Bugyotsuji

Not getting much thanks for answering you, Yves, but here goes just once more. You have not included the name of the organization in your photo, so we are left to guess.

So Jim, you suggest it could be a fake?

“Edo Jidai, Zenki” means the first part of the Edo Period. (First 1/3rd) Maybe 1600s. Actually I think that description is quite full. *If it had said “Edo Shoki” then that would have been the very beginning of Edo.

Fuzzy, but an interesting shot of 礼射 ‘Reisha’ at our third event this year, up at Susai Castle on 14 April 2024.

It was my fault, the way I phrased it. I should be asking for forgiveness. Thank you for your always scholarly input!

Yes Franco, we all know it means 'old Hoki' from the Tottori/Japan Sea side of Japan, but surely ordinary readers would not, especially without the Kanji.

Not really a reader-friendly article either. It doesn't explain for example what 'kohoki' is supposed to mean. Here is a more detailed article in Japanese. 最古級の日本刀、なぜ天井裏に？春日大社、８０年前発見 (higashiyamatoarchive.net) Even so this is another reason to take that trip pilrimage to Kasuga Taisha and Nara Park.

Certificate Edo Jidai, Zenki, Tokubetsu Kitchō. Tetsu Kuro Urushi Nuri Kitsuké Kozané Moegi ito odoshi Ni-mai Dō Gusoku

Ah, thanks for that. I see what you mean! These Kozuka blade Mei were mostly (but not always) a dedication in admiration to a famous swordsmith, so they would be unlikely to tell you anything about whoever made the little blade itself. (Signatures you find on the Kozuka ‘fukuro’ however usually do indicate the artisan, though you need to watch out for fakes!)

CC, the word Kozuka means ‘small handle’. A useful blade is inserted into this handle, so the two together are also referred to as ‘Kozuka’. In your case I am asking where the Mei is, on the steel blade or on the main work of art, the Kozuka handle, sometimes referred to as the fukuro or ‘bag’.

As to David's interesting example, rather than an obvious cross, I see rounded stained glass windows, Roman Catholic.

Rather large Namban here, 8.7 x 8.2 cm., with dragons and flower bases ('capsules'?) set with 7 (4+3) small amber cabochons. Silver fukurin. Attractive but I wonder what the story behind this might be…(?)

The fittings have a kind of Mino feel to them. Nice package so far. The kozuka with kumade and mi design looks good from here. When you say a worn 'signature' do you refer to the kozuka blade, or to the handle metalwork?

Definitely not 刀 katana, in which the strokes never cross. The kanji 力 chikara/ryoku/riki with the meaning of power, strength, surge, grit, etc. (As opposed to カ ka in katakana, which has no intrinsic meaning except to designate pronunciation, or to question something, and か ka in hiragana with an extra stroke, again to represent a sound.)

How could I have missed this thread? Dang.

Turn up the volume! April 7, 2024 on the bridge at Shinjo Village, where the famous Sakura de Triomphe (Gaisen Sakura) are located. Three ladies start us off with a 'Reisha' or salute. At 14:30 I get knocked off my feet by the 50 Monme hand cannon. The 100 Monme (19:50) towards the end is good!

He specialized in the Bakumatsu. As you slid open the front door for the very first time, this is what guests saw in front of them:

For Alex, etc. Change of angles in the genkan.

Yes. My eyeballs get heavy just looking at them, Alex. Proper do your back in. I can add some more shots if you like. Another friend showed me photos of some Tokugawa cannon in his garden, weighing 400 kg each, I think he said. Covered in inscriptions, apparently.

Every room in the house was packed with stuff. Eventually they moved out from this rickety old house!

He allowed me to take photos on condition that it was only for personal use, so I never showed them to anyone. Eventually he donated about 2,000 objects to the Meirin Gakusha Museum in Hagi, much of which is on display there. Definitely worth visiting if you are ever in Yamaguchi. Sadly Ogawa San died a couple of years back, but his Japanese matchlock accessories book is still a must-have. PS Memory Lane... he was once the leader of the Choshu matchlock troop, and his wife was a member and used to fire an O-zutsu big gun. She looks great in this one photo that I took a secretive shot of! Sssshhh.... Oh, and I inherited a few things from them!

Talking about collectors for a second, the genkan of one friend was so packed with bits that there was hardly room to take your shoes off, even after he had moved stuff because guests were arriving. Just been looking back thru some old camera memory cards. The front hall.

There are various versions to the story, one being that a priest was doing the rounds of the lanterns, filling the oil dishes, when he was mistaken for a thief. It does illustrate to me however, (as a lower-end collector of old lamps and lanterns) the value placed on lamp oil way back when, especially if it was carried in such a special pot. I read somewhere that Natane abura (rapeseed oil) was a luxury for the elite, when the general populace used fish oil for lighting their room at night. It was also the custom rule to extinguish any flame when you left a room, or to carry the lamp with you. (Wisdom from a land of frequent earthquakes and catastrophic fires.)

One can only dream! I once saw and handled a wonderful long-boxed Tanegashima, shiny and perfect in every detail of woodworking and kirikane metalwork, with various accessories plus two interchangeable locks in the set, one matchlock and the other a percussion lock. It struck me that an ageing gunsmith must have decided to record his life and times, pouring all his knowledge into one Meiji swansong opus.

Used to have this one myself, but having scratched my head bald, I must have sold it. Regretting it now.