Edo Period Corner Part II

[Viper6924]

Well, here´s a print I just picked up. Takeda Shingen pondering the pros and cons of the teppo...I guess Or perhaps he have a vision about his clans upcoming destruction.

Don´t know the artist or from what series, but I´m sure help is near. I must say that I have a sweetspot for prints involving teppos. Not so often on the market.

Sorry for the bad picture. Had to blow it up a bit.

 

Jan

[Bugyotsuji]

A very nice find. Congratulations.

cf http://morimiya.net/online/ukiyoe-syousai/U532.html

 

Particularly poignant as it is very similar to the gun that he was allegedly assassinated with.

[Viper6924]

Thanks Piers!

A quick search and I got the name of this series; Mirror of famous generals of our country.

 

/Jan

[Baka Gaijin]

Good evening Jan,

 

From the right top, Title of the series: Honchō　Meishō　Kagami

 

Second right in (Red Background) "Takeda Daizen Daibu Shingen”

 

The Artist: Utagawa Yoshikazu - signed lower left with the red seal underneath and Kiwame censor's seal in circular cartouche above and below.

 

He was also known as: Ichijusai, Issen, Isshunsai, Ichikawa Yoshikazu

 

As an Ukiyo-e printmaker he was active 1850-1870.

 

Pupil of Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

 

One of the major early printmakers of the Yokohama school.

 

His subject matter included foreigners and foreign customs and manners, as well as landscapes and warriors.

 

Also a book illustrator.

 

(Edited to add the following 05.47 local 21/10/12)

 

The red seal is called Yoshi Kiri and is a stylised working on the theme of a Kiri Kamon (Paulownia Imperialis).

 

It was first used by Yoshikawa's master Kuniyoshi in 1845.

 

And here is a really exciting piece of info I just discovered...The master Kuniyoshi had a daughter called Yoshi (1842 - 1885)

 

She was a woodblock artist also (working in the beginning on the small vignette images on her father's prints).

 

She signed as "Yoshijo" - The daughter Yoshi.

 

I include this because it is interesting that a woman in this period was allowed to have "a voice" through her Art.

 

Cheers

[Viper6924]

Great info, Malcom! I can always count on You when it comes to prints.

 

Thanks again!

 

Jan

[Baka Gaijin]

Afternoon Jan

 

This is an interesting, if long drawn out book about Oei - Hokusai's daughter:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Printmakers ... =1-1-fkmr0

 

Cheers

[Bugyotsuji]

Painting a small teppo-kake this afternoon and couldn't resist a quick shot in the mirror. Who says left-handed Tanegashima are as rare as hen's teeth? :lol:

 

You will notice that the 'new' replacement silver-capped pin (Byo) and the silver band are in place. She also has a prettier ramrod (Karuka).

[Bugyotsuji]

On the tan-zutsu stand.

[Viper6924]

I really like the color of the wood. Very bright. Don´t know if I ever seen the carvings on the riflebutt before.

 

NICE!!!

 

 

Jan

[Bugyotsuji]

Jan, much appreciated! It is of course to be a bit more precise a smooth bore pistol.

[Brian]

Lovely looking. Can we get some close ups of the wood grain and grip?

Still want to add a pistol to my collection oneday. Don't suppose they ever come up for sale at markets or good deals there?

 

Brian

[Bugyotsuji]

Yes, I'll try and get some for you Brian.

 

Today we were invited back to the Kobudosai after a hiatus of two years. A long story, but the end result was that three of our members took part and filled the Budokan with flames and smoke.

[Bugyotsuji]

Decent pistols are rare but they do come up every so often, and quickly get snapped up. If I hear of one, I'll let you know.

 

This summer I was listening to a lecture in the Wallace Collection about their fabulous gun rooms when the speaker said "You will notice that although we have matchlock long guns here, matchlock pistols were never made." I had a quiet word with him afterwards and said they were made in Japan and I had two myself. :lol:

[IanB]

Piers, Matchlock pistols were also made in India and probably elsewhere. The Indians also made all manner of combination weapons incorporating matchlock guns with what amount to barrels. The Royal Armouries has at least two axes with matchlocks in the hafts, a sword with one in the grip and a mace with one in the haft that has blown apart in firing. One of the axes, and the mace have daggers screwed into the barrels. What our military would describe as a 'third strike capability' I suppose.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

Thank you Ian, yes, it was India, wasn't it. Lovely descriptions! For some reason I kept thinking the other country might have been Iran (both start with I...) so I have always hesitated and said "plus one other country in the Middle East". INDIA. Got it. Actually easy now to fix this in my mind thinking of the Goa-Tanegashima stories.

 

This morning I was playing with the gun, seeing if I could get some shots of the pistol butt/grip and the wood grain for Brian and Jan. First off the wood grain in cloud and in sunlight.

[Bugyotsuji]

The carving around the butt.

[Viper6924]

Japanese oak at it´s best. Is there a Japanese term to this carving around the butt? Any reason for it besides the fact it looks good?

 

/Jan

[Bugyotsuji]

Jan, I think this shape is very rare and almost a one-off. It's a good question indeed, but the design on this gun incorporates several Satsuma gun characteristics and the shell whorl/fern frond? seems to be one of them.

 

Interestingly, unlike guns of other areas, the majority of Satsuma guns tend to have an uchi-karakuri, internal spring lock, using a coil spring and a distinctive cam.

 

Now the following is my theory, but the word for coiled spring and the word for young curled fern is the same, = Zenmai. It just happens that the decoration on the axis/base of the serpentine on some Satsuma matchlocks has a coil design on it. I saw one the other day but forgot to take a shot of it. Instead here is a close-up photo of a photo in Sawada Sensei's book, p.79. Your question may have a different answer but this is where my imagination takes me. The artist in this case, looking for something unusual, ... has made the butt into a Zenmai.

(PS, the woodgrain shots are on the previous page.)

[estcrh]

Piers, Matchlock pistols were also made in India and probably elsewhere.

For some reason its hard to find images of matchlock pistols that are not Japanese. Here is an Indian torador matchlock pistol.

[Bugyotsuji]

What a clever find, Eric. A sweet thing, quite small, almost muff-pistol size. Impossible to judge age, but the barrel looks genuine.

 

Interestingly it looks "left-handed", but possibly Indian pistols often/always had their mechanism on the left??? (Japanese pistols follow long guns with the mechanism on the right.)

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

Perhaps it looks like Indian Pistols are fitted with a left handed mechanism, ... BUT if you look closely at the bottom two photos, you will note that you are looking at a PAIR of pistols. Both are pointing in the same direction and yet the the first photo that is not being held has the serpentine on the RIGHT hand side while the other two photograhs show the serpentine on the left side ! Also note the difference in size and shape of the front lock pin ( between the 3 circular decorations on the side of the lock ). Also note the hole ? in front of the rear barrel band. They are of a different size. Also note the rear pin on the lock, ... one passes thru the line decoration and the other phpotograph shows it behind the line decoration. There are other subtle differences as well. Here we have a PAIR of pistols, ... and NOT a single specimen. Whether they are genuine or not, ... who knows, ... but a PAIR of matchlock pistols for the left and right hand would be a great rarity.

... Ron Watson

[estcrh]

What a clever find, Eric. A sweet thing, quite small, almost muff-pistol size. Impossible to judge age, but the barrel looks genuine.

 

Interestingly it looks "left-handed", but possibly Indian pistols often/always had their mechanism on the left??? (Japanese pistols follow long guns with the mechanism on the right.)

Sorry Piers and Ron, it just looks that way due to editing (cant trust a photo), the middle picture is the correct view. It is amazing to see how few matchlock pistols there are online that are not Japanese, I never realized that until recently, I know that they were used in Europe and other countries besides India but the overwhelming majority of matchlock pistols are Japanese, maybe the Japanese did actually produce such vast quantities compared to other countries.

[John A Stuart]

Also Eric, the length of time they did so. The evolution of the form progressed apace outside Japan. John

[watsonmil]

Dear Eric,

That would take a great deal of editing, ... given the other more subtle differnces I have pointed out on the right hand side of the lock. I maintain we are looking at a PAIR of pistols even though the background material ( cloth ) is different on the center photo. It looks to me that the first and last pictures were taken at the same time and thus the serpentine appears on the left. The center photograph was taken at a different time of the MATE to the pistol shown in the other two photographs ( this time the serpentine shown on the right side ) and therefore two pistols and not one pistol.

... Ron Watson

[Bugyotsuji]

Two pistols. That is intriguing! Clever spot.

 

Just spent half the day preparing the guns for Sunday, adjusting their ramrods, looking at their paperwork and double-checking their Monme ball weight values. Found a good detailed chart for mm to Monme conversions in Tokoro Sensei's book Hinawa-Ju, Showa 39, pp 59-61. (Better than Sugawa San's short chart, but it is in Japanese numbers.)

 

1. The Kago-zutsu, Shageki-zutsu pistol is 1.0944 cm caliber, meaning a 2 Monme ball.

2. The cavalry pistol is 1.4126 cm caliber which means a 4 Monme 3 Bu ball.

3. The (Hosokawa-Shi) Kumamoto Castle Kuyo-Mon long gun is 1.7007 cm for a 7 Monme 5 Bu-dama.

4. The black lacquer (Ishikawa-Shi) Kameyama Castle Tazuke-Ryu Sasalindo-Mon O-zutsu is 2.1425 cm, or 15 Monme-dama.

 

[Anthony de Vos]

Hello!

 

This Saturday Jan and I went to a militaria event. Not much to see regarding Japanese stuff. mostly ww2 gear.

Then we stumbled over this guy having a small teppo for sale for a much to high price. It's teppo1 (the small one on the pictures). The matchlock looks new and somebody have partly destroyed the patina on the barrel.

He tells a story of another teppo (teppo2) of his that he claims a metallurgist had examined and found that the material was 100% iron and that was a big thing. Now he wanted help in pricing his teppos.

I would like to now if he has missunderstod the question regarding the metall and mixed it up the 1,2,3 layer wrapping? Or is 100% iron unusuall? Maybe we can hear Piers on this? Also on teppo 2 somebody have desroyed parts of the patina on the barrel.

 

Anyhow it was funny to find a guy having not one but two "teppolitos" I love the size of them.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony

[Anthony de Vos]

More pics

 

Regards,

 

Anthony

[Anthony de Vos]

Last pics, olso on teppo1

 

Regards,

 

Anthony

[Bugyotsuji]

Hello Anthony. I am a little confused by your numbering as I can see three teppo there, but your description seems to point to two. Are these all your photos, or were some taken previously by the dealer?

 

The top one with the series of photographs, which you call teppo 2, (?) seems to be a nice example of an Inoue Ryu (Inoue School) tan-zutsu but as you say someone has taken off the rust and the patina in order to bring up the patterns on the barrel. It is possible to have the patina pleasingly 'restored'.

 

The other two guns seem to have new serpentines/springs/locks fitted to them, both serpentines bent at the same strange angle, but it is difficult to say much else about them without closer pics. Not bad but could be better partial 'restoration' by someone who does not know too much about the details of tanegashima?

 

As to 100% iron, perhaps he refers to the existence of cast barrels which are sometimes made for old stocks in order to fool the eye and make a nice decoration for the living room. If you insert your finger into the muzzle you can often find a lip or seam which shouldn't be in there.

[Anthony de Vos]

Hello Piers!

 

All photos are sent to me by the owner. Regarding the amounts of "teppolitos" the misstake is mine. I didn't look close enough last night. The teppo marked 2 is the one with the "iron story". On the photos with 2 teppos, the small one is the one I saw at the show teppo 1. The other one is, as you pointed out, a third one.

they are multiplaying in Sweden, where is it going to end

 

0ne and two needs repatination for sure.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony