Edo Period Corner Part II

[Stephen]

Haven't dropped in on this corner for a while. Bugs I do not envy what you have to go through to save face.

[Stephen]

So you've moved to a different place in Nippon?

[Bugyotsuji]

3 hours ago, Stephen said:

So you've moved to a different place in Nippon?

Yes, Stephen. A long convoluted story, but all’s well that ends well. Having paid rent here for over 30 years, we eventually got a deal on a house not too far away that was being vacated. We had some work done on it, such as fixing the roof and replacing unsafe floors, etc., and wifi was installed last week. There are said to be eight or nine million  such ‘akiya’, a phenomenon which has appeared with the aging population.
The wife is happy, so that’s 75% of the battle won, and I too reckon this will work in the meantime.

[Stephen]

Thank you Piers,  I'd love to see the outside but totally understand if you don't want to post it,  anyway I'm glad the wife is happy

[Bugyotsuji]

Stephen, pm sent. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Should be working, deadline approaching, but just a small update.

 

Not too long ago I had a chance to purchase a tanto in nice koshirae.  A now-you-see-it-now-you-don't kind of auction setting. (I was saving to buy a second car, but when I boldly told her, the wife exploded, ...so I had a secret little down-payment stashed away.)

 

Whenever this happens my friends usually laugh and warn me not to spend any further cash on it, such as a polish, and/or a tsunagi and shirasaya. Still, I like to add something positive to a blade if possible, but  I usually end up letting the fish go on its merry way, taking a loss into the bargain. I always learn a little something, and with burnt fingers I take another long break.

 

This time too I was reminded firmly that there is no point sending good money after bad. "And whatever you do, do NOT show it to your Sensei or the people at the local NBTHK meetings." 

 

Well, on Sunday I went to the monthly meeting and asked quietly about the possibility of getting a shirasaya made. To me it is a quiet, unpretentious blade, with little to see. This time, however, the reaction was quite strong. "Definitely spend money on this one!" my Sensei said. The Togishi had a look and he too was impressed. "A rare blade!" he commented.

 

It's a mumei So-Shu Masahiro wakizashi (or sun-nobi tanto) of just over 30 cm. Second half of Namboku Cho. Tokubetsu hozon, NBTHK. They didn't even write 'den' before Masahiro. No photos as it's away at the Shirasaya-Shi. Just debating whether a gentle polish might bring up the hataraki, or more shingane. This time will it be a keeper? 

 

And the moral of the story is... well, wodja reckon? 

 

 

[Tohagi]

Waow! Hope to see it some day!

 

Kind regards,

Eric 

[Bugyotsuji]

2 hours ago, Tohagi said:

Waow! Hope to see it some day!

 

Kind regards,

Eric 

Thanks, Eric. I hope so too... 

[Matsunoki]

9 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

And the moral of the story is... well, wodja reckon?

Buy first, wonder about it later🙂

[Bugyotsuji]

10 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

Buy first, wonder about it later🙂

Ouch, yes! Having just missed out on something that I was actually prepared to buy, dang! I was on a hair trigger... a very dangerous place to be.

[Bugyotsuji]

In the meantime a friend called on Sunday and said someone wanted to get rid of four Tanegashima, and would I be interested in having a look? Well, I was in my pyjamas (pajamas) and about to have breakfast, and it was a three-hour round-trip on the tollway. “Nah, can’t really be bothered”, I thought…

 

But then I discovered myself getting dressed and telling the wife I’d need the car and I’d be out for a bit. Got back around 6 pm.

[Shugyosha]

But did you buy one or more of the tanegashima...?? You're such a tease sometimes.

[Bugyotsuji]

13 minutes ago, Shugyosha said:

But did you buy one or more of the tanegashima...?? You're such a tease sometimes.

Haha! Like to know sometimes if there are real people out there John! 
 

The short answer is yes.

Two were lacking the correct registration cards and needing so many lost parts they were virtually junkers. Two were kind of OK but in filthy condition. My friend suggested suitable prices to the owner, asked if I’d like to choose one, so I chose the cheaper of the two, the one with correct paperwork and a working serpentine. The rust, mold, and heavy verdigris were daunting. He took the percussion conversion with good condition metalwork and a registration card saying the Mei was 不明 fumei. It was actually legible so it can be resubmitted to the Education Committee for alteration of registration cards.

 

Anyway I spent the day cleaning it up and made a list of pleasing discoveries.

Actually I have been looking for a suitable Sakai (Osaka) gun, so this may be the fated one! 

One funny thing happened. We cracked open the barrel and I said ‘Sakai’!
The lady owner said “Yes?”
I said “What?”

She said, “My name is Sakai!” 

(I wonder if her family had these from generations back? The Okayama Han used to order teppō from Sakai.)

[Brian]

Sounds like a day out that I would have loved. Also love a good project so I would probably have bought them all.
But I'm sure you did great, we await pictures.

[Bugyotsuji]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Sounds like a day out that I would have loved. Also love a good project so I would probably have bought them all.
But I'm sure you did great, we await pictures.

Mmmm... yes you would have enjoyed it, but as to buying all of them, yes and no for me. The guy who used to do all the heavy wood and metalwork on bugu like swords and guns has retired and gone into a home, having divested himself of all his equipment. This means you have to judge in advance if there's anything you cannot handle yourself, meaning the possibility of sending something away to someone who can do such work. Time consuming and not cheap. But still, it's hard to disagree.

 

Tomorrow I have some free time so I'll take some shots. You'll have to forgive the missing pan lid, but I do have plans for that.

The Mei under the barrel is a Sakai smith house I have not come across before, with the unusual reading of Nakami or Nakamizu.

半巻張 'Han makibari' suggests it might be quite old.

摂州住中水吉兵衛 Sesshu Ju Nakami(zu) Kichibei.

 

The secret reason that I chose the cheaper one is that under the dirt I spotted among the typical Sakai copper and brass decorative inlay what looked like some silver kirigane, and possibly even some gold, very rarely found on a Tanegashima. This intrigued me and I was looking forward to finding out what was really under there.

 

A demain... (Manyana)

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Two overall shots to start with. Pity I didn’t take any before shots! You would not have believed it!

Generally I was building up a collection representing all the regions and gunnery schools in Japan, so I am pleased to finally get a Sakai gun. Most collectors seem to start with one, but here I am going the other way round. (I started about 25 years ago with an Awa long gun, and the next was one from Hino.)

 

 

And 

 

Notice the Hikeshi no Ana chrysanthemum surround is half silver and half shinchū.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Some of the unusual features on this gun, besides the smith name.

 

1. The bi-metal hikeshi no ana. Sometimes you see them stacked, like the hachimanza on a kabuto, but this is half-and-half. You can see tiny pins holding each hemi-section in place. 

 

2. The mekugi hole surrounds are Japanese apricot (梅) flowers, but each one is pinned. I cannot remember seeing such pins before; normally these were simply set into place, presumably hammered in and glued. (?)

 

3. Under the stock is a solitary, seemingly random, small solid gold disc, like the sun. This puzzled me for a while until it clicked. It's supposed to be a ho-ju dragonball, and the large kirigane dragon is actually chasing it.

 

4. The trigger is a sukashi type, unusual for Sakai, and the near sight is not a Mt Fuji style as you might expect for an Osaka gun.

 

5. On the top of the butt is a paulownia (Hideyoshi) kiri mon. The smith's or the owner's ancestor must have been a supporter of the Hideyoshi family at the seige of Osaka, not of the Tokugawa.

 

Apart from these, and the various kirigane inlays in shinchu and silver, here I was happy to find a gun with the oft-missing trigger guard and ring fitment still intact.

 

Projects. Get the bisen loose, de-rust the barrel, and make a new pan lid/guard/cover.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Cleaning up the brass plate, I discovered a rabid dragon, and ahead was that gold disc.

 

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

五三桐紋 Gosan no Kiri mon kirigane on top of butt behind dōgané band.

[Tohagi]

Absolutely beautifull !

 

You have a gift...

 

Kind regards, 

Eric 

[Bugyotsuji]

On 3/11/2025 at 5:18 PM, Tohagi said:

Absolutely beautifull !

 

You have a gift...

 

Kind regards, 

Eric 

Thank you, although I did pay for this gift! 
Actually the gold spot could be Kondō, copper with gold gilding. The surface looks kind of melty.