Paper Butterflies: Unravelling the Mystery of Tannaker Buhicrosan

by Paul Budden, Kazuyo Matsuda (Illustrator)

Overview

Reader, I invite you to join me on a journey that I had no intention of travelling upon, indeed did not even know existed, but which has since becoming unfurled occupied many a waking hour. It is a journey that uncovers what I believe to be the true story of a shady gentleman called Tannaker Buhicrosan, feted as the bold entrepreneur who brought the much-acclaimed Japan Native Village Exhibition to Knightsbridge in 1885.
What has made this quest so exciting is that the version of Mr Tannaker Buhicrosan that I have uncovered is completely different to any version that has gone before. It is the result of painstaking and methodical research relying solely on certified proof, along with the addition of a few grey areas and just one coincidence too many.
What I love about this story and what has kept me researching it, even when the way ahead looked blank, is that it is more like a Victorian melodrama than a real life account, twisting and turns between ever shifting identities so that it is not always clear whether the person that we are reading about is the true Tannaker Buhicrosan or someone else entirely. Such was his ability to shift his shape in order to fit the environment he was in.
To obtain what I believe is enough evidence to lay the legend of Tannaker Buhicrosan to rest once and for all, I have travelled across continents and timeframes, consulted graphologist and gravestone tap tapping away at a story that has succeeded in startling me at every turn.
It has taken ten years for me to discover the truth about this gentleman, which is perhaps hard to believe as this was a man who held such a position of prominence in London society but is was also a man who did not want the truth to be known. Someone who went out of his way to steer himself clear of the limelight and who, every step of the way, made sure to cover his tracks.
The process of tracking him down has at times been incredibly hard with so many possible trails running dry that I have, from time to time, got the impression that the protagonist is laughing at me from his grave as if we are playing a game of cat and mouse where he is willing me to fail in my task. The up side of this is when I have uncovered new avenues, I go down them with all the more determination.
My purpose in writing this book is to lay before you all of my research and findings and to let you decide who you believe the man Tannaker Buhicrosan to be.
It is a book I could not have written it without the help of some very significant people; Brian & Annette Gibbs, Kazuyo Matsuda, Ian Parker Dodd and Corinne Bible who offered invaluable research and input throughout the course of my journey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642377132
Publisher:	Gatekeeper Press
Publication date:	01/21/2020
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

Paul Budden was born in 1949 in Cheltenham England. When not involved with kendo he continues to assist in running an established international exhibition company. Having graduated in kendo to Kyoshi 7-dan, his involvement has increased over some 40 years both as the founder and Kancho of Kodokan Kendo UK (since 1980), where both adults and junior practitioners attend regular practice sessions, and also as President and Technical Director for the Maltese Kendo Federation. As an international coach he now divides his time between the U.K., Malta and throughout Europe (including Eastern Europe), running courses, assisting with seminars including charity events and international competitions. He is also the author of Looking at a Far Mountain: A Study of Kendo Kata; Devil's Gloves and the One Cut - An introduction to Ono-ha Itto Ryu Kata; Three Ages of British Kendo written for the Japan Society, London in Biographical Portraits volume IX and A Truly British Samurai: The Exceptional Charles Boxer (1904-2000). The Oshu Kendo Renmei. A History of British and European Kendo (1885-1974). A Man of Many Parts- Portrait of an Inimitable Swordsman - Ronald Alexander Lidstone (1895 - 1969). He was a member of the British team that won bronze in 1987 at the European Kendo Championships in Malmo and has visited Japan on numerous occasions for study and practice in a continuing quest for knowledge and improvement-'The ultimate is unattainable but the journey is educational and enjoyable.' He was also the Official Speaker at the European Kendo Championships for the European Kendo Federation and was Co-Organising Director of the 12th World Kendo Championships in Glasgow, 2003, for the British Kendo Association. Paul believes very strongly in maintaining the traditional interpretation of kendo and is dedicated to the classical practice of koryu and the philosophy that kendo personifies.