website japaneseweapons.net

[Viper6924]

Followed this thread with some interest.

 

Been in contact with Mr Sugawa quite a lot via e-mail (Don´t tell your friends, Piers :D ) Last time was about two years ago. I always had to wait for 2-3 weeks for a respons. After awhile I understood that he had his answers written by some friend who spoke english. Not perfect english but much much better than what Mr Sugawa is capable of. I know for a fact that he´s been over to Sweden and participated in some blackpowder shooting competitions in the past.

So judging from "his" answers to me, I can understand that the book has some funny translations. I agree with Piers that some of his formulations are weird at best. But I like the initiative of him making an english book on such an interesting subject. And the pictures in nice.

 

I guess it´s up to some of this forums members if we, in the future, are going to have a top-notch book done in english dealing with teppos

 

Jan

[Justin Grant]

Hi Jan-

 

I find his lack of English odd, considering he spent extensive time in the states on business, and where he purchased his first gun, and then a series of more over his subsequent trips. Maybe time has withered his English. He and I conversed real-time, within minutes of each reply on several occasions.

I agree, it's a great start to refine and build upon.

 

Justin

[estcrh]

  Viper6924 said:

Followed this thread with some interest. I guess it´s up to some of this forums members if we, in the future, are going to have a top-notch book done in english dealing with teppos

 

Jan

Jan, it had better be a top notch book or Mr Sugawa might end up criticizing it on his web site, now that would be funny wouldnt it?

[Viper6924]

I found it a bit surprisingly also, Justin! In the beginning I of course thought that he wrote the answers himself. But a few times he replied very quick and the quality of the english in those replys was not so good.

But more important , he was always very polite and tried to help with whatever I threw his way :D

 

After I got in contact with the heavyweights on this site I haven´t felt the need to terrorise him with my banal questions anymore.

I´ve found new victims...

 

Eric, that would be kind of a Matrix-moment. I´ve seen this before somewhere... :D

 

Jan

[Justin Grant]

I am interested in a gun he has and his research of it, but he won't talk about it, or at least not with me.

 

Eric,

 

I think the book is a great introduction to 火縄銃、but far from a serious study piece. It is great an introducing the concept and showing you pictures, but falls short for any serious collector. I own the book, and the second book (in Japanese) and I still refer to them from time to time for photo reference.

 

The book Nihon no Furuju is far superior, even if you can't read Japanese, the detail photos, drawings, and classification are well worth the extra money. He goes into construction methods, how parts are made, how they fit together, tools used to make the bisen threads, etc. How locks are made, what they do, etc.

 

This book can be understood if you memorize about a dozen or so Kanji and then you can figure out what he is saying, or you can scan the page and then use an online translator to help you with the translation. Not perfect, but you can get the drift.

 

I think what Piers, Ron and others, including myself are saying is, the book is great for an introduction into this area of study, but by no means a serious authority on the subject, but great at what it does. Just because it is in English does not make it any more serious or valuable to us as students, it just allows a new group of people to be exposed to the area of study, but is not designed to give you any deep knowledge. It is not made form whole cloth, but is not a tanegashima codex either.

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

Me

[estcrh]

This is the prologue to the Mr Sugawa's book, he specifically points out that he is not a scholar.

 

 

[Hinawaju]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if Mr. Shigeo Sugawa is still around?

 

Regards,

Guy R.

[Justin Grant]

Yup. Spoke to him a few years ago. He is around.