Shogun8

Another interesting menpo... Please provide more pics when you have the chance...

I agree - the menpo seems unusual and interesting...

Hi Gary, Can you explain what you mean by this? John

During these times, the postal service has been incredibly slow. I had a kabuto stuck at the post office in Japan for over a month and then when it finally did leave, it got stuck again in the Canadian p.o. for over another month. USPS is just as bad, so I'd give it a little more time.

Barry, Any pics of the entire menpo?

Adam, I think you did very well with this menpo. Yes it has condition issues but as Uwe says it's a good, honest menpo, I think of the Iwai school which is one of my personal favourites. Don't know if the tare is original, but here's an image of a hanbo I have that has an original chain mail tare. One difference that I notice is that the holes of your menpo are located in the middle of the mounting plate whereas on mine the holes are near the bottom edge. The mail of your tare definitely shows some age in keeping with the age of the menpo and your menpo is definitely earlier than my hanbo, which probably dates to the late Edo.

Agreed Ian. These Western kabuto were rarely signed and I've never seen or don't know of any signed eboshi in particular.

Unfortunately, these kind of mistakes seem to be happening more often with me lately, Ian!

Hi Adam, Ian is absolutely right, the dō is of course a nuinobe dō, my eyes strayed to the other details of the dō like the muneita, waki-ita and oshitsuke-ita and I completely ignored the fact that this dō does not have the most important characteristic of the mogami type - the 4 hinges and 5 sections. Brain freeze! That's what you get when you're trying to send 3 emails, answering texts and Messenger and browsing NMB at the same time! Still, a nice example of a nuinobe dō. Apologies for my hasty and careless assessment and Ian - thanks for not jumping all over me!

Adam, When I read the first few lines of your post, I was almost afraid to see what you got for your $380. You actually did very well, IMHO. It is indeed a mogami dō, which are not common and yours is much better than most examples that I see. Yours is ubu and looks to be from the early Edo period, perhaps even late Momoyama. Well done!

Not to my knowledge. Andy Mancabelli does restoration work and he sometimes returns home stateside occasionally, but he's mostly in Japan.

Attribution to Uda Kunimune

Barry, Was it a tanto, by any chance?

Hi Simon, This armour is from the Wakisaka clan.

Here's another interesting box - this time a kabuto bitsu, covered in leather:

I agree with your theory, Piers. I would also add that many karabitsu that one sees today that are very fancy, with makie, inlay, mon, etc., are from the Meiji period and made primarily for decorative purposes. I think that true armour karabitsu (such as those made for o-yoroi) were actually quite simple. The one from the Met is indeed a beautiful example, but I think it was not made for an armour because it's a little too small (it's only 13" tall and I think that's with the legs) for that purpose.

Very interesting boxes, Piers - thanks for sharing! I can see that you are also a box aficionado, as I have been for as long as I can remember. There's just something about a well-made box that I find fascinating. Given the ubiquity, variety and quality of boxes in Japanese culture - and the culture's predilection for making books about any subject imaginable - I would think that there must be books on this particular subject matter, which might contain information such as how to date such objects. Can you explain your statement above - "...that changes my understanding of things then..." with regards to my karabitsu? On another note, though a little off-topic, I thought I would share this interesting little video: https://twitter.com/cctvidiots/status/1243391627525160960?s=20

Hi Piers, When I first bought this karabitsu, I thought it could have been pre-Edo, but I have shown pictures of it to a few of our senior society members in Japan and they all seem to think that it's Edo. Eric is indeed missed...

Thought I'd revive this thread by sharing this negoro karabitsu from the Edo period: On a related note, does anyone know if there are any books published on antique Japanese boxes?

Hi Michael, Well, every library should certainly have a copy of Ian's Arms and Armour of the Samurai which provides a great overview of the subject. If you're looking for scientific analysis or an academic approach to the study of armour that is more technical and specific, from the list of books presented at the link, then I would recommend Robert Burawoy's Armuriers du Japon: Etudes de Meiko Zukan (if you speak French of course). Trevor Absolon's Samurai Armour: The Japanese Cuirass is a hefty tome that goes into great technical (and at times, historical) detail about the dō. The first three yearbooks of the JAS have presented some very in-depth (and frankly, cutting edge - pun intended) articles on subjects as varied as toppai, momonari and Joshu kabuto, the Japanese matchlock, and the Nobuie controversy, presented by the most senior experts of the society in Japan, as well as Western scholars such as Robert Burawoy. As well, membership in the JAS provides partial translations of the society meetings, some of which have presented very serious discussion on varied topics relating to katchu. Hope this helps!

From the photographs, I think it's Yamasiwa.

Whether it's a breastplate or a back plate or for male or females, the proportions just look off...

Something about this piece gives me the heebie jeebies...

Chris, I agree with Uwe. The mask you posted is from the Myochin and I think a Nara-type like the first one Uwe posted would suit best. However, it's always a matter of personal taste. Also, if you can, try to match the tare/yodare kake of the mask with the shikoro of the kabuto as closely as possible, with the same plate style and odoshi colour and pattern (hishi nui, mimi ito, etc.). I this particular instance, the plates of your shikoro seem to be covered in sabi nuri (urushi imitating russet iron) and the odoshi is quite simple - sugake (wide-spaced) in dark blue with no accent colours (hishi nui or mimi ito in different colours).

I remember reading somewhere that Haruta Tokimune was one of the few makers to sign his momonari.