kmark

Keith, that is hardcore. He sold off the Meiji koshirae because it was not the original-intended mounts for the blades?

Thanks, Eric... yes, what you describe is (in most cases) appalling disregard for an item's intrinsic value. It would be similar to tearing down a pristine classic car for scrap metal (cars being another passion of mine). I just read the thread, and it is interesting to see what people think are 'true' daisho, and... not so true daisho? In any case, I will stick with the more commonly-held view that the blades need not be by the same smith, but should be mounted together as a set. The koshirae need not match *exactly*, but should be put together with a deliberate thought and purpose to show that they are part of a set (ex. the katana tsuba would have a sukashi gunbai fan, while the wakizashi tsuba has a sukashi tessen iron fan design... I would consider that to be matched as a set). @IanB... are you the same Ian Bottomley in the Discovery Channel's "The Samurai Sword"?

Thank you, all, for the informative responses... my question has been answered. The subject of the daisho has fascinated me for several years, whether it is the literal meaning of the word, or the more modern interpretation of a matched set of swords. I suppose daisho - like cars - greatly differed based on the owner's wealth and rank. Those with the money could afford to pay for a matched set, down to the koshirae, hamon etc. Those not so fortunate will make do with any combination that was within their budget. I'm willing to bet that the swords extant today are only a small fraction of what *might* have existed in the past - the rest lost due to fire, theft, wars, recycling or simple neglect. I was chatting about this subject the other day, and the subject turned to the tsuba on the daisho set, particularly their sizing and the types of shapes that we've seen so far. I have seen sets where the wakizashi tsuba is smaller than the katana tsuba, in many cases very noticeably so, but I have also seen sets where the tsuba are essentially the same size. With the way of wearing the wakizashi across the belly, was the smaller tsuba size adopted out of convenience and comfort? Is that also a compelling reason to go to a hamidashi tsuba? The pictures posted by Eric on the first page were most informative... the first pic shows what appears to be a hamidashi tsuba on the wakizashi, and the other two had the wakizashi pulled out from the obi further than I would expect (maybe to show off the wakizashi in the photo)

From what I've read, the practice of wearing a long sword together with a shorter blade was not restricted to the beginning of the Momoyama period, but rather back when tachi were still in use..and tanto were worn beside the long blade. At some point in the Muromachi period (?), someone wore an uchigatana and wakizashi together, which became closer to our modern definition of a daisho. Somehow, this practice caught on and became widespread. My question is...was there a compelling reason to wear a longer wakizashi together with the katana? I mean, the tanto served well enough with the tachi, so what made them switch to a short sword 12" - 22" in nagasa? I guess the point is, at what period in time did the daisho become male jewelry and a symbol of samurai status, and less of a practical combination of weapons? I've also read that some samurai during late Edo/Bakumatsu started wearing toppei-koshirae, sometimes even omitting the daito for a shorter wakizashi to go with the trousers they were wearing...

Thanks for the tip on the book, I will try to find a copy, but it may be hard since I believe it is no longer in publication, and the one I've seen for sale is going for 495 Aussie dollars.... Nonetheless I will keep trying one way or another.

Thanks, I'm not at all surprised to see a koshirae that doesn't even look half as flamboyant as the examples I've seen before. This one wouldn't look out of place if it were dated a couple hundred years forward, in my opinion. I could be wrong though..

Hi all, new user here, but not new to the hobby. I am interested in learning more about the nihonto, specifically the daisho. I've always had a fascination with the daisho... especially the reasons for wearing one and the way that the mounts reflect the period in which these samurai lived. Now my question and request... does anybody know where I can view pictures of actual Momoyama-period daisho? I have Kanzan Sato's book and there are pics of 3 different Momoyama daisho koshirae (red saya with winding gold strips, red saya with gold dragons, red saya with wisteria metal work).... and I would like to see more, if possible. Also, are there certain characteristics that define a Momoyama daisho? For example, I've seen that the characteristics tend to be: - long exaggerated tsuka - lacquered rayskin wrap on the tsuka - tend to be red lacquered saya with gold decor - tend to have plain iron fuchi/kashira/tsuba to offset the flamboyant saya Thank you all in advance