Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini

Guess we should talk about the connection between quality and purpose. I've put together the two statemets to highlight this aspect. Eric, do you really believe that a wealthy Samurai of any fighting period was only interested in "flashy colors" and not to the ability of his equipment to fulfill the purpose at best of actual knowledge ? And do you really believe the low ranks cheap items were as effective as the "Dandy rich boy" ones ? They were meant to last and act well enough to protect/equip an expendible serviceman to fill the ranks for the time needed. More would have been a waste. Most of the low-end items didn't survive enough to have an history exactly because of their junk-like nature. Either destroied by use or neglected, even if the appalling great number they were produced let us with quiet a good number of them. The overwelming majority of the low-end items around now are of no historical importance, even if they might have historical appeal (to some). High end items survived both as artistical and practical items entering history exactly *because* their-high end nature. They were able to survive actual use and/or were valuable enough to be preserved. Paraphrasing Hoakeshott "an high-end item has four battles or four hundred years in it, whatever comes first. A junk one... hardly". However, sheer numbers still plays for the junk. Edo low-end items are per-sè, a cathegory (?) apart...

E-mail sent, Roy. Thanks in any case.

Roy, could it be possible to have an enlargement of the part highlighted hereunder ? I'm interested in watching the Hada there. Sorry for lack of proper therminology.

Just for sake of sharing and with reserve of further study (attributions are always to be taken with a pinch of salt) : The right one is the WarabiteTo Aterui (阿弖流為 A.K.A. Akuro-o 悪路王) reportedly used. Courtesy of Professor Ito.

It is speculated that a possible source of ispiration to Sukemune to forge the first Osoraku was the sight of a balde made off a broken Odachi Kissaki. *If* there is any reality in this, a mere utilitarian process of recycling turned out in an inspiration for an art object appreciated by such a Daimyo as Shingen.

Hi Roy. Thanks for the compliments. Just a little precisation. Warabiteto are better described as "Emishi" blades rather than "Ainu" blades. Who belong to "Emishi" is still under discussion so I've put an appendix (same link as the main article) about the matter. Long story in short : I believe "Emishi" means everybody not under the Yamato rule (including Ainu but not only). I use the therm "stock" in the text but not sure it's the perfect word to use. My fault. :lol: The reproduction of the head of Aterui seems to have tattooed mustaches (implying it's Ainu) but its a much later interpretation of the person and AFAIK Ainu males have (had?) both beards and mustaches, while tattooed mustaches are (were?) just for women.

What was Osoraku at the time of his creation ? Art or practical craft ?

What have Detroit cars got to do with anything? Has this thread not run it's course??? I assure you from now on it will go straight, at least on my part.

Me too, mount included, that's why I'm searching where Gassan school comes from.

Guess you're mistaking me with Guido. It's surely more art than a Gunto.

nai Gai Gay... no I'm italian. Period. However, as to ask about somebodyelse background has begun coommonplace here I felt somewhat permitted to do so, let's apologize for the rudeness. Anyway if you've been paid for 26 years to care antiques I can't really get how you can say swords (but Gunto) tells us nothing. Anything preserved has an history to tell. If I wasn't at work I would post an excavated sword that *possibly* tell us the origins of Ayasugi hada, and that surely is linked to the schools that later have worked this way.

I don't dare to ask you what Jokoto says to us... A car museum in Detroit ?

This get us back on how many Japanese as well can really claim to see the sword as a pure form of art. That's not a thing limited to westerner. Being a boinsaist by 15 years (some years before was a less serious matter) and having atteined lessons with good Japanese teachers of the "new generation" I can get what you mean but I've also to add that the rules are taught to put you on the right way for your own artistical expression. Most of the modern day Japanese and western bonsaists doesn't blindly follow rules trying new ways, as you, still remindings the fundamentals. I assume the way is taught Ikebana is the same, and it is possible the authors are a little overstreching the matter. But I've not read them so far so get my feeling just for an uneducated point of view.

Well said. How this is in contrast with the sources you suggested to read before ?

Not modern is the fact permission t is denied with any sort of excuses, even if recently something seems to be changing. Living in Japan I had an old car, sometimes wore old clothes, and lived in an old house. My Japanese friends always gave me a hard time- boro boro car, boro boro house, etc....I would always say no, not boro boro (run down, old, junky), wabi sabi! That always got a big laugh.... There are many fallacies when it comes to Japan and its culture....There wasn't much interest in things old until recently, just like most think the Japanese are nature loving and so tuned in to the environment...yeah, they like to do things like bulldoze an entire mountain and forest and then rebuild a concrete imitation on top of it, calling it Nature Land..... I would recommend reading van Wolferen's "Enigma of Japanese Power" for a fairly spot on analysis of many of these fallacies. All this looks more a continuity of the process to absorbe western way of acting (consumism) rather than an original Japanese behaviour, but I can't and wantn't counter two high and respected authority as you on this field. BUT I have to ask, Ford, the instution of "National living treasures" for many traditional activities isn't a sort of preserving the past ? We in Italy failed to achieve such a level of preservation of skillfullness in many of our once world-renowned capacities as wooden shipuilding and even Murano glasses. Most if not everiyhing is left to the good will and money of privates. Is your very same job totally seperated from any link to the past ( attempt to recreate right patina as it should be) that might make him appreciated by japaneses ? Or your market is for westerner only ?

As study of NihonTo as an art form. Would you tell me that it is very common in Japan ? Please discern from the practice of martial arts with ancient swords. Just "Art". Still remaining the differences in the concept of religion (with or without eschatology), I was referring to the Japanese archeologists and historians asking for study on Imperial mounds.

Talk me about wabi-sabi and the feeling old things gives to japaneses...

To this I can easly reply : it is spawned thru hard study and the free minds we have after the French revolution. Not differently from study of artworks af *any* culture. In Japan it is still fighting with the traditions and religion. Same in Korea and China. P.S. In this my perceiving might be a little uncommon and biased, as in Italy we literally walk on archeological sites almost anywere, most of them *also* of artistical importance, a thing that hardly occur anywhere else in the world.

Hardly. You live in Japan, don't you ? Ask around who invented Tanko and reply to him how many chances there are they were invented by Koreans. If you can avoid the first sake bottle flying to you, you'll realize archeology is not a western science. BTW, archeology includes also art objects. You better leave it out of the contest.

Me too got the feeling he might be the "Honjo Masamune" owner, but it's a long time that I'm walking on thin ice on this board and I didn't dare to rise the exception.

Would be interesting to know who polished the blade.

Hi Reinhard. Maybe I'm wrong but possibly I get what you mean, if you're commenting the possibility of appreciation of both aspects together. I think the historical/craftmenship aspect can be appreciated but *can't* be expanded. This is its limit. While the art aspect is a neverending process. If you decide to appreciated both *together*, you'll not waste energies and sources to expand one in spite of the other . Only the understainding of sword as art can be expanded and refined in this scenario. Of course if the major interest is in militaria and craftmenship, we fall in a different category, with its own rules and fields of researches. If I'm mistaking the aim of your post I apologize. If I get it correctly feel free to give more feedbacks on my above statement as I'll consider them with interest.

The fact that in appraising swords as art there still remains points related to swords as craft seems to support your feeling. Words as "Powerful Sugata", "fatal flaw" and "perfectly balanced" comes to mind. However it's good to remind that swords as art are always good utilitarian swords too, good utilitarian swords not always are swords as art too. At least talking about old ones...

I'm sure Morita san will.

Exactly. Supposed....