Bugyotsuji

Religious symbolism played a very great part in the bushi world. Christianity flourished briefly after the first missionaries arrived but was soon heavily proscribed, generally becoming 'discrete' as said above. Exceptions noted. (I have had quite a few tsuba over the years which could be interpreted as Christian, for varying reasons.) But this question has been argued hotly and repeatedly here on this forum.

All of these look better without glass! The first one fell down the back of a chest as I was hanging it, so it needs redoing… Amateur night!

上海 Shanghai does not seem to figure in there. I’d definitely call ChatGPT’s bluff.

Oh, sure, maybe tomorrow when the light is better! (I had some old frames, and a folder full of Ukiyoe, so thought I’d have some fun. )

Nice! Funnily enough, I've just been framing ukiyo-e this week.

Wow, beautifully framed!

Could be, but above the castle in the pic it says 大木戸 Ookido... so... at Takanawa by the sea?

This is Minamoto Yoritomo Oshu Taiko Seibatsu no zu Minamoto Yoritomo Oshu Seibatsu - 検索 (bing.com) Nice, liking it!

What's a zero or a comma between friends?

Hi Bradley, this video was just posted yesterday, but nice find. In here... Improving nihonto museums in Japan. - Nihonto - Nihonto Message Board (militaria.co.za) Some of us have already been to see the sword floor, jam packed with blades. There is also an armors floor, and a teppo guns floor too! If you want to see everything in a day, you'll need to get a good night's sleep first, then get in there right as the doors open in the morning! By the way, it's so new that no-one at Nagoya main station knew where it was, and even the taxi driver asked for the correct address to put into his navigation system as he'd never heard of it.

Found this in a drawer. A copper yataté (worn through the obi like a netsuké and sagémono set, which illustrates the first post of this thread.) “Now you see it, now you don’t!” Opened for brush calligraphy or sumi-e painting. (Two kozuka examples shown) And how they pack away. The small ‘Kozuka’ for cutting paper, etc. See partition inside hollow tube.

Lewis, if you pass through Okayama City on the way to Osafuné, (most catch the local train there) then check out in advance what is on at the Hayashibara Museum of Art opposite Okayama Castle. Often they have blades from their own good collection on display.

Ah, well, it gives this information here: 無鑑査.広木弘邦刀匠の父.筑州柳川住弥四郎國広作之.来写し.綺麗な直刃.刃長75.6反り3.0.状態良.居合刀. Mukansa. Father of the swordsmith Hiroki Hirokuni. Mei (as in earlier post above) Rai Utsushi (copy) Kirei na (pretty, beautiful) suguha. Blade length, sori, etc. In good condition. Iai-Tō.

Do you not find it strange that it records the date of birth of the owner, but not the name of the owner, Moriyama San? It is almost as if it is recording two births… Is it likely that this ‘owner’ is also the smith?

Yes, possibly, …but I am not really sure why it would say that. The date on the left may be the time of manufacture, June of Showa 52.

I think it says that the 所持者 shojisha owner was 生 sei/umare born in Showa 39, and the inscription itself is signed in Showa 52?

筑州柳川住弥四郎國廣作之 as you said above. Showa dates are slightly blurred in that shot…

The Buddhist Wheel of the Law is also know as 法輪 Ho-rin.

Almost best and quickest way is to buy some bamboo knitting needles of the required gauge, chop off the ends, and sand off.

Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone. I will pass on the link to this thread. It will be hard to replace him as he was the de-facto go-to tsukamaki Shi for Osafuné, Bizen. I remember Hashimoto Kun once saying that he orders in ‘himo’ (string), but once it’s strung it is called ‘ito’ (string, thread). The very same material. Perhaps the difference is in the tension, and corresponding thread thickness when strung.(?)

Oh and I found these of his from five years ago in the camera memory. (Repeated spaced clicks will make these shots grow bigger and bigger.)

I remember some years ago a group of us went for a bite to eat at Yoshinoya after the local sword NBTHK meeting. He mentioned he had started a paper round from 3:00 am each morning, to supplement his income. Some of his work

That looks like my Alma Mater, but they’ve sure done it up swell.

Just recently he went to Tokyo with other artisans for the NBTHK awards ceremony and fell ill during the celebrations afterwards. He never made it home. Tsukamaki-Shi Hashimoto Kun from the workshops at Osafuné was the humblest, kindest person you could imagine. He didn’t say much, but his eyes shone with respect and honesty. I simply wish to record his short life and eternal passing here. He leaves his young wife Ai San. (Last summer he restrung the hilt of a wakizashi for me, and it was even better than I had expected. Everyone had high hopes for him. Such a sad affair for all.) Awarded 14 prizes. This he did for me.

Awwww.... bars on the windows, no fair, even white ones!