Bugyotsuji

You said you wanted to learn these Kanji, Greg, so I was tailoring my answers to that end for you.

Nope, that’s about it. I can’t read the writing below, possibly 鉄地　Tetsu ji iron ground, 雲形透　kumo (or 変kawari ?) nari sukashi, then 無銘 Mumei. The old paperwork says 特別貴重　Tokubetsu Kitchō, and it’s from Shōwa 37.

Mmmmm................ nice, thanks! 花 hana or ka, flower(s) 雲 kumo or un, cloud(s) 形 kata/nari, shape of 透かし sukashi, openwork, transparency, see-through 鐔 tsuba, also 鍔

Can you give us some help in return, Grev? Without seeing the tsuba, it is hard to say exactly for example what 花雲形透鐔 'flower(s) cloud(s) shape sukashi tsuba' refers to. That is, what image was in the writer's mind when describing it minimalistically like this?

That's a tough one. Possibly something dreamed up in later (post-Edo) years? It does give me flashes of peony. I have been looking (unsuccessfully) for kamon examples of Zakuro (pomegranate), or Tsubaki (camellia) fruit... 椿の実 - Bing images

Katana sized?

Are you saying that the dō is a reproduction? The object looks like a drinking cup, for saké or water; often they were hung from a Netsuké. Made from a coconut shell. No direct connection or in general with a dō, but someone has added it at some time, for functional or more likely decorative purposes and to give a historical feel. (One photo does not really give the full picture though, so just guessing.)

順　御贈 Just a wild guess, but could 順 be a short form for Ryojun 旅順, this meaning a presentation which took place in Lüshun, (Port Arthur)? Or could 順 mean ‘promotion’? Haha, this was totally off the wall! (Please see Morita San below.)

Yes, I have something similar but not so fancy!

What size are we looking at? Just looking at Kotto Bugu Muchi 骨董武具　鞭 - Bing images

兼高 Kanetaka possibly...

Cannae See it.

Kane-somethng. 兼... Do you have any better shots?

Silence usually means ‘no’. You’ll eventually find one that has the time and is willing to work with you and your concerns. You can’t hurry these things though. Good luck!

Liking the battle cruiser btw!

軍艦 ‘gunkan’ is a warship, so take off the ‘gun’ military part, and… 帝国軍艦 teikoku gunkan is an imperial navy warship. So you were right, even if the writing is a little, uh, casual.

Ed, see Steve’s post above. 刀 = Katana, @ 69.2 cm.

If it’s an abalone shell, that takes us back to the dog food bowl again. In Edo they commonly used abalone shells as pet food dishes.

Or a block of dried bonito… katsuobushi tied in straw? I do like the shoe or geta idea though.

Could it be a Nirayama jingasa?

Hi John. The two bullet molds are later devices from the post matchlock era. The powder flask looks like Bakumatsu or early Meiji, but it’s missing the stopper for the spout, and the belt prong. The Netsuké is generic and could even be modern. The two hayago quick-loading tubes are correct for matchlocks, but from that one photo it is not possible to tell if they are genuinely old or made recently, for re-enactments etc. As a starter pack, why not?

The dou cuirass of my Japanese armor(u)r has been gradually shrinking over the years. Can hardly close it nowadays. Must be that poor quality Japanese iron, I reckon.

"The Lone Ranger and Tonto were hunkered down behind some rocks. Lone Ranger says "Oh no! Indians on all sides! Looks like we're surrounded, Tonto!" and Tonto, drawing his tanto, says "What do you mean "WE", white man?" There, fixed it for ya! Pronto!

R: ”It is very important to me to confirm that weapons must have actually existed around 1872. Can you make any assumptions about its probable period of production?” Yes, there was a huge national roundup of weapons conducted, by prefecture, in 1872 ... which was the year of Jinshin 壬申 (as it says on your dai-kabu). This means that the gun is older than that. Your gun does not have many typical geographical or ryu-ha gun school characteristics, making it more of a generic weapon for light military use on a battlefiled anywhere, a typical Tanegashima-style gun produced throughout the Edo Period. I am guessing that the zogan barrel decorations were added at a later period to increase its sale value, probably Meiji or later when plenty of artisans were still alive and available to do the work. Use of matchlocks began to die out around the 1840s and 1850s as they were being gradually replaced by influxes of versions of Western guns. Without a Mei and without closer study I would hesitate to narrow that down any further than 'Edo Period, likely any time between 1600-1840'. (Three things do hint to me that it could be earlier within that period, i.e. the wide 'za' pin surrounds, the narrow-waisted pan, and the square shape of the sights.)

Another angle photo might help. Check out Hattori Masahiro －　服部正廣（関の孫六兼元写） Hattori Masahiro　－　日本刀の通信販売　明倫産業株式会社 (nipponto.co.jp)