Baka Gaijin

Good afternoon Gentlemen, I wonder if you could help. Over the years, I have seen a small number of Gunto, which have clearly been converted from an Ancestral Katana, to Rikugun use. I have been told, candidly, by more than aa few Japanese Gentlemen, from that Hero generation, ( As both they and us view that dreadful era), that in some cases, local village Councils of Elders would "club together" to send one of their boys off to officer training with a sword , as their patriotic duty, even though, he , as a farme or local business man's son, could not afford to buy an approved Shin Gunto, as advertised in the papers of induction. In the examples that I have encountered, from 1971 to present, usually, the Kurikata has been removed, and a makeshift Ashi had been added, the rest of the lacquered Saya being clad in a leather combat cover. A makeshift hole for an Itomaki Sarute was drilled into the area just below the Kashira, and in some cases a Fusa Himo, still attached. Quite a few of these I encountered had a similar style of Mokko Tsuba depicting Bamboo leaves. I am interested in the prevalence of the Bamboo Leaf Tsuba. Can anyone shed some light upon this? My take is that it was a single shop, supplying Regiments bound for the Burma Campaign. Given that the items were from veterans in the United Kingdom, their field of operation from which they would have fought in or have been liberated from, was essentially, Burma down to Singapore. I believe that there is a wellspring of information out there, waiting to be tapped.

Hi George, here's the reference to "Shishi shinchu no mushi" 師子身中の虫 (Worms within the Lion's body) It appears in three Sutra: http://www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/index.php?title=Worms_within_the_lion's_body

http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/sunobe.html 😎

Perhaps a Sheep? Hitsuji 羊

Looks like the seal was burned in, using a preformed "branding" iron. I have seen similar effect on Koryu Bokuto from Meiji and Taisho era. Which supports Piers' statement: "We can guess that it was either an indicator for Mito (Ibaraki) Castle armoury, or added at the time of the great roundup and registration in early Meiji."

Hi Bruce, Looks like the type of weave known as Shigeuchi or Shigekumi, it was originally popular for swords in the Tensho era (1573 - 1592). Your can still get it as Sageo, from good suppliers of Budo equipment in Japan.

http://yoroi.co.jp/english/english/history.html http://yoroi.co.jp/english/english/product-2.html

Hi Patrice, is the top character on the signature cartouche 旭

Hi Dick, the Kuwagata (Metal plumes on the helmet) need reversing, so they look like this:

Thought you might like a bit of light reading........ Oyabun

There are genuine images of actual named Samurai taken during the Bakumatsu. Probably the most famous are those of of Sakamoto Ryoma: Katsu Kaishuu And here's a Conte (Chalk Drawing from Life) of Saigo Takamori, by Edoardo Choisonne Note the Kamon of the Satsuma and the Shimadzu Family. Here's a link to Sengan En and the Legacy of the Shimadzu Family, which is curated by Alex Bradshaw, who hails from Sheffield: https://www.senganen.jp/en/ This should fill in some gaps between Hollywood Fantasy and Reality: https://www.senganen.jp/en/topic/news-en/

This one Oyabun?

Good afternoon Gentlemen, The Silver Albumen print of the three figures in #2 is ascribed to Felice Beato c.1865; Beato was working in Japan between 1863 - 1884. The armour worn by the seated figure shows up in another Beato image, also dated 1865. Reference: Gallerie Verdeau Paris, who exhibited both images at the London Photograph Fair in 2015. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/pictures/stunning-vintage-photographs-depict-daily-life-19th-century-Japan-10284236.html Beato produced Commercial Albums which were extremely popular in the West. He is referenced as one of the earliest Photo Journalists, having documented a variety of events Worldwide. Just an addendum regarding Tsuba control. A few Koryu use the thumb (As it faces forwards) at 1 o'clock (11o'clock from the observer's POV) and the index finger curled around the front of the tsuba at 7 o'clock (5 o'clock observers POV). Also a certain Household in Kyushu advised its young Samurai against random acts of violence, enforcing them to tie their swords closed with a knotted paper string through the Kozuka Hitsu ana and Kurikata, there are Tsuba which have a hole precisely for this purpose. . Would you want to tangle with this fine gentleman, back in the day? https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285902 PS The Circle and Cross Kamon shown in both images in the Independent Newspaper article, is still associated with the Shimadzu Family.

I've checked my back stock of Fuchin and the dimensions are about right,

I wonder if it is a Fuchin hanging scroll weight minus the himo and fusa?

High George, Chinese, most likely Canton Work, similar subject matter is found in Ivory for Victorian Card cases.

Could it be an example of Tameshi testing? Markus Sesko wrote an article about various forms of Tameshi which took place during the Bakumatsu. https://markussesko.com/2019/08/27/destructive-sword-testing/ I think Guido also posted something about destructive testing on Tsuba. Should be somewhere on NMB.

Hi, George, Without labouring you with obscure Japanese terms. You have a Fan Dagger. They appear in the late Bakumatsu era (1853 - 1867) This was effectively the ending of the Samurai as a Social force. Fan Daggers continued to be produced in the Meiji era (1868 - 1912), and beyond as tourist trinkets. It is rare to fine a blade of any real value in such mountings. However as an example of an artifact of extreme Social Change, they have an importance. Folding Fans were briefly banned in the new Tokyo, from certain areas such as Performance Arts and Sport events including - Kabuki and Sumo. Hope this helps

Good evening Old Bean, Evidence of Absence is not Absence of Evidence.... Occam's Gillette.... Sho Kosugi..... Numerous 12 year olds.... However, no sign of Ninja.......... Like Fight Club, if you can find a Ninja Dojo, it isn't. Shinobi existed, but, hidden in plain sight, and part of the Densho of many Koryu. Specific tools and impedimenta are a 20/21 Century construct, based upon Films and Manga. Your NBTHK Sensei sounds the most plausible.

Thank you Robert and Piers, I think you've hit the proverbial with the proverbial. The decoration on the outside of the box is quite elaborate, and very much for the Western taste.

Good afternoon, I have a document box with a rather elegant script and Kao. I suspect it is early 20th Century. I have done a partial translation, but would appreciate a second opinion.

Hi Bruce, If you count the petals on the illustration "Toyotomi" Kamon and the ones of yours, there is a distinct difference.

The Hokusai manga were originally sketches made with black ink. Later hands may have added colour to editions, possibly to increase sales, but this is not how they were intended. Clue: It's all in the weave of the Paper.

Hi Greg, There are several impressions of the Hokusai Manga, which extended to 15 volumes, from 1815 to 1878. There are later impressions in both Meiji, Taisho and Showa era. The early impressions are woodblock printed, often in Fukurotoji format. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_books Here are some examples: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/851646?fbclid=IwAR03GnvVPxyMU4M3XhavsE2fJNZ9g1z5VQqFjnUVQF2CdEsjdoQ3lNPHgGg https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/851648?fbclid=IwAR1fQQafBOFX2EWNXCTOakUgb3NpzFdCHGJDDyK4gYBBE9qCbktG01DuFmY Watch out for insect and water damage.

Hi Jack, Nothing fake about this. Equally nothing to be said about the blade. Constructed from bone for sale to lower end tourists c.1900 - 1920. They can be really well carved. Not of great value, but worthy of preservation for exactly what it is, an honest piece of history.