This Week's Edo Period Corner

[Bugyotsuji]

Dear Piers,

No,... I have not translated the kanji on the medallion. Could you enlighten me ? Also What " naughty bits " are you referring to ? I do not own a digital camera so have a fellow do my photography.

... Ron Watson

Sorry, Ron, I have two daughters who live in London. I mean the wicked bits, the good bits, the silver updates that you mentioned. They sound great!

 

I have gradually taught myself to do the basics with a cheap digital camera, a Ricoh with the ability to get within 1 cm of an object. Best Christm... oops, erm, best Jolly Hollistix present I ever bought myself.

 

Now, that kanji looks like 末　Matsu or Sue to me. It has the meaning of finality, the end of an era. Is this the last gun he ever made, I wonder?

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

Thank you for the clarification on the " naughty bits ", .... I am not up to date on modern British Slang, .... you had me a bit concerned . It would be nice to think that this is the last gun that Yoshida Rikizo built. According to what information I have he was one of the very last of the Matchlock makers ( 1870 - 1896 ). It is really a well made example. I suppose I shall have to sooner or later invest in a digital camera, ... I try to avoid NEW TECHNOLOGY. If possible I would happily turn back the clock as I firmly believe that much of the new technology serves no purpose other than to enslave us to the state or corporate interests. I am off to work now, ... but will write more once I have time to examine your lock photos more closely.

... Ron Watson

[estcrh]

Piers, I hope you dont me enlarging this image a bit for us visually impaired viewers......and those who do not like technology.

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

Having had a little more time to examine the lock mechanism, ... I would wonder about the steel tension spring ( surprising technology for early to mid 19th century Japan ), .... I wonder if this is a later addition ? Second item I note is the heavy brass coil spring, ... this may need replacing with a weaker spring being that you are converting back to matchlock. The heavier brass spring would have been needed for the additional force required to detonate the " pill " type ignition, ... but would be far too strong for the matchlock system of ignition. I suppose you will not be firing the gun, so my comment in this regard may be mute and picky. By the way nice job on the silver barrel bands.

It truly is a lovely gun. SO MUCH THANKS to Eric for the enlargement, .... we who are weak in NEW technology still come in handy for our knowledge of the OLD technology ... wouldn't you agree Eric :D .

... Ron Watson

[IanB]

Piers, By sheer coincidence last night, at a meeting of arms and armour buffs, I saw a pair of German flintlock pistols from about 1780 that had the barrels decorated with spirals just like yours except they had been done by dotting with a punch rather than inlay. It was quite nice to see the dotter had become sloppy towards the muzzle of one gun - presumably not wanting to see another spiral ever again for the rest of his life.

I think the sear spring on your gun indicates its age. Other guns with internal spiral mainsprings generally have another flat spiral spring of brass connecting to the sear with a brass wire link. The one I am thinking of even had a range of holes in the sear so that you could adjust the trigger pull - on a matchlock for goodness sake! I note Ron has picked up on the spring whilst typing the above.

Ian B

[Bugyotsuji]

Ian is the design called Arabesque? A good friend has a pair of Bizen pistols with this pattern. They are almost identical and numbered 一 and 二 .　Signed by one of the Yokoyama Tatsuemon smiths. His three-barrelled gun also has this Bizen Kara-kusa design in silver on all three barrels.

 

Ron, we found that it has been somewhat rebuilt, and I think I know who did the work, a very clever elderly gentleman. Part of his work has worn through and needs redoing, which is what is being undertaken just now. The mechanism is both sophisticated and crude at the same time, if such a thing is possible. Every single part is/was obviously handmade.

 

At present I have had the band done in pure silver, and the two pins retopped in silver, one with the three-spoked indentation you often find on a Bizen silver pin head. I have sort of given him free reign to touch up little bits here and there and he says the gun should be ready by the New Year.

 

The shiny black central hubcap of the striker/serpentine is a foliate design and looks as though it is/was covered in a different material than the iron under it. We have tried rubbing/brushing it, but instead of the silver we were expecting, it is more like a black pearl surface.

 

Many thanks for the input. If I reread it enough times, some of it may soak in! :lol:

[IanB]

Piers, What you have just said makes sense. The serpentine pivot, internal tumbler and spiral spring all look genuine. The sear is clearly later and rather crudely done in iron. This part should be brass and now I know what has happened, I suspect the lug through which the spiral spring is threaded should have a small brass spiral spring with a link pulling the tail of the sear forwards rather than the part that is pushing the present sear backwards. There is a good image of the interior of such a lock in the 'Military Accessories of a Daimyo House' from the Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya catalogue, item 165. It differs in the smaller spring pointing upwards and pulling on top of the sear whereas yours I think acted the other way up.

Ian

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, the phone rang to tell me it was ready so I extended my lunch break and nipped round to collect it. He had done some research into the Ikeda family files and found some background information to this smith.

 

As to the gun itself, he had made a new silver band, and headed the two pins in silver. Into one of them he had engraved Bizen's characteristic three-branch Triskelion indentation. He told me this had been more difficult than he had anticipated as you cannot cut straight across the head, with them all coming together in the middle. He repaired and reassembled the broken link inside the trigger assembly and found the reason it had broken, which too he then fixed.

 

This is how it looks now. Subtly different? (One of the pins was brass-headed before)

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

The gun looks good, ... tell me did the gentleman manage to repair the serpentine back to it's original matchlock configuration, ... and did he manage to replace the steel tension spring on the inside of the lock ? It would also be interesting to hear of any interesting tidbits about the original smith ( and the one who did your repairs ). Have a Happy Christmas and Health and Prosperity for the New Year.

... Ron Watson

[Bugyotsuji]

Ron, I have to be a bit careful now as both of these people are local and both have immense pride in the work that they do and their local reputations. One started as a Saya-shi and locksmith, and the other is a fully accredited Shiroganeshi and head of the N..K local sword society. Especially with the former there is little that one can do except give thanks for any work done. Yes, I know lots of stories about both of them!

 

No, the internals are still fairly close to the photo that Eric kindly blew up for everyone. Without going back to the first elderly gentleman and asking specifically what it was like before he got it into working order, we can but guess. What you and Ian described is roughly what he did. There is a third person in the middle of this, the one who let me have the gun on certain conditions, and I have to be careful here too lest rumours get back to him! As to the serpentine, yes, it is in working order as a matchlock and nothing else...

[Bugyotsuji]

As to the known facts, I was handed a note with spidery Japanese writing quoting the old phraseology of the MS and I am not quite comfortable with what it says and what it actually means.

 

What I did pick up is that Tatsuemon Sukenobu was San-nin Buchi, an indentured smith for 30 years, from Bunsei 10 nen, 9 gatsu 17 nichi (1827) to 1857 when he died. He was allowed to use the name Yokoyama from Tempo 14, which is the year before the first year of Koka, 1843? From Koka 2 nen, he went to Katsuyama in the north of Okayama to teach gunsmithing for 2 years. He was given a special title in Koka 3. 大佐　登格（？）帯刀　御免　江戸(Can't yet read all of this) He was probably a descendant of one of the three houses of Yokoyama, founded by three Bizen smiths who were brothers at the beginning of Edo. This smith Sukenobu is quoted as being the first gunsmith in the line, his son Fujitaro Sukesada becoming Ni-nin buchi in Kaiei 5 nen, and his grandson Yasuzo Sukeyuki San-nin buchi in Man-en Gan-nen. If Sukenobu was the first to make guns, then he must have gone somewhere to learn the trade originally. The gun may be 1850s rather than 1840s.

[watsonmil]

Dear Piers,

I /We appreciate what information you were able to provide. I wish someone would put together an English version of the Japanese Gunsmiths. Much has been written on the Nihonto of Japan, ... yet so very little on the Tanegashima. Anyway, thank you for bringing this example to everyone's attention. What we really need is a Forum dedicated to the Tanegashima with some Japanese participants.

... Ron Watson

[Brian]

I'm happy to start a section on it...as long as there are sufficient people to support it.

 

Brian

[Justin Grant]

That would be great Brian! I am sure we have most of the experts on the subject of Tanegashima on this board.

[Bugyotsuji]

Excellent idea.

[Bugyotsuji]

Back on topic, :lol: here is norimono-kago I found at an antiques fair today. It's a 'Kamasu', a word I have had difficulty with, so by posting here I am hoping to learn and never forget it again...

[Bugyotsuji]

This is a guessing game, where you lose and I win. Sound fun?

 

What do you think is inside this wooden Tomo-bako that I bought yesterday?

 

Hint 1.

Nothing to do with what it says on the lid!

 

 

Hint 2.

This could have gone in one of Eric's threads.

 

 

Hint 3.

Now you are getting greedy!

 

 

Hint 4.

So desperate? Very well, then. For rallying?

[Bugyotsuji]

Here goes, then. This was inside!

 

Height of black and gold top, 34 cm. Black sleeve and disc, 15 cm, width of discs, 9cm. Height of top object, 19cm. Materials, wood (?), black and gold lacquer.

[IanB]

Piers, Well, well. I have three of these objects, two being mounted on squares of wood with a rough spike to hold them upright - but sadly no boxes. The subjects of mine are: a tiger leaping onto a section of bamboo, a drum on a stand and a fan. The first two have the discs below the lacquered objects with fringes of hair sandwiched between them and the bamboo tubes are pierced for a retaining pegs.

Exactly what they are I have never been sure about. They may be sashimono in their own right, or just the tops for sashimono poles, or maybe for banner poles but mine would seem to be a bit small for that. I suspect they are the former - see the famous Nagakute screen where almost all the samurai have a gilded object on a pole rather than a hata sashimono. There are fish, baskets, scale weights and all manner of objects. I would be grateful to learn what you can find out about them.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

Dang, Ian. I was secretly hoping that you would post and confirm at least one of the theories inside my head, so when I saw your name I felt in luck.

 

Now you have moved me back firmly to square one. Well, the search is always fun!

[Bugyotsuji]

Oh, I'd love to see pictures of yours with measurements, if at all possible.

[IanB]

Piers, I will do that. Out of curiosity, what did you think it was?

Ian

[Nobody]

I do not know what they are. This is only my guess for now.

That reminds me of a Matoi (纏). It might be the head part of a miniature Matoi, I think.

Ref. http://www.otomaya.com/matsuri/plate/minimaku.html

[estcrh]

Back on topic, :lol: here is norimono-kago I found at an antiques fair today. It's a 'Kamasu', a word I have had difficulty with, so by posting here I am hoping to learn and never forget it again...

Piers, what exactly is a "kamasu"?

[Bugyotsuji]

Eric, when Kinko lost their livelihoods after the Haito-rei, they turned their skills to other things. Those who were good at making Menuki found they could make decorative 'kamasu' clasps for tobacco pouches. Lierally 'a thing that bites/locks'. (The one above could be mistaken for a Menuki... yes/no?)

[Nobody]

Kamasu in this case means tobacco pouches rather than their clasps.

 

Kamasu (叺)

Ref. http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/tani ... koire.html

[Bugyotsuji]

Ian, Koichi Sama, many thanks for your thoughts. I have spent a couple of hours in dictionaries and samurai armor/armour books looking for the answer.

 

To start with "Matoi", the Super Daijirin says it was 馬印 an Umajirushi, (馬標) then later in Edo it became the standard for firemen. The plates hold strips of cloth which are called 馬簾 Baren, 'horse festoons'.

 

笹間良彦 Sasama Yoshihiko says there were large umajirushi 大馬印 carried in turns by two or three people, and then small ones 小馬印 which could be carried on a pole by one person or worn on a pole stuck down their backs in the Ukezutsu. These small ones were free in design; each individual could make what he liked, and there were countless designs. Later flags were inserted instead as these objects often became caught in branches or caught the wind and were unpopular.

 

The next question is how old this object is, and which of those functions it was designed for.

A further possibility is that it was made as a prop for a movie. The gold paint looks too good for that, though... I will ask around as there is quite a knowledgable antique community in these parts!

[Bugyotsuji]

Thank you, Koichi san. In English we have the word 'clutch' which means a lady's purse or wallet, but probably comes from the mechanism as much as from the clutching action of the owner. I suspect that the 'kamasu' may come from the clasp because it 噛ます. The dealer did not know what the word meant, and the only way I could remember it was with the word 'bite'. There is a catch under the flap with a mouth and a bit that catches in it. Is this just my imagination? Well, it helped me remember it!

 

Oh, now I have just read your link and it is quite an independent word, according to that site! Thank you.

[estcrh]

(The one above could be mistaken for a Menuki... yes/no?)

Very much so, my first thought was were the other one was!

[Baka Gaijin]

Evening all,

 

Ref to Matoi, I have one with a Hyotan form, Fusahimo and what may be Yak hair, I'll photograph it tomorrow and post it for comparison.

 

Check out the tops of the green name Hata from about 0.14 and 0.46 in close up:

 

 

Cheers