This Week's Edo Period Corner

[Brian]

Piers,

No, that isn't one. The "whistling arrowheads" have a bulbous head with piercings.

See here: http://www.ncjsc.org/gloss_yanone.htm

 

Regards,

Brian

[Bugyotsuji]

Piers,

No, that isn't one. The "whistling arrowheads" have a bulbous head with piercings.

See here: http://www.ncjsc.org/gloss_yanone.htm

 

Regards,

Brian

 

Good link there, Brian. Thanks for that. I had a bit of a read up here and there, and discovered that the Kabura-ya were used primarily to 'purify' the field before a battle. The secondary effect would make more impression on me, I suspect.

 

Oh, and one more discovery. Re-examining the bow and arrow box (posted earlier) with some friends, I learnt a bit more about it. It was probably part of a full set of display objects for Tango no Sekku, The Boy's Festival, now 5 May, which celebrated Sho-bu or the warrior spirit. This was not celebrated in every household till well after the beginning of Meiji. Until then it was probably only observed in high status families, and the Mon on the grip of one of the two bows suggests it belonged to a Daimyo. (One of my acquaintances is a Daimyo descendant, and he pointed this out.)

The Mon is the Kugi-nuki design, a square with a square hole in the centre:

http://www.otomiya.com/kamon/kibutsu/kuginuki.htm

See top row, centre.

This was the Omote Mon of the Hori family from Iida in Nagano, at the end of Edo.

[IanB]

Piers, The little archery set is in fact a palour-game. I don't know what it was called but I have seen a woodblock print of it being played in the non-operative part of 'a house of ill repute' by the ladies and a customer. I have a set, not as grand as yours, but with the fittings for the bow half in silver and half in shakudo. The arrows have little flat heads which were either dipped in ink or rubbed with chalk to leave a mark on the cloth target. Intrestingly the fletchings are white with purple dyed stripes and the arrows have different numbers of gold lacquered rings to differentiate the players.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

Piers, The little archery set is in fact a palour-game. I don't know what it was called but I have seen a woodblock print of it being played in the non-operative part of 'a house of ill repute' by the ladies and a customer. I have a set, not as grand as yours, but with the fittings for the bow half in silver and half in shakudo. The arrows have little flat heads which were either dipped in ink or rubbed with chalk to leave a mark on the cloth target. Intrestingly the fletchings are white with purple dyed stripes and the arrows have different numbers of gold lacquered rings to differentiate the players.

Ian Bottomley

 

Ian, you have definitely found something now, and piqued my curiosity further! Good stuff. Yours sounds better than mine with the gold!

 

The flat heads were a mystery, but rubbing chalk or ink on them... now, that does make infinite sense. There are in fact what I thought were rust rivulet markings near the flat round tips, but dipping them in ink might have caused the iron pins? inside the shafts to rust and leak out like this.

 

Secondly I could find no difference in the arrows until I read your comment above. The flights are all white on mine as you will have seen. Now I can see rings round the shafts, though, between the flights! Painted in... silver? They go from one ring to six. I, II, III, IIII, IIII I, & IIII II with a funny gap for numbers above 4.

 

It would be good if you were able to find and post a piccie of that Ukiyoe Hanga...

 

 

PS It is my impression that these sets are very rare. None of my Japanese antique 'expert' friends had ever seen one before. The Yoshiwara connection, though, does suggest that they must have been in fashion at one time.

[IanB]

Piers, Sadly I cannot remember where or even when I saw the print. I'm not sure how rare these are. I have one, there is one in the Royal Armouries collection and I remember at least one other in the collection of a famous old archer, Jack Flinton. I was wrong about the purple stripes, That must be the Armouries set. One of my arrows has a blue dyed section on one fletching - presumably to show which is the 'cock' feather. I have just tried to load some photos of my set and failed. I suspect the file size was too large. I will try again later when I load some file sizing software.

Ian

[Bugyotsuji]

I'll look forward to seeing those, Ian. The Japanese seem not to be interested in them so much. Perhaps these all went abroad...

[Bugyotsuji]

The sword shop advised me not to bother sending any Yajiri, or Yanone, away for professional polishing. To be expected, of course. The last few nights I have been sitting here sanding down the arrowheads with water and progressively finer paper. Having reached a good medium limit (leaving enough of the Mei on the blade of one so it can still be read) I wiped them with clove oil and wrapped them up.

 

Today I went to visit a twice-monthly farmer's market where they have a few antique stalls and bought some interesting odds ands ods.

1. A little folding calibrated magnifying glass stand.

2. A tall black Andon light stand. Genuine, cheap as chips now...

3. A fairly roughly-made swordsmith's large-ish toolbox from Bizen, with the date Keio 3 in inkbrush, 1868, and further characters intimating... 'spear store'???

4. An E-ma wooden board with a picture of some chappies doing Sankin Ko-tai on it. Their Haori Mon is the Kuginuki Mon that is on the little bow 'n arrow set, which partly explains the purchase. Painted in the old style, but probably recent, but cost next to nothing.

5. Two silk woven cords which will be useful for tying sword bags, boxes, etc.

 

In the afternoon I went round with a mate to an antique dealer's stiflingly hot warehouse. A quick whip through resulted in:

 

1. Two tsuba boxes with their little cushions (new, probably made in China)

2. An old black wall-rack for ... swords, spears? A Do-jo Bo rack?

3. Three long Jidai-bako boxes for, wakizashi, tanto, arrowheads, etc.

a. Newish? narrow white keaki wood tight-lidded box, 2 rests inside, length 62cm W7.5cm

b. Old Jidai bako with overhanging lid, length 64cm, W12cm

c. Old Jidai bako with flat lid, Length 89cm, W14.5cm. Dated in ink on bottom, Tempo 13 Nen, or 1843.

 

The above is my humble contribution to this week's Edo Period Corner. If you can use your imagination, then we won't have to use bandwidth... hehehehe :lol:

[Bugyotsuji]

The stall holder told me he thought the two Kanji read Sou-Sou, but can anyone help?

 

The first one looks like Yari æ§ã€€but the second one is difficult.

 

Is it some form of Kura/So, 蔵　倉　庫　with the meaning of Osameru, or put away? Yari-kura?

 

I know there are lots of expressions in Japanese pronounced sou-sou, including one that means a row of long sharp objects, but does anyone get such associative meanings from this repetition of sounds?

[k morita]

Bugyotsuji san,

 

The 1st kanji is kane-hen no Yari 　鎗　.

The 2nd kanji is kura/zo 蔵 .

 

Maybe 1st name Yarizo (?).

[Bugyotsuji]

Bugyotsuji san,

 

The 1st kanji is kane-hen no Yari 　鎗　.

The 2nd kanji is kura/zo 蔵 .

 

Maybe 1st name Yarizo (?).

 

Fantastic stuff! The idea about the name, Yarizo, is an interesting thought.

 

With kane-hen, the meaning might not necessarily be 'spear' then? Is that why you suggest it might be a name?

 

Thank you so much, Morita san. This was really starting to bother me!

[IanB]

Piers, I will now try again to load the images of my little archery set. Success :lol:

Ian

[Bugyotsuji]

Piers, I will now try again to load the images of my little archery set. Success :lol:

Ian

 

Thanks, Ian. Well, I'll be blowed! Here I am never even knowing such things existed and you actually had one all along! Plus yours has a Mon on the box lid, on top of everything virtually assuring it belonged to someone special. That really is uncanny. And they are so similar, sizewise, colourwise, and structurewise.

[Nobody]

Piers, The little archery set is in fact a palour-game. I don't know what it was called but I have seen a woodblock print of it being played in the non-operative part of 'a house of ill repute' by the ladies and a customer. I have a set, not as grand as yours, but with the fittings for the bow half in silver and half in shakudo. The arrows have little flat heads which were either dipped in ink or rubbed with chalk to leave a mark on the cloth target. Intrestingly the fletchings are white with purple dyed stripes and the arrows have different numbers of gold lacquered rings to differentiate the players.

Ian Bottomley

I have found some information of the game.

The game center was called Yokyuba (楊弓場) in Kyoto/Osaka or Yaba (矢場) in Edo.

Ref. 1 includes pictures of a floor plan, targets, and arrows set as well as their use fee.

 

The game played among common people originated from a parlor game played by Court nobles. You can find some fragmentary data here (Japanese texts)

http://www.rak3.jp/home/rak2_pv.cgi?no= ... bbs_view=4

 

I suspect that your archery sets are too elegant to be used at ordinary game centers, though I could not find any pictures of a set for nobles and I am unsure about that.

 

 

Ref. 1. 守貞漫稿 (Morisada mankou); an encyclopedia of 1800s

The game is described on several pages.

http://www.ndl.go.jp/site_nippon/Japan/ ... m2a41.html

http://www.ndl.go.jp/site_nippon/Japan/ ... m2a42.html

http://www.ndl.go.jp/site_nippon/Japan/ ... m2a43.html

 

Ref. 2. 風æµå”ãã‚Œãªã„ (Furyu Karakurenai); a picture book in 1700s

http://www.kanazawa-bidai.ac.jp/cgi-bin ... l?title=87

The game is shown on p. 25. The picture is attached.

[Bugyotsuji]

You knock me over with the comprehensive nature of your reply, Moriyama san. I have had a look at your links and immediately learned that the two games were esentially the same, but played quite differently in Kyoto and Edo. I also learned that my Japanese is not good enough to take advantage of all the information that you have offered. Let's hope that other readers will gain something from your offerings. I will go back and attack again, though. In the meantime, thanks for the wonderful background information.

 

A friend of mine showed me a small bow the other day which looks similar to the one used in the Furyu-karakurenai Ukiyo-e Hanga at the bottom of your post. The bow is painted in gaudy coloured stripes, is solid, of one piece, and is thicker and stronger and rounder than the ones in Ian and my box sets.

[IanB]

Piers, Moriyama San,

I think the archery sets that have been illustrated are far too delicate to have been used in a public attraction. The bows in the illustration are what I would describe as hankyu. I've never owned one but I remember seeing one in the collection of Jack Flinton (a famous old archer back in the 1950's -60's who had a house full of archery equipment from around the world). His was made like a normal bow but rather garishly lacquered and about 4 foot long.

The bow in my set has a section of about 8mm x 6mm near the grip, tapering down. It is also embellished with ivory where the sections fit into the silver sockets (that above the grip is silver on the back and shakudo on the belly). This suggests a very expensive item rather than something to be used by commoners.

Ian

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Piers, Ian, Moriyama-san, you're making my lurking extremely educational.

[Nobody]

I found some images which show how nobles played archery game in Heian period.

However, I have not checked their academic reliability.

 

Ref. The Costume Museum

http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/index.htm

http://evagenji.hp.infoseek.co.jp/co-2002-2-5.htm

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, I don't knoiw about academic reliability, but I am convinced! How do you find these things, Moriyama san?

 

It looks like a long ro-ka, specially designed for kneeling/seated archery. Thanks. Very easy to slip back in time...

[Bugyotsuji]

This morning (Sunday) I got up at 6:45 and drove an hour to quite a good little antiques market. You really need to be there by 5 or 6 am to go for those fresh tidbits, so you can see I was laughably late.

 

Sorting through a pile of worm-eaten Ukiyo-e Hanga I found two that took my fancy. Both were of beauties in kimono, but I was more interested in the furnishings around them.

 

One lovely lady was reading a scroll letter? and on the bed beside her was a small wooden...er... uh... toggle/board? of some kind with writing on it. Now I had just seen such a toggle two stalls down so I called the owner and asked what it was. A hi-uchi-gane spark striker, for flints, he said. I bought the wooden holder part, even though the iron striker itself was missing. One of these days I'll find a blade that goes with it. Perhaps I should have bought the print to go with it too!

 

The second print showed an Edo beauty reclining, with a Wa-rosoku candle burning brightly on a lacquered stand behind her. This print had been washed and cleaned and rebacked neatly with some washi paper to disguise the worm holes and the dealer wanted me to cover his outlay on the restoration first, before haggling over the print itself. Again, I left the print, but I know where this dealer has his permanent shop, so I can always go there if necessary.

 

This brings me to this week's corner, and I've been thinking about Andon lamps and lanterns, and shoku-dai candlesticks and candle-holders. These have always attracted me, but they tended to fetch high prices when I couldn't afford them. Little by little, I have grabbed bargains over the years and have several now dotted around the house. Not attempted to photograph them yet, though I did post a candlestick on this site (the old site?) some months back when we were discussing the caltrops Matsukawabishi Hishi Mon. Took the project no further at the time.

 

Would anyone like to show off anything along these lines? It can be any class, from museum quality to simple folk ware. No competition intended. The aim is to show the variety of lights that were in vogue at some time, in a country of wooden houses prone to earthquakes.

 

I am always amazed at the inventiveness of pre-Western Japanese society.

[Brian]

Not exactly a high class item, but maybe someone has some interest in seeing it. Picked this up at the Yasukuni Shrine flea market when I was there a year ago. Inexpensive and at least it could come home with me without needing deregistration :lol:

I think it is likely late Edo period, and not particularly remarkable. A fireman's (hikeshi) tobikuchi. Much better than using a yari to tear down a burning building. Apparently they were sometimes also pressed into use during street brawls

Signed, but I doubt it has any relevance. Hopefully original and no-one has started turning them out en masse for the overseas collectors. Rusty, but I don't see much point in cleaning it up at all.

 

Brian

[Bugyotsuji]

That one looks in good condition, a good solid one with reinforcing rods, and nice to have it signed like that. Belt hook too. There was a need to pull the straw off the roof ASAP, and I also heard that firemen in Edo were often hired thugs who would push families out of their houses and smash the houses down to create firebreaks.

 

The answer to your dreaded question is that yes, from the odd one that I see, I believe there are some being produced today as 'antiques', if not en masse.

[Nobody]

Signed, but I doubt it has any relevance.

I agree that the Mei is irrelevant. But FYI, the Mei seems to be Kanemoto (兼元).

[Brian]

Thanks very much Moriyama san.

 

Brian

[Bugyotsuji]

Signed, but I doubt it has any relevance.

I agree that the Mei is irrelevant. But FYI, the Mei seems to be Kanemoto (兼元).

Would it be correct to say that after Hai-to-rei some swordsmiths switched from making swords to making these Hikeshi, Jitte, and so on?

[Bugyotsuji]

Had a chat with the bloke I sold my Kabutowari to and asked if he'd be willing to sell it back.

He has consistently said no, but today he hesitated for the first time and said, well, if you really want it that badly...

 

Went to a couple of antique fairs today but the sun is so fierce now every day that it's a labour of love for both the dealers and the customers.

 

Managed to purchase:

1. Plain fairly big Kachushi marugata tsuba with badly distorted Mei. å°ç”°åŽŸä½ä¿¡å‰(?)

2. Small tanto tsuba with carved dragon & faint Mei.　山代å£å£å£å£å£å£å£ã€€not yet figured it out... (is this little tsuba a tanzo-mono, I wonder?)

3. A long ubu spear pole with red whipped lacquer saya. Short sankaku blade (11-12cm) with Mei on nakago, only barely readable.　摂州ä½è—¤åŽŸè²žå›½(?)

 

and at the second place

 

4. Very old and battered torn paper Chochin town lantern with Kuginuki Mon. Nothing actually missing though.

 

Spent the rest of the day drying out the armour from yesterday's display, cleaning the guns, and messing around with the purchases, viz:

 

a. The yari saya was very dirty so I brushed it and wet wiped it, dried it out and filled in the many and long cracks with wood glue, then rubber-banded the whole thing to dry under a fan for the night.

b. Polished the blade somewhat using water and a series of papers from 600 to 2,000. This took about two or three hours, but starting to look bright and lovely, if you can ignore the foxing/dotting/pitting. Dried it and smothered it in choji oil for the time being.

c. Wirebrushed the ishi-tsuki to remove some of the rust.

 

Tsuba. Used stainless wire brushes and bone spatula to clean the rust off them, following tsuba collector's advice, trying not to expose the jihada, then dropped them in water and wrapped them in kitchen towel and froze them in order to help lift the red rust.

******************************************************************

Update. The spear saya repair went pretty well. The white wood glue has turned transparent and is barely visible on the surface. There is only so much I can do, though. There is a large section of the rim missing, and the red lacquer needs detailed touch-up, but what material and what colour? Autumn/Fall reds. The closest I can imagine is taking the skins off those little dried Korean Togarashi peppers and papering them somehow onto the surface.

 

The blade sanding went pretty well and it now stays bright as long as it's oiled. I have wrapped it in Saran wrap, as that is how one spear came back from the Togishi some years ago along with instructions to feed the naked steel with oil for a year.

[Bungo]

too lazy to go through flea markets but there's always e-bay............

at a very reasonable price, a Toyokuni print mounted as a scroll.

 

Looks like Toyokuni 1

p.s. subject matter is that of a transvestite ( don't you love those Tokugawa laws on theatre ? )

milt

[Bungo]

a better subject matter........... Kuniyoshi's Tomomori who expired in battle of Dan no Ura.

yes.......... from e-bay.

milt

[Bugyotsuji]

Agreed, very nice finds. Although I prefer the latter. Looks like Tomomori managed to pull one arrow out before he gave up the ghost.

 

Interesting background to the first print, but not my cup of tea, so I don't think I could look long and restfully at it.

 

Are these from your collection, Milt?

[Bungo]

yes, I am a print collector ( mostly Yoshitoshi and Kuniyoshi )

 

milt

[Bugyotsuji]

yes, I am a print collector ( mostly Yoshitoshi and Kuniyoshi )

 

milt

 

Just checking my Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, so ... that's

THE Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1798-1861,

 

and one of his pupils,

Taiso/Tsukioka/Honen Yoshitoshi, 1839-1892. Died insane at the age of 53 with over 80 disciples (?)