worry about the Mon. Many of these were added later to give extra cachet. The top design is ‘Mokkō’ and Oda Mokkō is perhaps the best known. The one on the base of the butt certainly looks wrong. A plain metal disk or wooden plug would be somewhat better, imho. For target shooting or game? The bore is rather small for a serious army gun. They start from around 1.4 cm up to 1.7 cm. The gun looks to be in good hands. Will you repatinate it? I have had much enjoyment making my own ramrods and hayago tubes. Please let us know how the shooting goes, and take it easy on the blackpowder to start with! PS A Tenpo/Tempo gun by your smith is listed in a record of Kunitomo gunsmiths, with a bore of 2 Monmé.

No I hadn’t considered that Ed, but what you say makes sense. Perhaps it was a silver moon. I’ll have a closer look tomorrow. The sun on an iron background did seem rather harsh, almost as if the artisan had once been a prisoner of war in Siberia.

The sun in Japan is traditionally rendered as red, almost on an automatic subconscious level. I did a little experiment at college with a class of Japanese and some overseas students. I laid out chalks of various colo(u)rs, and called on students to come up and draw a scene (which happened to include the sun). The Japanese students all reached for the red chalk, whereas the Westerners chose yellow. In the present tsuba Jean, I am guessing that the choice of copper akagane 銅, 素銅suaka (or 山銅 yamagane) means the tsubakō was envisioning the sun. https://ameblo.jp/o-...try-12170960771.html