Kabuto any thoughts

[Hinawaju]

Hi,

Since katchu seems popular I thought I´d post pictures of my last find. It is signed Nagamichi

(長道). Any comments are welcome.

 

Regards,

Guy R.

[Mark Andrews]

Hello Guy, what has happed to the Mabisashi ? Can it be fixed . It is a very nice Kabuto indeed. Did you buy it local in Sweden?

 

Cheer's,

 

Mark.

[Hinawaju]

Hi Mark,

Sorry I forgot to mention that the mabisashi is not fixed. There are some rivets missing

and some other things that needs some attention. And yes I bought it at auction in Sweden.

 

regards,

Guy R.

[Mark Andrews]

Hi Guy, I am always amazed looking at these Kabuto the amount of work that has gone into making the Hachi.The rivets etc. And its final shape which is developed. Thank you for sharing.

 

Cheer's,

 

Mark.

[Luc T]

Wow, serious stuff!

Nagamichi is considered to be one of the best makers of koboshi kabuto during the edo period. Working dates are around 1700-1750. Unfortunately, he never datet his work.

I have a very similar one.

[IanB]

Guy, I too have an armour by Nagamichi with a very similar helmet to this. Mine too has the nawa fukurin in shakudo. Clearly he worked for very wealthy patrons, but I have never been able to identify the kamon on mine. The kuwagata dai on yours is superb.

Ian Bottomley

[Luc T]

remarcable... Nagamichi is very easy to dertermine.

also used several times: hidden odoshi on the shikoro.

here is mine

[Hinawaju]

Hi Luc,

That is a great looking kabuto, I also say thank´s for sharing.

 

regards,

 

Guy R.

[Hinawaju]

Hi Ian,

Thank you for your answer. Do yours have the same kamon with the cranes?

In my kamons the cranes are slightly different. Is it possible to see some pictures of your armour?

 

regards,

Guy R.

[myochin]

Very nice hoshi kabuto Guy, congrats.

I see that you wrote Nagamichi with 長道, shouldn't it be 長途 ? or am I getting mixed up here.

 

Very nice Luc !!!

 

Paul.

 

PS: Guy, is the signature on the back plate ? I didn't notice an opening in the liner to view the signature ....

[Hinawaju]

Hi Paul,

Yes you are absolutely right about the kanji, my mistake.

The ukebari is open in the front. Some of the lining is in bad condition.

 

Regards,

Guy R.

[myochin]

Luc,

 

remarcable... Nagamichi is very easy to dertermine.

 

Could you be more specific ?

 

Thanks.

Paul.

[Bugyotsuji]

I refuse to comment as the more helmets I see the more I realize how little I know and how I have been too enthusiastic with almost every Kabuto I have purchased so far. In some cases however, I have then sold the Kabuto and disovered later that it was in fact good.

 

Yesterday someone lent me a batch of DVDs from meetings of Japanese armour/armor enthusiasts, so perhaps these will enhance my understanding a little, despite the allegedly poor sound quality.

 

Please allow me to say as an amateur however, that I really like your helmet, Guy, and now having seen Luc's excellent example of Nagamichi work this name looks as though it might stick in my poor brain. Congratulations.

[Hinawaju]

Thank you very much Piers. I belive it will look a little better when tended to.

 

regards,

 

Guy R.

[Luc T]

thanks for the compliment gentlemen,

Paul, here some specific caracteristics of Nagamichi:

-the shape of the hachi is very elegant, but different from Saotome, the so called san-saku or Myochin. I recognise them all on their shape, even when they are remounted.

-perfect alignement of the koboshi, comparable with the best Saotome.

-always 3 rows of koboshi on the frontplate.

-boars eye on the maedate-dai

-fine dark patina

-no shiten no byo

-often with russet iron shikoro, invisibly laced.

There was an armor with Nagamichi for sale at Christies for sale in 2009 i think. They did not know it because the ukebari was closed.

someone I know bought it and had a look inside... perfectly signed Nagamichi...

[myochin]

Thanks Luc.

Reading Orikasa San's article on this smith I understand that there could be more than one generation of this name, using both styles of signatures mentioned in this thread: 長道 and 長途

Do you share the same opinion Luc ?

 

 

Guy, do you have any means of checking the signature on your helmet to confirm which kanji was used in the signature ?

 

Thanks.

Paul.

[Viper6924]

Really happy for You, Guy! Thank God You put in that last bid :D

You were def spot on with the quality of the maker. The rivets are superb.

 

Again

 

/Jan

[IanB]

Guy, There are no cranes on mine. The kamon is a diamond with the corners cut off enclosing a stylised plum flower. It is illustrated in my book on page 142 and on page 101 of Kei Chappelear's book 'Japanese Armour Makers for the Samurai'.

Ian Bottomley

[Luc T]

Paul, I once saw a very similar kabuto signed 長途, I have the feeling that it is an other smith or generation. Less perfect than the other one but still very good. Definitly the same school.

[Hinawaju]

Hi Paul,

Here is a photo of the mei, it wasn´t too easy to access.

regards,

Guy R.

[Hinawaju]

Hi Jan,

Thank you for that feedback, I really like this kabuto.

When it comes to the teppo, wasn´t it someone in the group of Russians in front of us

that bought it?

 

Regards,

Guy R.

[Viper6924]

Hi Guy!

 

No, it was a gentleman to our right. I acctually thought he was russian to :lol:

 

Jan

[Shogun8]

Guy and Luc,

 

Those are both beautiful and elegant kabuto! Can't believe how perfectly the shikoro fits the hachi on Guy's and Luc, I love the hidden odoshi on yours.

 

Serious stuff indeed.

 

John

[Hinawaju]

Hi Luc,

 

You mentioned that 3 rows of koboshi on the front plate is a trait of Nagamichi. How common is this among armourers? The reason for my question is that I have another kabuto with this construction. This one I can´t access the interior for now. It has smaller koboshi and they are sharper, 29 on each ken. Equipment is on its way.

 

Regards,

Guy R.

[Shogun8]

Hi Luc,

 

You mentioned that 3 rows of koboshi on the front plate is a trait of Nagamichi. How common is this among armourers? The reason for my question is that I have another kabuto with this construction. This one I can´t access the interior for now. It has smaller koboshi and they are sharper, 29 on each ken. Equipment is on its way.

 

Regards,

Guy R.

 

Hi Guy,

 

I think that 3 rows of koboshi on the front plate was a fairly common trait amongst armourers except for the Saotome. Saotome kabuto only had 2 rows. Of course, the one truism that one learns from studying Japanese armour is that there are always exceptions to any rule...

 

Luc probably has more to say.

 

John

[Hinawaju]

Hi John,

Thank you for the answer. I was trying to upload a picture but it is in bitmap format and it didn´t work.

I will have to use my camera insted.

 

regards,

Guy R.

[Shogun8]

Here's a Saotome koboshi with the 2 rows of rivets on the front row:

 

 

John

[Luc T]

John, you are right. Most Saotome koboshi have only two rows on the frontplate. I know only 2 Saotome (Ienao and Iesada) with 3 rows. They did this because the fronsplate is doubled, witch is not the case with Myochin, Haruta and Bamen.

[Luc T]

by the way John, I saw your beautiful Ietada last thuesday, he's fantastic. Never saw sharp koboshi like this. It almost hurts when you hold it in your hands.

Guy, do you have pictures?

[myochin]

Guy, could you please tell me how many hoshi per row there are on your kabuto (30 or 31 ?).

Thanks.

 

There is another great hoshi kabuto by this smith in the Stibbert book by Mr Burawoy, p71.

 

Paul.