Antiquery Posted October 2 Report Posted October 2 Hi everyone, I run a small auction house, this is my first time posting and I think it's quite special. We randomly had a guy come in and drop off a Hitsu with a complete suit, Katana, Jingasa and fan (not sure the name). We have sold quite a few suits for a local collector with the information usually being provided by him. I think this suit is waaayy better than anything we've had before and I'm wondering if anyone has any information about it. The silver inlay and chased bronze scream high quality. Check out the photos and if there's anything else you want to see let me know and I'll add it! Hope this is allowed, here's the link to more photos.. https://drive.google...HC1jqUMG?usp=sharing Thanks, Angus 4 1 Quote
Brian Posted October 2 Report Posted October 2 I'd suggest you wait for all the possible info before you start considering any of the offers I am sure will start coming in Lovely looking kabuto. But I don't know much. There are others here that will be able to give you good info though. Good luck. 1 2 Quote
Shugyosha Posted October 2 Report Posted October 2 I hope I haven’t missed something, but does Ian Bottomley not chip in any longer? It does look lovely though. Quote
Gakusee Posted October 2 Report Posted October 2 Do I see the signature of Miyochin Yoshihisa on the menpo? And the sword is signed Koyama Munetsugu, a renowned smith... worthwhile checking the signature to published sources. Quote
uwe Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 Welcome Angus! Starting with the obvious: Sword is signed "固山備前介宗次作之" (Koyama Bizen no Suke Munetsugu kore o saku) Dated "弘化三年正 月日" = 1846 Tsuba is signed "越前住 記内作" (Echizen Jû Kinai saku). Several artists early to late Edo-period... Rather nice koshirae (mounting)! Mask (menpô) is signed "吉久" (Yoshihisa). Most likely a mid/late Myôchin school artist... I will come back later about the armor itself! 1 Quote
Chishiki Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 It would be great if you offer to sell here, or keep us posted when the auction is happening. Mark Quote
Lewis B Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 What a gorgeous and rare find. And from what I can tell the sword and koshirae appear to be matched to the Yoroi (armour). The koshirae and fittings especially, appear really high quality and I'm sure the blade when polished will look equally spectacular. As others have said it would be great if you were able to offer it here. It clearly needs some TLC and someone with knowledge and the inclination would be the perfect custodian to ensure the artefact is restored and preserved for future generations. Quote
uwe Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 12 hours ago, Shugyosha said: I hope I haven’t missed something, but does Ian Bottomley not chip in any longer? It does look lovely though. Hi John, heard nothing from him since about a year or so... Quote
Lewis B Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 9 hours ago, Gakusee said: And the sword is signed Koyama Munetsugu, a renowned smith... No kidding if this is the same smith. Mei is very similar in style. https://www.samuraim...u-hozon-certificate/ Quote
uwe Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 Well back to the armor! I think we are talking about a "Tetsu sabiji nimai-dô gusoku" (russet iron two part-cuirass armor - simplifiyed naming!) with nunome-zogan adornment, might dating back to the latter half of the Edo period. The helmet is a so called "Hoshi-kabuto" (or Koboshi-kabuto)* of rather good quality. Unfortunately the provided pictures don't tell much about the whole. What I can say is that kote (sleeves) and suneate (shin guards) comming from a matching set, but it seems the haidate (apron) is missing. This is also true for the dô (cuirass) and the kabuto (helmet)*. In case of the Jingasa (bajo-jingasa = riding hat) and the ogi (fan), however, we can't be sure... Note, the dô is insofar interesting, that it was made to look like a rokumai-dô (six part cuirass)! A word about the mon (coat of arms) that makes the helmet and the cuirass "matching". The example below is very close and probably related at least to 3 families, namely: 島村氏, 河村氏 and 茅野氏. The names have several readings so I won't go deeper for the time being... * The helmet might be older. It would be nice to have some more pictures (front-, side-, back- and top-view) as also some shots from inside, if the liner (ukebari) allows it?! 2 1 Quote
Antiquery Posted October 3 Author Report Posted October 3 Thanks all for the info! I've added some more photos to the Google drive link, including the haidate which was underneath the rest (Is that a signature in the fabric?). I will certainly keep everyone updated about the auction date when we finally get around to it. I definitely want it to go to someone who has the know-how to restore and preserve this collection. Let me also say how nice it is to come to a forum where people take the time to explain what they're talking about. It is very helpful for people like me who basically have no idea what they're looking at (although I can recognize quality)! Would it be worth it to have anything authenticated? We've sold swords before with NBTHK papers but I have no idea about the process of obtaining them. Quote
The Blacksmith Posted October 3 Report Posted October 3 Did the Myochin smiths not always sign Myochin? Certainly a kabuto that I owned was signed Myochin Ujiiye, and dated Eisho 18, (1521). I also had some kote, also signed Myochin, but I do not recall the actual smiths name. 1 Quote
uwe Posted October 4 Report Posted October 4 Angus, it seems that the yoroi bitsu (storage box) suggests a date and that an Iwai craftsman was involved... In case of the date the first two kanji are strangely written. If pushed I would go for: “安政七申年三吉祥” (third month seventh year Ansei = 1860) Left side is hard to read for me, but could be: ”岩井ロ助” (Iwai ? suke) Maybe I’m totally off so no warranty for both guesses! However, I don’t know if it’s helpful at all, because we can’t be sure that the bitsu belongs to the armor… Quote
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