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Kama, Jingama, Kusari-gama, Kama-yari etc.

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Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Recently I came across a Kama (sickle) which seems to have been made by a Katana-kaji swordsmith rather than by a No-kaji or agricultural blacksmith. Some of us have had a bit of a debate about this. It reminded me of those crossed Kama, in the Mon of Kobayakawa for example.

 

Jin-gama literally means 'Camp-sickle'.

 

Sasama says in his book Nihon no Katchu/Bugu Jiten, (and I translate): "The handles of those for the army camp were bound in metal, and fastened with Byo (Mekugi) rivets. They could be used simply as weapons, but also to rip down barricades of 'sakamogi' thorny brambles, to cut cords pegged and stretched out (designed to catch horses' hooves) and to clear paths through long grass, a weapon with many purposes".

 

Would anyone have any specialized knowledge in this area, or illustrations of such Kama for comparison purposes?

Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Tonight we will be discussing this question at the local NBTHK sword meeting. Hoping to get some insights.

 

Jean, that really is a good-looking object. I wish I had your skills. Congratulations, and thanks for showing it. :bowdown:

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Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Found a Kama with chain and weight (Kusari-gama) for sale at a local antiques fair today. Nothing fancy. Very dirty and very worn. Looked the real McCoy. The little blade was moroha. The dealer does karate and is always interested in such things. He also loves to chat, but the problem is to extricate yourself before he pushes you to the sale.

 

The chain was attached to the top-back of the blade, so I asked him what the difference was. (Some Kusari-kama have the chain attacked at the bottom of the haft.) "Oh, that's easy", he said. "From the top it's usually a short chain, and you swing the weight around holding the Kama in your right hand."

 

"When it's attached to the bottom, you hold the kama in your left hand and swing the chain around with your right." (Or vice versa?)

 

"It takes practice, but with a kama in either hand you are invincible", he said, making motions of attacking me from all sides, both pushing and pulling. "You can beat a katana any time if you're good enough."

Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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In order to try and find out more about the rusty blade on the 'Jin-gama' I took it round to have a window opened in it. It runs out to be in Nie deki and have a proper hamon, so the fact that it bears a swordsmith Mei now becomes slightly less problematical. Of the various Minamoto Nobuyoshi　源　信吉 there was one who co-operated with Suishinshi Masahide in 文化 Bunka, according to the Meikan. Could this be the same smith, I wonder?

 

The recommendation was to go for a proper polish, but if I give it the OK then it will need a shirasaya as well, the old leather case offering little protection. Although I am curious, to say the least, that would mean investment of some serious money!

 

Besides which, no-one around here has any experience of polishing a scythe with a Yokote, and no-one has ever attempted to make a shirasaya for one either, it seems. :dunno:

estcrh Veteran

estcrh

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Recently I came across a Kama (sickle) which seems to have been made by a Katana-kaji swordsmith rather than by a No-kaji or agricultural blacksmith. Some of us have had a bit of a debate about this. It reminded me of those crossed Kama, in the Mon of Kobayakawa for example.

 

Jin-gama literally means 'Camp-sickle'.

 

Sasama says in his book Nihon no Katchu/Bugu Jiten, (and I translate): "The handles of those for the army camp were bound in metal, and fastened with Byo (Mekugi) rivets. They could be used simply as weapons, but also to rip down barricades of 'sakamogi' thorny brambles, to cut cords pegged and stretched out (designed to catch horses' hooves) and to clear paths through long grass, a weapon with many purposes".

 

Would anyone have any specialized knowledge in this area, or illustrations of such Kama for comparison purposes?

 

Piers, I thought that "Jin" referred to war as in jingasa (war hat) and jinbaori (war coat).

 

Kirishima Matsugorō with a sickle on a bamboo pole, by Kaisai Yoshitoshi hitsu, from Biographies of Modern Men (Kinsei kyōgiden)' (1865 - 1866).

 

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Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Eric, good illustrations.

Jin has the meaning of battle formation, army encampment, etc. it can be used in many different ways, including war as you say. Honjin means Field HQ. The General might wear a top coat over his armour, his Jin + Haori = Jinbaori. Jingasa would be a conical wide-brimmed hard hat worn in battle. Jin wo kamaeru might mean to set up a field camp.

estcrh Veteran

estcrh

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Found a Kama with chain and weight (Kusari-gama) for sale at a local antiques fair today. Nothing fancy. Very dirty and very worn. Looked the real McCoy. The little blade was moroha. The dealer does karate and is always interested in such things. He also loves to chat, but the problem is to extricate yourself before he pushes you to the sale.

 

The chain was attached to the top-back of the blade, so I asked him what the difference was. (Some Kusari-kama have the chain attacked at the bottom of the haft.) "Oh, that's easy", he said. "From the top it's usually a short chain, and you swing the weight around holding the Kama in your right hand."

 

"When it's attached to the bottom, you hold the kama in your left hand and swing the chain around with your right." (Or vice versa?)

 

"It takes practice, but with a kama in either hand you are invincible", he said, making motions of attacking me from all sides, both pushing and pulling. "You can beat a katana any time if you're good enough."

Piers, real kusarigama are very rare and usually expensive, look for hand forged chain.
Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Eric, you are right. I would never buy without someone more knowledgeable beside me, but yesterday's was a sweet little thing and did not set off my usual warning instincts. Rough 'n ready. I wonder if the guy will still have it next time I see him...? :lol:

Gilles Proficient

Gilles

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I have bought this kama a while ago. It is very well made and heavy but I just don't know how old it is despite the fact that is was not made yesterday. It was obviously made for combat but I can't figure out if it is a reproduction or not. No chain was with this kama which is fitted with a ring.

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estcrh Veteran

estcrh

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I have bought this kama a while ago. It is very well made and heavy but I just don't know how old it is despite the fact that is was not made yesterday. It was obviously made for combat but I can't figure out if it is a reproduction or not. No chain was with this kama which is fitted with a ring.
Giles, I am sure that this is a reproduction, there are no signs of age or use.
Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Update on mine.

 

Was advised to take it around to the bloke who makes Shirasaya for swords, before taking it to the Togishi, so I did. Sheath first, polish second! Luckily I was able to bring up this thread on the new iPhone6+ :lol: and show him how various sheaths look. Thank you gentlemen!

 

He seemed nervous about the rust however, and the eventual thickness/thinness after togi, and advised me to get a Shita-togi done first. Hmmm... So tomorrow I will make a first trip to the Togishi and ask for a preliminary polish in order to help the Saya maker out.

Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Well, Chris, I guess I am learning the hard way.

 

Today I went to see the Togi-Shi, about an hour's drive from here, and showed him the Kama. He was quietly fascinated with it, not having seen one before, and wanted to know where I bought it, how much etc. (His son is also a Togi-Shi and charges top rates.) He said he would do his best on the cost of polishing, but it would need different stones from the ones he is using for swords. He is also booked full through the New Year, so I told him I was in no hurry. He said I should not say that, because no-one else does! :lol:

 

He agreed that the presence of a Yokote makes it possible that this Kama was a fighting weapon. No decoration or pommel on the end of the handle suggested to him that it may have been on a longer pole at one time, and subsequently cut down.

 

My sword Sensei has been using the expression 野鍛冶 Nokaji, or farmtool blacksmith, but I noticed Markus Sesko says that one line of the Bizen Yokoyama Sukesada smiths became 鎌鍛冶　Kamakaji in mid-Edo. I like the sound of Kamakaji better, if the Mei here turns out to be not that of a 刀鍛冶　Katanakaji.

 

Oh, and on the way we had some time so I suggested walking along the river to find the site of old Fukuoka Castle, before it was washed away in the disastrous Osafune floods when the river changed direction, before the Kuroda Han moved down to Chikuzen in 1600 to set up their new Fukuoka.

Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Talk about the site of Fukuoka and its market, and where the Fukuoka Ichimonji used to be made, drew me back again today for a follow-up walk.

(I had asked for some old iron repair work to be done with laser argon welding and went to pick up the result.)

 

It seems that Bizen Osafune Fukuoka Castle was positioned on an island in the middle of the Yoshii River and stood there from Kamakura times at least until the great floods of Tai-Ei in the 1520s. The floods seem to have washed right across the broad site of the castle, leaving rocky stumps here and there on either side of the new course of the river. This explains why the part in the golf course that my sword Sensei and I went to see on the east bank, (see post above) turns out to be only one part of the old castle, despite the sign saying this is the original site, and why, having taken pictures and got ready to post here, I discovered that there are competing sites in the vicinity.

 

Today we found what must be a better candidate for the Hon-Maru on the west bank, even if the Golf Course owners over the river might disagree. Completely unmarked, with no signposts, and now a temple graveyard in the woods, it was only by walking up and down and round about it, that it became crystal clear what we were looking at. Double-checking the place names there, and cross-checking with blogs on the web, there was no longer any doubt about it in our minds.

 

So, if anyone points to any one site, you can tell them that it is only one feature of a much, much larger area, and not the end of the story.

Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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West Bank (cont.) Various Japanese sources refer to 寺山 Terayama as being the site of old Fukuoka Castle. You can also find J references pointing to a 本城山　HonjoSan/MotoShiroYama (Old Castle Mountain). So which was it?

 

We parked the car on the west bank and walked around what has to be Terayama, a stepped rocky outcrop covered in woods, and among the bamboos a flat top, but there is nothing to label the thing. Rows of old tombstones on its slopes suggested a link with a temple, however, giving validity to the name Terayama. The oldest standing stone on the top is in the style of Genroku, according to my friend, (around the 1680s?). This hill would never have been washed away in any kind of flood.

 

A row of notices at the foot of this hill concerning the Ayu fishing season and giving warnings about illegal fishing flashed up some interesting information. The prohibited fishing area given on one sign starts at "the northeast corner of Terayama, Honjosan". See from the middle of line two: 寺山本城山. In other words, the two names refer to the same hill. Take away the modern river bank around here and nothing else in any direction would have stood up to periodic flooding and served as the solid base for a castle keep.

 

Is there no-one interested enough in history to push for proper and informative signposting, or is there some reason that the local populace discourages visitors, I wonder? Over the way visitors are kept to a minimum by the 'strictly enforced' (sic) need to ask the Golf Club for permission to approach their smaller remains, and by the real threat of gold balls flying overhead.

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  • 4 months later...
Bugyotsuji Grand Master

Bugyotsuji

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Got back to Japan this week and picked up the Kama, at last. The Shirasaya is beautifully done, with a shinogi on one side to reflect the blade inside, and a locking peg behind to minimize exposure to the air.

 

The polisher was surprised at the softness of the steel. I think he has done a good job for me. My sword teacher thinks the blade is mid-Edo.

 

Just organizing some photos. First off, a shot of the pre-polish blade.

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