Single character on brass lock plate

[Bugyotsuji]

Greetings, good planet people.

 

This single Kanji was stamped there by a hinawajū locksmith, probably recognized at the time by those around. How many readings can we get from it? 
So far I can maybe see ネ、令、or maybe the ‘hen’ 示、or 衣? Surely not 吉,市 or 京?

 

The matchlock is not signed but I know the school of gunnery, so my suspicions fall upon Kunitomo. None of the listed locksmiths there have a likely candidate character in their name though. This character might… help narrow down the place of manufacture. 😊 

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

https://codh.rois.ac.jp/char-shape/unicode/U+5E02/

 

Having looked at this page, however, Ichi/Shi 市 does seem to fit in some cases... hmm...

[uwe]

Initially I thought ネ, but 市 seems not that bad…

[Bugyotsuji]

(Please excuse the update, but after some research I wish to record my thoughts here while they are still in my mind.)

 

Problem restated

Can we read it, and then find a place of manufacture based solely upon this unreadable lockplate character or mark?

 

The school of gunnery is Inatomi Ryu, (also pronounced Inadome) but the gun is unsigned. Guns were made to Inatomi specifications in Kunitomo, Sakai and Owari at least. Checking the matchlock mechanism artisans, there were no likely candidates in Kunitomo, Sakai or Sunpu, but in Owari there were three generations of Furuta with names beginning with Ichi 市, i.e. Furuta Ichirobei (Genroku), Furuta Ichirozaemon (Kyoho) and Furuta Ichizaemon (Tenmei). Ichimu's following generations served in Owari. Gun locksmiths did indeed sometimes sign with a stamp or impression using one character of their name, often the first letter of the individual name, so, one possibility, i.e. that this is Ichi 市, is born, or to some extent borne out here.

 

The famous Inatomi Ichimu 1551-1611 was the eldest son (or grandson?) of Inatomi 祐英 (Sukehide) and was originally named Yojiro, then Sakon, then Iga no Kami Minamoto Sukenao 祐直. His skills in gunnery were noted by many Daimyo who wished to have him teaching close at hand, such as Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sunpu. Notably, the famous swordsmith and gunsmith Hankei (Nihon Kiyotaka) also worked there and produced guns in the Inatomi/Inadome school style. Notice here the Kanji character in the thread's opening post above once more, that no one except Uwe has commented on. Uwe agreed with ネ at first, then possibly 市.

 

But! What if? 

What if the character stamped on the lockplate above is a construct, an amalgam/amalgamation of the common-to-both character 'Suke' 祐 (ネ and 右) of the father 祐秀Sukehide and the famous (grand) son 祐直 Sukenao, later 'Ichimu'?

This could account for the appearance of ネ with a 口 lower right. Hmmm...

 

Or to take this a step further, might the locksmiths have blended their character Ichi 市 with the Suke 祐 of the founders Sukehide and Sukenao?

 

Enough of the brain storming. Here is some background concerning the school of Inatomi/Inadome Ichimu, in English. 

 

https://www.japanesewiki.com/person/Sukenao INADOME.html

[SteveM]

I think its a cursive 市, of the kind below

 

 

https://codh.rois.ac.jp/char-shape/unicode/U+5E02/

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for that vote, Steve!

The scales are now tipping more towards one of those listed 古田 Furuta lockwork makers above, (other readings such as Koden are possible), meaning the gun itself could well have been produced in Owari around mid-Edo, c.1680-1780 ish.

 

“Grrrrrreattttttt!!!” says Tony the Tiger!

[Bugyotsuji]

As an adjunct to this, there is a kamon on the barrel, but since these were often added later I cannot put too much weight on it.

 

The shape is a 蛇の目 Janome, or snake's eye, said to be talismanic; originally this mon depicted the 弦巻 tsurumaki spare cord reel for a bow which hung at the left side by the tachi koshirae. The most famous user of this mon was Kato Kiyomasa, but since he once called Inatomi Ichimu a traitor, I cannot imagine him placing his mon on an Inatomi Ryu gun. There were several families in mid Japan who used the janome, (Kato, Toda, Hori, Ishikawa, Kutsuki, etc.) but all seem to have kept it as their kaemon, i.e. secondary.

 

There was another famous Mitsuyasu branch of the Kato who served under Hideyoshi in Owari and later from 1629 ruled as lords of Ozu Castle in Shikoku. This family used the janome mon as their main 本紋 'Honmon' or 正紋 'Seimon', and kept it throughout Edo, not as a substitute or secondary 'Kaemon', according to a geographical map of Kamon.

 

So if we had to tie all this information together, it could be the material for a small paper! An Inatomi school gun that served the Mitsuyasu branch of the Kato family, possibly made in Owari province in the early to mid-Edo Period. A likely story! 

 

Thank you everyone who had a look, showed interest or even participated in this thread! 

Much appreciated.