BMarkhasin

Junichi, This image is taken from the web, and represents a warrior based on the finding at Inariyama Kofun in Saitama. I am not exactly sure which museum houses this figure. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find more information on the web (or a better photo). Anyone in Japan up for a fieldtrip? Best, Boris.

Henry, Ed, Yes, samurai is a anachronistic for this period, as you correctly pointed out. This was before the Taiho Ritsuryo, so the various offices and titles we see from the Nara period onwards such as Imperial Guards had not yet been created. The figure on horseback could best be considered a military elite, perhaps a ranking member of some uji (clan), or military commander working for the provincial governors (Gunshi), or Yemishi commander. I used to have good translated copies of both Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in university, but those texts have been misplaced decades ago. If you do find them either online as John suggests, or through a university bookstore, try to get the unabridged versions, with scholarly discussions on each section to help contextualize the content. They are actually very dull reading as I recall, if you dont have the benefit of such historical analysis. Anyhoooo, this was a good thread, thanks Ed. Love that tsuba --- top-notch example of an iron toran-kei tsuba. Best, Boris.

There was a reasonable amount of cross-influence in this period, and the roots of most things are ultimately traced back to China in these early centuries. ie. lamellar armor is generally attributed to China, as are chokuto, but we dont over-extend this influence. Its important to acknowlege that what we see in the Kofun period actually has virtually no direct Chinese influence. Korean influence is clear in the mid-Kofun, but by the late Kofun, its actually the Japanese that are driving the technology and aesthetics.... this fact that is poorly recognized unfortunately. This is a great discussion topic, with suprisingly a large amount of available data -- a really good separate thread I think. Best B

Pete, Isn't it awesome?!!! We never stop to think what came before the Kamakura/Heian in terms of armor, swords etc... Samurai didnt just pop into existence one bright sunny day -- it was a LONG process, and the technology, aesthetics that we see reflected in these tosogu and armor are purely Japanese. Also, from a historical perspective, what we fail to appreciate is the importance of Yamato Japanese as a regional military and economic power... Japan was a net exporter of military hardware at this time, as well as a leading naval power. This should make this period very interesting from a nihonto point of view and from a technologic and artistic perspective. Look at the dude on the horse... there is very little difference between this ca. 600AD image, and our image of the samurai of the Gempei no Ran. In fact, the epic battles between the Soga, Mononobe and Nakatomi clans were directly comparable, if not larger in scale than the Gempei wars, as they spilled overseas into Korea. The Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira and host of other familiar clans trace lineage to these great Kofun / Asuka clans. Just read the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki for a window into the complexity of the Kofun/Asuka. Medieval Japan as we know it blossomed out of this period. The issue of course, is that access to such old items of tosogu / armor is very limited to most collectors. Best, Boris

Ed, To put this tsuba into a historical and quality perspective, I have added a number of images below. These include a collection of chokuto swords which utilized similar tsuba from the Metropolitan Museum, as well as images from the Inariyama Kofun Museum, Saitama for a mounted warrior of the period, wearing this type of chokuto (the proto-samurai) - image is a bit blurry. What is interesting, is that most of swords of this type preserved in museums utilize bronze gilded toran kei tsuba, while this is obviously iron. Perhaps the iron pieces were for field use, or were used by a certain rank / economic status soldier. I have owned half dozen such tsuba over the years, but Ed's is the best quality iron tsuba I have seen since the late 90's (the better one went at auction for ~$12k, but was virtually uncorroded and had unique, angled sukashi). Most are thinner, far less robust and a little smaller. I am adding two pix of others I have recently owned (one was inlaid with silver on the edge). As a point of observation, there was unsurprisingly a wide variety of quality among tosogu during the Kofun. Some iron tsuba I have owned were dense, thin and likely laminated (folded) construction (as were blades and armors by this period). Others were softer, with no apparent lamination and a very course, grainy iron composition. I will leave this debate/explanation to others. Best Regards, Boris.

Hoanh, Attractive tsuba. The symbol at 1 o'clock seems to be two bats, wings touching, facing opposite directions. Best regards, Boris.

Hi James, Some time ago, I made an attempt at cataloguing hitsuana shapes chronologically (based on my opinions). My collection at the time was skewed to largely early Muromachi or older pieces, so the graphic below is light on late Muromachi styles. Muy Grande Disclaimer: This compilation is a rough guide only, and it must be realized that there was no distinct stages of hitsuana change. Change is organic and 'lumpy', in that numerous variations coexist at any given time; styles fall in and out of favour and revivals are common; tosogu use is highly diachronous, meaning that an unmolested late Muromachi koshirae may employ tosogu from various earlier periods, so a lot of 'license' has to be exercised in any attempt to place items into a chronology as associations are not cut and dry, etc... In general however, we can establish a rough chronology of shape preference / change, and this is what is being represented here. After a bit more consideration, I do feel James' tsuba is likely a mid 15th to early 16th c. piece. Best, Boris. PS - I cant seem to make the image appear below the text. It appears only as a link. Can one of the admins assist in making it visible after the body of the text? Thanks.

James, A very nice tsuba, congratulations. $20!? Well done! I certainly concur that it is yamagane, and quite old. The nakago-ana has been altered for various blades through the ages. The crude, roughly concentric designs predate the hitsu-ana in application to the plate, but the hitsu-ana are of an old style, and may also be original in this case. I would say that the shape of the hitsuana are the best indicators of age for this piece, and are reminiscent of some koMino tsuba as well as other kokinko of the early to mid Muromachi (15th c). Seems to be considerable amounts of remnant black lacquer in the divets and plate. Best Regards, Boris.

Ian, Thanks for sharing this handachi koshirae on the forum. It is refreshing to see a simple, elegant koshirae with some age. I particularly like the lacquered leather saya. Overall a very nice look and feel. Best Regards, Boris.

Mariusz, I think you hit on a key kantei point regarding comparison to actual mirrors, I agree fully. I think Sasano was correct (if not a touch dramatic) in his descriptions / assertions... but I have been accused of the same :D Its not so bad... Best, B

Mariusz, Thats a great image, and not one I have seen before so thanks for posting it. Wow.... this is an oddball. I like it, but this thing is a Frankenstein among kagamishi tsuba. When you look at the motifs, you get a sense that the maker must have had access to a range of mirrors for design inspiration. The design is a melange of actual mirror motifs from varying ages, rather crude and somewhat random scrolled and linear motifs, as well as typical Japanese buddhist symbols and reversed swastikas as we saw in the Burawoy piece. In terms of obvious Chinese influence, I see an attempt at Han TLV, possible petal and triangle motifs. Then we have unattributable random areas of chevrons mixed with scrolled figure 8's (see first image, 4-o'clock and 7-o'clock). Weird. Both sides of the mirror are different in composition and orientation of design, as well as the number of bands. Note that there was no central boss on this example, indicating that it was never a mirror -- plus it is obviously double sided. There are way too many concentric bands on one side, and they essentially completely fill the plate to the center. To me this is an interesting piece, but un-unified and crude -- experimental perhaps. Its like the tsubako just vomited all the designs he could think of into this one composition. That said, it is ubu and thus very rare and important as a study piece. Best, B

Its been a couple of years since I shipped blades in and out of Canada, but it was never easy as I recall, and it paid to be diligent and provide more than requested by the handling agents. I found it particularly prudent to affix to the outside of packages (coming and going) two documents: 1) Instructions for Customs Officials (essentially handling procedures in laymens terms for blades) 2) A Commercial Invoice which clearly states the Harmonized Tarrif Code for antiques over 100yrs: 9706.00.00.90 (assuming it has not changed). The commercial invoice needed to have a comprehensive description in laymens terms, with photographs of the blades and copies of any shinsa papers with translations. When I added these two pieces of documentation, everything went smoothly.... besides getting the crap taxed out of me. Canadian customs are global leaders in exorbitant taxation... Good Luck! Best, Boris.

Junichi, Sorry, I think we collectively had to get it out of our systems... You yourself clearly recognized that this poor little tsuba has had the tar kicked out of it. It is real (although low quality even in better days), it is likely Edo but perhaps looks a lot older to the uninitiated due to the severe damage -- and yes, it may actually have spent some time at the bottom of a lake. Actually I have a number of items which spent literally a millennium at the bottom of a lake, and look a lot better than this tsuba... It goes to underscore to some extent that what we find on ebay more often than not is flawed in some way, and you can never really trust the descriptions. Caveat Emptor. Best, Boris.

Burned, drowned, beaten to a pulp and molested (not necessarily in that order) .... a very sad, sad tsuba.

Henry, Thanks for the translations, most useful. The Sasano description is harder to accept. I have often felt he was too aggressive with his dating of Kagamishi tsuba, and I personally feel he got the one you posted wrong. The odawara fukurin is generally considered to be a late Muromachi - Momoyama (possibly mid- at the earliest) feature, yet Sasano correctly identifies its representation on the kagamishi tsuba and calls it Nambokucho. I suppose that style of fukurin could have predated the 15th c, but I think a search for such early tsuba with fukurin would prove fruitless. I would have called this tsuba late Muromachi to be on the safe side. I guess it just goes to reinforce the paucity of supporting hard data when trying to establish ages on some of these older, enigmatic pieces. Maybe Sasano had the fortune of seeing some old pieces in unpublished Japanese collections, with older fukurin of this type... it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Best Regards, Boris.

Gentlemen, Thanks for the super thread and lively discussions - its a pleasure to see a long thread stay on track with focused contributions! Pete, I'm not worthy! Thank you very much for the kind comment, its greatly appreciated coming from you, as I know your high standards! Mariusz, same goes to you, thanks for the plug. Most collectors are not exposed to the older high quality bits, so without a solid basis for comparison, there is unfortunately too little appreciation and understanding when they do occasionally surface. Best Regards, Boris.

John, It seems you are distinguishing kagamishi style tsuba that look like mirrors from those which do not, and purely based on this single visual aspect suggesting one was not a tsuba to start with because there is often not much room in the central field area for conventional seppadai for a well-positioned nakago-ana. ie. it looks/feels too cramped to have started out as a tsuba. The first example you cite is very similar to the Burawoy tsuba, obviously a mirror-inspired example, and you are bothered by the obviously late additions of the hitsu-ana and largish (resized) nakago which seems pushes the limits of central field. Again, consider it in ubu condition - likely lots more room. Not all early koshirae were equiped with seppa as well, so its possible that the koiguchi abutted directly against the tsuba, and considering the often thin cross-section of Muromachi koshirae, there would not be much lost of the central design. Also, when these were cast, it was likely done with a 'starter' aperature for the nakago ana -- ie. a small unfinished nakago that could safely be sized-up for whatever blade it would serve. It would be up to the tsubako to cleanly and proportionately orient the nakago-ana and pair it with an appropriately sized blade. The next two examples are of a very common style in the mid-late Muromachi - the wormed wood ground. Often you see elements reflective of brass inlay tsuba which were contemporary and very popular. Kagamishi-esque, but really more of kokinko work. They are all yamagane, so cast works. I would really prefer not to call them kagamishi, but its too late as precedent has been set. If they were in my collection, I would call them kokinko. There is no defined central area in these tsuba, and that seems to make you more comfortable as nothing feels cramped and from a tsuba layout perspective, there is sufficient room -- thus a proper tsuba. In both cases, I suggest the hitsuana were done roughly at the time of manufacture or shortly thereafter based on the shape and orientation. The final example is a standard kokinko tsuba with an Odawara fukurin -- a fairly short-lived design. Virtually all of these fukurin were made of thin silver as it was easy to work in repousse, not bronze (not sure thats the correct description). This is not a kagamishi tsuba at all, and a latest Muromachi example (I would say Azuchi Momoyama actually). As for a lack of pre- late Muromachi koshirae bearing kagamishi tsuba, well I cant help you there. The unmolested ones from the late Muromachi Sengoku period are rare enough that the TNM felt it worthy to make an exhibition of them (all but 3 koshirae in the Uchigatana Koshirae book are from museums and jinjas to my understanding). Go back even to the late 1400's and the number of ubu uchigatana or field tachi koshirae is dramatically cut, let alone to the Nambokucho/Kamakura. Thats almost akin to seeking unicorns (or kokuho as the case may be). The koshirae elements are all disassociated at this point, and we usually only run into the tsuba. I think I understand the foundation of your apprehension, but not everything is so cut-and-dry. It makes a lot more sense based on the entire body of evidence, micro- and macro- to consider kagamishi tsuba as Japanese products, for Japanese blades. If it were up to me, ONLY the examples with clear resemblance to mirrors would be called kagamishi(-style) -- and this is a misnomer as they were produced by kokinko tsubako. All other styles, kokinko. Reign-in these broad groups and dont try to look for further 'speciation' where it likely does not exist. Anyhooooo, thats my 2 Yen (and that aint worth much!). Best, Boris.

Here are the images I was referring to in my earlier post. Both koshirae are Muromachi (likely late Muromachi). Tsuba of course could be older than the koshirae, but both would be considered kagamishi tsuba by most, although not as old as Henry's. Best, Boris.

Henry, I dont read any particular significance in mounting a kagamishi tsuba on a sword. Its a case of user preference / availability, style and apprearance in my opinion. If you want to see a Muromachi koshirae mounted with a kagamishi tsuba, take a look at the book Uchigatana Koshirae #12 (pages 44/45). This illustrates a katana sized kuro-urushi uchigatana with a moderately sized rimmed yamagane tsuba with two birds on a sytlized wave? background. Another kagamishi-style tsuba is seen on koshirae #10, pages 40/41, on another Muromachi period uchigatana koshirae. These two are both daito koshirae, but one can imagine numerous styles of wakizashi being fitted with smaller yamagane kagamishi tsuba, for a lovely look and feel. Perhaps, the further you go back in time, and the less perscribed koshirae styles were, you would likely find these tsuba used on field tachi as well. I think the ex-Henry kagamishi tsuba would have looked great on a kuro-urushi field tachi. It would look like the scroll paintings we see of ground troops with large maru-gata tsuba with broad rims... Cooooool! Best, Boris.

Henry, Good summary and selection of mirrors to illustrate possible influences. I absolutely agree to the continental influence, but disagree that this was an imported item. The main points against it being of continental manufacture is simply that the Chinese nor Koreans were producing tsuba reminiscent of mirrors, or tsuba of this style in the contemporary dynasties. Most the their sword guards in comparison to Japanese guards as fairly rudimentary things, and styles are reasonably well documented through the Song and later dynasties. I dont think you will find a single example resembling the numerous kagamishi-style tsuba documented in Japan by Sasano and others. I have two reasonably concise books dealing with Chinese weaponry, showing dozens of tsuba styles of the Song/Jin/Yuan, as well as photographs of some in exhibition dating to the Song, and none even remotely resemble kagamishi tsuba. Its also worth noting that the dimensions of Chinese contemporary blades was very different from Japanese -- they were taller and thinner in many cases. I would venture than many would not have comfortably fit in the plate, nor through the existing nakago ana. I believe Kagamishi tsuba are of clear Japanese manufacture, but inspired in varying degrees by continental mirrors, which during the 14th c. were coming into Japan in increasing numbers. These mirrors (among other imports) were new, somewhat exotic, and appealed to the superstitious bushi who found meaning/comfort in their often vague devotional / religious symbology. There is not one single mirror of any manufacture that you can point to and call a direct analogy for what remains of the pattern on this tsuba's plate. Imagine the number / types of mirrors entering Japan at that time - archaic and contemporary. They likely were not all directly meaningful to the Japanese, so their designs were augmented, mixed and likely had new elements added that appealed to, and were culturally understandable to the Japanese -- Japanese have historically been adapters, preferring Japanese versions of foreign items. That is what these tsuba were -- Japanese, inspired to some degree by Chinese / Korean. Their feel is very Japanese, the material (yamagane) is far more associated with Japan than China, the lacquer treatment on the entire plate is characteristically Japanese, design on both sides of the tsuba, etc.. all are suggstive of Japanese kokinko manufacture. The divets in the rim above the hamachi of the blade could easily be attributable to a change in koshirae style, and blade resizing. With all the chages in blade styles in the 1300 and early 1400's, this tsuba could have seen action on some widely varying nihonto and koshirae. Kamakura and even Nambokucho koshirae were delicate, elegant things, with thin, elongated oval or slightly trapezoidal profiles. In Kamakura times, the style was to use peaked koiguchi on both the saya and the tsuka adjacent the tsuba (see many hyogo-gusari and kenukigata tachi), if you were to speculate, even these could have resulted in that small divet being cut out on both sides to make room. Anyways, its a great discussion -- thanks Mariusz and Henry for the post and the great insights / analysis. Best Regards, Boris.

The kozuka-ana and the two small holes are both independent much later additions -- Red Herrings, dont over-contemplate their meaning or importance. The important thing is the tsuba as it was in ubu condition. The renewed and greatly increased trade relations with mainland China during the 14th and early 15th centuries would have resulted in access to both ancient and contemporary Chinese mirrors, to use as design templates and inspiration. Mirror symbolism was very appealing to the superstitious bushi, often encompassing images and concepts such as longevity, prosperity, and more intangible imagery relating to Buddhist mythology and devotion. Religious influences, the desire for new imported ideas and objects, as well as the slow return to economic normalcy and resulting desire for more expressive kodogu would have been among the factors that fed the demand and resulting production of kagamishi tsuba during the Nambokucho and early Muromachi periods. This genre is fairly shortlived, and by the Sengoku period, kagamishi tsuba are generally not being produced. Best, Boris.

Adam, These were made as proper tsuba originally, but by kokinko tsubako rather than kagamishi. Such tsuba would not have been used on spears etc.. - the broad nakago-ana seemingly accomodating a rectangular tang is coincidental. Most of the examples I have seen are 7.5-8 cm in size, but some of the earlier ones are quite a bit larger, 9-10cm. This large size likely reflects conformity to the over-sized blades prevalent during periods such as the Nambokucho. Best, Boris.

Henry, I knew someone would ask that.... To be honest I just dont have a clear recollection of the details (it would have been bad form to ask to photograph it), but I believe it was not an exact copy of the illustrated side. Most of the high quality kagamishi tsuba exhibit differences between the two sides, whether in the shape of the rim, or the details of the central plate. Although different, the two sides would always be complementary. Best, Boris.

Mariusz, I have had the privilege of handling the published Burawoy tsuba. I have to say that in my exposure to this type of tsuba, it is by far the best in class. I feel it is important to underscore that the term ‘kagamishi tsuba’ is misleading as it implies that these tsuba were products of professional mirror-makers. Although it may be the case that some professional kagamishi made tsuba throughout history, it was not the norm, and if any still exist, they constitute a miniscule proportion of the remaining works. I have seen only a handful of tsuba that I felt might have been made by a true mirror maker, and they would not have been considered high-quality pieces by discerning tosogu collectors. The materials, design and execution, workmanship and overall feel of what we refer to as kagamishi tsuba, are reflective of the body of work of Kokinko tsubako, not true kagamishi. The overwhelming majority of kagamishi tsuba are made of yamagane, with a much smaller subset of very late pieces made of brass. I have also seen variations of true kagami made into tsuba (ie. pierced with nakago- and hitsu-ana), but I would not consider these legitimate tsuba. The term 'kagamishi tsuba' should be applied to those ko-kinko tsuba which share clear / intentional design similarities with kagami, or in which the tsubako may have attempted to mimic the techniques of the kagamishi. The brass trash floating about on ebay, such as the sukashi shoki and oni should not be termed kagamishi either – those are an insult to kagamishi and tsubako alike. Henry’s tsuba is indeed an excellent example of an early kagamishi tsuba (tsubako produced, but kagami inspired). It is made of yamagane, as is the Burawoy example. With these tsuba, you have to imagine them in ubu condition – they would have looked like low-profile double sided mirrors (sans the central boss for cord attachment), and instead designed to accommodate a single nakago-ana. Henry’s would have been a lovely piece early in life (…and is currently a lovely piece despite the later additions, in my opinion). Best Regards, Boris.

I had a great time at the show, meeting old friend and finding new ones. Bill must be congratulated for all his work -- it is no easy task of setting up such an event; dealing with the hotel, hundreds of dealers, security and no doubt many other factors. Granted, the local traffic was slow, but for some reason Florida was always more of a dealers show than a general public show -- same this year. That said, people were buying, and in some cases for some high dollar values. Mike as usual had some absolutely fabulous pieces of tosogu to share; Andy Quirt had a fabulous Ko Senjuin tachi; Ted Tenold and Bob Benson et al, gave a talk on Oei Bizen Osafune sword development, and there were a number of other events which I admittedly missed being stuck at the table. Overall it was a very good show in my opinion. I am looking forward to attending San Fran (cant make Chicago unfortunately). Best, Boris.