Edo Period Corner Part II

[Bugyotsuji]

That was quick Malcolm. Many thanks as always.

 

If I am not mistaken, the last line you mention (Yamamoto Kansuke Haruyuki Nyûdô Dôkisai uchijini no zu) is what is written in the top right corner of the right sheet, making the rider of the black horse Yamamoto Kansuke, right-hand man to Takeda Shingen, charging to his death in a hail of bullets at Kawanaka-Jima in 1561. If this is so, the gun would be one of the first guns used in battle, less than 20 years after guns first arrived in Japan. It looks suspiciously like the gun that is alleged even today to have killed Takeda Shingen, having no extant trigger mechanism. I like the fact that the gun is covered in black lacquer, (like one of mine) and the print shows use of shields.

 

So the one on its own that I saw here is meant to go with the triptych right above it! なるほど

http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Warrior%20triptychs%201845,%20Part%20II%20(T159-T172).htm

[Baka Gaijin]

Hi Piers,

 

Mea Maxima Culpa, I got the original order wrong and have just corrected it on the previous post.

 

I wouldn't read too much into the depiction of the gun.

 

Kuniyoshi as with other artists was working for effect not historical accuracy.

 

Here's a link to the triptych it goes with:

 

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/t ... -zu-472050

 

 

Here's Kuniyoshi returning to the subject 2 years later:

 

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/t ... -zu-209094

 

Cheers

[Bugyotsuji]

The 1840s was a period when the central government in Edo was alarmed at the encroachments of barbarians in China and worried that Japan would be next. Artists were advised to abandon using beauties and the pleasure quarters for subject matter and to help foster a renewed national interest in things martial. One of the things that interests me is to see how an artist in 1845 understood Japanese history at the end of Muromachi, (however accurate or inaccurate) and how that understanding was manifested in a popular woodblock print.

[Bugyotsuji]

Update. At Malcolm's suggestion I have written to the Kuniyoshi Project to alert them to the left of my two prints above, a hitherto missing part of Kuniyoshi's work? As Malcolm says, this may prove to be the trigger for someone to come forward with a third sheet to complete the puzzle.

[Brian]

The MFA site isn't loading for me, so I cannot make out what you mean here, but sounds interesting....

 

Brian

[Bugyotsuji]

Brian, try the Kuniyoshi Project link in my post above Malcolm's.

[Brian]

Fascinating...

So this is the intended scene? (Not quite a match at the join, but assume you cropped a little bit out on the left hand side of your pic...

 

Brian

[Bugyotsuji]

Wow! That was clever, Brian! Now I am a little confused. According to this article,

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index. ... to_Kansuke

...he is reputed to have taken a spear and made his charge, so I had assumed he was the man on the black horse... yet the one on the white horse appears to be the central figure in the overall picture there, and is he carrying a spear too? Is this why Kuniyoshi returned to this theme later on? I.e. No-one could figure out who was supposed to be Kansuke? :lol:

[Baka Gaijin]

Hi Brian,

 

Neat paste up,

 

It's missing one sheet at position 4 if we number from left to right. Piers has 5 & 6

 

Does that make sense?

 

Kuniyoshi created the original drawing, the Hanshita - e which was pasted to the first block and cut through by the carver, thus destroying his original artwork.

 

I'd read either Artistic Licence in the fact that the Horses are different between the two Triptychs or it may have been a financial decision made by the Publisher to make the Horse of a different colour......

 

When we look at a Narrative scroll like the Heiji Incident which show the progress of several characters, the characters remains constant throughout.

 

The narrative scrolls were not for mass consumption.

 

http://learn.bowdoin.edu/heijiscroll/viewer.html

 

Cheers

[Bugyotsuji]

Of course Yamamoto Kansuke is said to have died along with his two main retainers. Is there a third horse on the missing sheet?

 

Just had hours of fun with that scroll, Malcolm. Thanks for the link.

 

So much to learn, and so little time to do it...

[Brian]

Ah..that explains the not-quite-match-up

Funny..there were lines that mated perfectly. Any idea if #4 is out there somewhere? Would love to do another composite to see the whole thing as intended.

 

Brian

[Baka Gaijin]

Morning all,

 

It's one of those Epiphany moments, I was just looking at the Heiji Incident scroll again, this time in magnification and realised something quite unique. (Well for me at least)

 

The 13th Century Artist has made an extremely sophisticated attempt to show movement in the wheels by blurring the spokes as concentric circles mixed with ghost images of the spokes.

 

Viewing now with this in mind we can see the sheer force and panic as the forces of Fujiwara Nobuyori and his co-conspirator,

Minamoto Yoshitomo run riot.

 

A question arises: When did Western Art first attempt to show movement by blurring??

 

Cheers

[Bugyotsuji]

Yes, I noticed those blurred wheels too, Malcolm, and it set off a train of thoughts about how fast a bullock cart could be made to go, etc., and whether they had races. As to their portrayal in early art I have no idea. I wonder if Roman wall paintings ever showed wheels whizzing round like that?

 

In the eclectic nature of this thread here is a little cannon I picked up recently, 1.1 cm bore, 7 inches (18 cm) overall, from out of a well-known Japanese collection. Presumably Japanese traders picked these up on their merchant voyages to SE Asia? Maybe even the Wako pirates used them on their ships? This one is quite a small example. The enlarged touch-hole suggests some use. The Japanese name ランタカ砲 seems to be a direct import of the Tagalog Lantaka, with 'ho' added to mean cannon. An early Christmas present to myself, methinks.

 

http://bunka.nii.ac.jp/SearchDetail.do? ... eId=136811

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

Your cannon is known as a Lantaka. They were found in the Philippines, Malaysia, and in particular Borneo. Many were cast in Brunei on the north coast of Borneo. Although a few were large ( slightly over a hundred pounds ), ... most were smaller and often mounted on a ship's railings for defense. Smaller ones like your example were primarily used as currency and were often traded to pay off debts, as dowry for brides, ... or to buy something as we would use cash. Most are poorly cast, and never really intended for firing as they are more of a status symbol of wealth than a weapon. They are still being cast today to supply the tourist trade and of course the fake antiquities dealers.

... Ron Watson

 

PS. Here's a place specializing in their sale : http://www.cannonsuperstore.com/lantakas.htm They generally are not worth a great deal, and being poorly cast are not really safe to fire. I've seen them with off center bores, and any number of other faults. Some were even cast in Portugal ( better quality ) for trade to Malaysia. The old original stuff from Malaysia have mostly been picked up years ago.

[Bugyotsuji]

Ron, many thanks for the background information. I bow before your superior knowledge as usual.

 

Yes, I had read about the gift aspect of these guns, and that there are many fakes around. Luckily I did not pay an extortionate amount for this example. I have examined it all over, incidentally clearing the blocked barrel, and it still gives a feeling of genuine, not faked, age. The diameter of the touch hole is almost equal to the bore of the barrel, so it would not propel a ball with any great pressure. The lack of elaborate decoration somehow adds to my initial inclination, so I am still generally pleased with this acquisition.

 

Although my interest lies primarily with Japanese Tanegashima guns, I have one 16th c three-barrelled iron pole gun from China (Korea?), and now this bronze baby Lantaka, meaning that both can represent for me the conscious or unconscious nearby horizons of that time and place in the world.

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

From the few photographs you have provided, ... it would be my opinion that your example falls under the heading of " form of currency ". With that size of touch hole, you would have as much back gas escape as pressure forcing any projectile down the barrel. By the way, ... I would also say yours is in all probability GENUINE and a lovely example of something that has become quite rare ( the small status symbol and currency cannon of Borneo ).

... Ron Watson

[Bugyotsuji]

Many thanks for the vote of confidence, Ron.

 

On another note, I thought this might be a good illustration of why a smoothbore musketball was never as accurate as a rifled gun with a shaped bullet. Rifling the inside wall of the barrel will impart spin and a more accurate trajectory. A ball from a musket will head towards the general target area and maybe hit something, but not exactly the same spot each time.

 

Warning, do not watch this more than once in succession, or you will be sucked in forever and ever and ever...!

http://sports.cbsimg.net/images//visual ... nuckle.gif

[estcrh]

 

On another note, I thought this might be a good illustration of why a smoothbore musketball was never as accurate as a rifled gun with a shaped bullet. Rifling the inside wall of the barrel will impart spin and a more accurate trajectory. A ball from a musket will head towards the general target area and maybe hit something, but not exactly the same spot each time.

 

Piers, here is an example that is some were between the Japanese smooth bore matchlock and the rifled gun with a shaped bullet, it is a Ottoman matchlock from the 1600s to 1700s, notice the barrel.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Eric, is that some degree of spiral, or straight grooves, would you know? I believe there were forms of rifling in Europe even before that.

[estcrh]

Eric, is that some degree of spiral, or straight grooves, would you know? I believe there were forms of rifling in Europe even before that.

Piers, it appears to be straight rifling, which I think would require less technology to manufacture than spiral.

 

 

Why Straight Rifling?

Archers had used spiral fletching on arrows for centuries before firearms were invented. They may not have understood the physics involved but the arrow makers learned early on that selecting all the feathers from the same wing and gluing them at an angle imparted a spin that improved accuracy. There were even some crossbows that shot a bolt with no fletching that got its spin by being oval in cross section, being twisted and being fired through a tight fitting aperture in a plate at the “muzzle” of the crossbow.

 

In answer to the earlier question about why bother with straight rifling—In a smooth bore WITH A LOOSE FITTING BALL you can shoot either a knuckle ball or a curve ball. A curve ball happens when random drag between one side of the ball and the barrel (at the muzzle) imparts a spin across the axis of the balls travel. This spin generates different pressure on the sides of the ball and causes it to curve just like the deliberate curve a pitcher can throw. Problem with the curve on a musket ball is it can break up, down, right or left and to different degrees between shots.

 

A tightly patched round ball in a smooth bore is unlikely to become a curve ball but a patched ball in a straight rifled barrel can never become a curve ball. It is a knuckle ball and has that amount of variation in flight so it is not as accurate a spiral rifling but it is more accurate than no rifling and has the added flexibility to be used to fire shot without disrupting the pattern the way spiral rifling does.

[John A Stuart]

Just for info. Jaspard Zoller is credited with the invention of rifling, late 1500's. I find round ball with a very tight fit pretty damn accurate, but, for longer range maxi-ball equivalent to modern cartridges. No wadding needed, just some good bore butter. While the show is made for dramatic effect, Sharpe's Rifles, starring Sean Bean, illustrates how his company had superior weapons during the Napoleanic period in Spain due to rifling, early 19th century. John

[Bugyotsuji]

John, very interesting to hear your experience. Step by step we approach the heart of things. :

[Bugyotsuji]

What is this mystery object?

 

There are degrees of truth in the answer, (only the guilty parties will be able to tell the whole story), but in the meantime, ladies and gentlemen, the floor is open.

 

(Oh, and yes, it is related to the nature of the forum in general.)

[John A Stuart]

Tempura vegetables with daikon giving a Nihonto style look. John

[Toryu2020]

Tachi-uo?

[Bugyotsuji]

Both partly right. Much more to it. A close shave though...

 

...but no bananas.

[John A Stuart]

Oh, I see. Melon, strawberries etc. Just needs icecream. John

[Bugyotsuji]

A Showa smith named Imaizumi Toshimitsu, see in list under west of Japan: http://japaneseswordindex.com/rank.htm

 

wished to pass on his craft to his son after WWII. The son managed to chop off several fingers, so sadly had to give up sword smithing. He chose to run a restaurant nearby in Bizen Osafune which he calls Meito 名刀 Udon. Five of us (four are members of NBTHK) had lunch there yesterday and one of the ladies ordered the Meito Udon Special, which came with a battered blade in it. We asked the waitress what it was, and she said Anago.

 

Thanks and well done to those who ventured replies!

[cabowen]

Interesting story about the son! I had heard he lost fingers but hadn't heard the rest about the restaurant, etc.

 

His father, Toshimitsu, went on to become an "important prefectural asset" as I recall. I have seen a few of his WWII blades, which are scarce, and he was indeed a very talented smith.

 

Thanks for sharing this interesting tid bit....

[chris covington]

Hello all,

 

Not nihonto related but I thought it might fit in this section: a lacquer box. It was my mother's and she gave it to me about 15 years ago because I alway admired it.

 

I can't seem to get any other photos of it to attach but this is the top. I always liked the Shimazu kamon on it

 

Best regards,

Chris