Kaga Dou

[Chishiki]

Uwe made reference to my Kaga Dou in a previous thread. Here are a couple of pics. Mark

[IanB]

According to the research carried out by Orikasa Sensei amongst the Maeda papers in Kanezawa, only Haruta and independent armourers were employed in the Han until 1801 when the Myochin Muneyoshi was taken on. This dou seems to be by a Myochin Munetoshi whose real name was Sukekuro. He was granted a stipend for 3 people in 1826 and died in 1837. Interestingly this is one of the few Kaga armours that does not have the upper edges of the plates shaped.

Ian Bottomley

[Chishiki]

That is really interesting Ian. Thanks for the info. I will twke some more pics of it tomorrow. Interestingly it constructed with 6 plates. It is a piece of precision, the work is technically excellent. Shakudo fukerin all around. Mark

[Luc T]

Another typical Kaga feature is the lack of hinges. Nice dou.

[uwe]

Yep,

 

ryū takahimo (or ryū awase)!

Furthermore, the overlapping munaita and the alternating rows of hishinui are clear features of it’s Kaga origin.....

[uwe]

BTW,

the maker of this dou might be "Tsurumi Munesumi". So the mei reads: "加州住鶴見宗純作", (Kashu Ju Tsurumi Munesumi Saku)!

[Luc T]

I have a kabuto and menpo from him somewhere. Good smith.

[uwe]

Yep,

 

good smith!

Mid Edo, Kanazawa (金沢). Allegdely Kojima Myôchin (小嶋明珍) lineage.

 

Pics Luc???

[Luc T]

Uwe, this guy is from the Myochin Tsurumi line. He was teh son of Munetoshi, father of Munechika, and died in 1870.

[Luc T]

picture, yes, the kabuto is from the hand of Munehide, menpo Munesumi.  An all original matching set.

[IanB]

This Kaga go mai dou is interesting in having Dutch leather fastened to the front plate. It seems that Maeda Tsunanori, the fifth daimyo, following a visit to Kyoto, was so impressed by the refinement of the capital that he encouraged potters, lacquerers and metalworkers to come to Kanazawa and work for the Han. In 1637 he installed agents organised by a certain Hanawa Ichirobe, in Hirado and Nagasaki to purchase materials such as leather, woollen cloth, velvet, ivory and so forth from the Dutch and English. These materials were incorporated by the Haruta armourers then working in Kanazawa into their productions, hence the dou illustrated. You can imagine my surprise when walking around the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to see a wall covered in the same moulded, gilded and painted leather as my dou. I managed to meet the relevant curator who took me up into the attic and there in a storeroom he pulled out a sheet of the exact same leather, which the Dutch used for covering furniture, boxes and stretched on frames as a substitute for wood panelling on walls. Not only that but he also has the original the carved wooden mould that the leather on my armour had been made in. What a coincidence.

Ian Bottomley

[uwe]

Nice story Ian :-)

[Barry E]

Have a munesumi mei on a menpo, but I can't upload through this site

[Barry E]

[Shogun8]

Barry,

 

Any pics of the entire menpo?

[Chishiki]

On 10/22/2019 at 6:00 PM, Chishiki said:

Uwe made reference to my Kaga Dou in a previous thread. Here are a couple of pics. Mark

 

[Chishiki]

Accidentally deleted pics.  Here they are again.

[YOJIMBO]

sell it to me 😍