Bugyotsuji

Thanks for that, Calabrese! Interesting how many different ways the story was expanded. The Kikusui (chrysanthemum + waters) crest certainly took on a life of its own in Bushi circles, becoming one of the most famous Kamon, especially for the Lord Kusunoki who is revered in Kobe’s Minatogawa Jinja. Here is a netsuke of the kikujido. And

Chrysanthemum and flowing water is the Classical Chinese (Kiki Jido in Japanese) story, treated reverentially in Japan as the epitome of loyalty. How could they hammer the metal inwards towards the Nakago ana without spreading it out and warp the delicate sukashi?

Talking of sōrō, and ways of writing it, I saw this panel in our local museum last week. See example in line 3 on right. (Ignore the circled numbers!)

Best of both worlds fused in one? Hard to pin this down as the Japanese concept of Shokunin is a stand-alone concept, with no exact equivalent in English, professional craftsman yes, artist yes, artisan yes. Hayashibara once made a video about the Tatara in Shimane and how the spirit of the gods is strongly invoked into the creation of the tamahagane. Since humans can become Kami in Japan, or are born in the image of God in the West, surely there is or should be a spark of universal genius in a blade which can appeal, indeed touch the soul of others.

Favored by some, this style of writing is based on ancient Chinese scripts, such as oracle bone script, etc.

Not directly related to the above discussion, but from another angle, for decorative purposes… a symbolic wheel from the Genji oxcart.

All-time favourite smith. We’re only allowed one heart? Need to buy me some Takarakuji tickets! (I have a probable Yosozaemon no Jo Sukesada, a Mumei wakizashi which may have once been part of a longer blade that broke in half for some reason. Beautiful blade in gorgeous mounts.)

Great stuff, Steve. There's a former BA pilot in the UK who used to do Yabusame in Japan, so I wonder if he too still has all this equipment. Not too long ago I found an old Ukiyoe in very sad condition showing Oda Nobunaga wearing just such an Ayaigasa. Later in an online collection I found a good example of the same woodblock print, and was surprised to see just how colourful the original print must have been.

One of my all-time favourite dedication swords is by Kozuke Daijo Sukesada, another of those genius smiths of his time. I am sure this 1664 blade has been covered by me and others on this NMB site, but it is now on display with some other shrine swords at the Okayama Prefectural Museum. From the Kibitsu Hiko Jinja, restored and polished by the local branch of the NBTHK. The hamon expresses through three stages the ability of (the) God/god(s) to pacify the troubled hearts of the people. This Shinjin-midare 神心乱 starts out as midare, changing to notare and ends in suguha through the monouchi to the kissaki. NB The word Midare, (verb midareru) also means turbulence, trouble or confusion. Change of angle

The Mei writing styles and configurations look very different, agreed. Thank you. (A pretty blade. Why did you let it go?)

An artist more concerned with realism than traditional symbolism?

Another friend says more likely Goto work… but he is surprised by the mix of seasons.

What about Fumiko’s bag?

Wow, brilliant, so we are not alone!

I have a Kiyomitsu Tantō in a good Koshiraé, just short of 30 cm. Although the blade looks legit overall, it is signed only Bizen Koku/Kuni Ju Kiyomitsu (no date, and without Osafuné). My sword sensei reckons it is from around the Eisho period. It would be interesting Kevin to compare Eisho Kiyomitsu signatures. Overall

The tapered point takes me away from both Aoi and Inome, so I would say neither, but possibly an artisan’s interpretation?

Yesterday my sword sensei was looking at a blade and commented that it needed uchiko, so I handed him my old, discolored but trusty uchiko ball. He looked disgusted. “Use some decent stuff!” he said, unwilling to even touch mine. Later on I bought a refined uchiko ball prepared by Yokoyama San, a Bizen Osafune Togishi, sold in the Osafuné Sword Museum shop. The package, so light in the hand, set me back ¥8,800…but somehow I felt it was worth every grain. NB To be used sparingly and only when absolutely necessary.

Jussi, you did just fine, with your vocabulary, eager understanding and open heart. At critical points in the discussion you dropped in important background information, such as dates and names of associated smiths etc., like rabbits out of a hat. Mr Koike understood these at once and nodded sagely. (Glad to have been a cog in the well-oiled machinery! )

Just yesterday morning Jussi and I were admiring a joint Katsumitsu Munemitsu dedication blade at the Hōnōtō exhibition at the Okayama Prefectural Museum. Our guide was explaining some of this background. Wishing I had read this excellent article beforehand! Dang… Documentary movie one day?

岸 also seems possible, though it may not help.

Wow, yes, you must be correct Moriyama San!

Hmmm… looks like a Christian pointed trefoil symbol.

May be the classical story of the horse appearing from a gourd. Hyōtan Kara Koma 瓢箪から駒 in Japanese.

Recently a friend commented “This looks like work by Shōami Katsuyoshi.” At the time I thought it was an odd comment, but he does have a huge collection of valuable artefacts, so it was an interesting insight. 正阿弥勝義 Later I discovered during some background reading that Katsuyoshi was apprenticed to his father as a tōsōgu and Tsuba maker long before he became famous for his finely-detailed metalwork objects into the Meiji period. Here is the Wakizashi sized iron tsuba, kind of aorigata, with sakura, pine and ginkgo themes in silver and gold. Front Back

That’s visionary. Thank you Lewis.