Toryu2020

Elliott - You know I am not a fittings guy but this is how I would appraoch it. Look at the shape. Forget the base metal and the lovely decorations and focus solely on that particular shape - especially how the rim comes to those lovely points breaking up the four quadrants. How many quatrefoil (quadrate?) tsuba can you find? Can we find this particular expression of the form anywhere else? With all due respect to Bob - I would think that in the Muromachi the Kinko were only just beginning to experiment with the shapes and materials traditionally used. How early are the examples that we can see with this particular shape with this particular treatment of the rim? Next I would look at the theme and the expression of the theme - forgetting schools for now - what is the earliest example of this theme? Do they all feature this many deer? How is the mountain expressed? Could there be examples of similar images from other arts like sumi painting? I think if you can place the shape in the larger context of tsuba development and the the theme in the context of popular art, you will have dialed in on the period. May in fact be that early I do not know. Of course once youve dialed in your date you can then look at who was working in brass. (stating the obvious here) I have to wonder if this isnt a conundrum Bob has set for you to solve. Nice problem to have, -t

Truly something we do not see everyday. Thank you for posting. -t

The item you are thinking of is called a Kenshaku 劍尺 　I have seen a number of versions over the years, all were home-made. I have one I should dig out and post photos of. If there was a commercial version would be nice to have one for club meetings and such. -t

Very cool Ken, Looks like Aoi mon and then 長曽根虎徹二代目興正 with a Kao might want to look him up in Shosakenshu, for the Kao anyway. Sure to be lots of information on this school in your sword books. and when you all get around to it, I should love to see a photo of the other side... -t

And a very neat item Ron -t

Alan to clarify; in the Tokyo meetings there are the 60 watt bulbs, the florescent overhead and then nothing else...

Kansei 8 nen - Look again, not Shinshin-to. Pictures of the blade would also be welcome. Certainly a piece worth investigating... -t

Junichi - The 60 watt bulb is most popular in Japan from my limited experience. At the NBTHK and NTHK regular monthly meetings there is overhead flourescent lighting and nothing else. A plain black background is less of a distraction for the eye, and does not reflect light, this is why we like it for our meetings at the NCJSC. That said a "viewing tent" might be a lot of time and trouble for little additional gain. Halogen seems to do a lot to highlight NIE and so we usually have at least one on the string as a alternative to the 60w. If you find the right kind of LED it might be a bonus because there is no heat generated, always a problem. A clamp lamp makes sense for your application because you most likely will be dealing with changing environments where a string may not be usable. I think this is a great idea, if you could put it together as a tent as envisioned, remember it has to be stupid simple so that you or any member of the club could set it up and break it down. It will be interesting to see what we can come up with. As for the lights for kodogu - we may need to look at using the small table in the corner or other set up but I think it will be very nice to have these at each meeting regardless of where we set them up. -t

Not fair! now you have to show us the armour! 上野沼田藩三万五千石 土岐山城守 沼田城王

Bruno - A lot of folks will be away from their computers on the way to Tampa. Think about how signatures work. They follow basic rules. For three character signatures on swords one expects to see "saku" or "tsukuru" as the the third kanji and the first two by elimination are the smiths name. On fittings this is a good place to start, but we also have to add the frequent use of kao. Sometimes three characters are actually two kanji with a kao. Unlike in swords, fittings artists often use "art names", inspired by the practice of lay-priests and scholars. These names are often rendered with Chinese readings. A common character used is 齋(SAI)　 denoting an old man or scholar. I think your three characters are; 涼晴齋

How about Higo Dotanuki Matahachi saku? 肥後同田貫又八作？ cool stuff keep those pics coming - this i think will be a neat exercise... -t

I too "get a buzz" when viewing his work, Thanks for posting, -t

GREV - Love that Mitsunobu - ignore that static and keep posting, my friend. -t

Beautiful! thank you for sharing,

Before ploughing through this thread I too thought Ezo was a school or at least a place of production, however as suggested I went looking for references and so far find little mention of Ezo among the few kodogu references I have. There is however an entry in Fukunaga Suiken Senseis' Nihonto Daihyakka Jiten if I understand correctly he says; Ezo Koshirae - From the 14th century there was a thriving trade with the north, one in which all that was old or no longer in fashion was traded to the Ainu. Once into the Tokugawa period there were a number of rebellions and whichever Daimyo was successful in putting down the unrest won the rights to this trade. There was a caveat however imposed by the Bakufu and that was that no "Swords" or other weapons were to be traded. So there developed the practice of selling old koshirae with cracked, chipped, rusted or otherwise useless blades as tsunagi. At the time of the Haitorei many swords were sent north - there was a fad for swords in "silver" koshirae so enterprising sword shops in Edo took old blades and made them up in koshirae wrapped completely in copper sheet which was then "silvered". ( I am sure Ford will know what he means) In the Taisho period many of these were brought back by tourists enjoying tours of the exotic north. Naturally among these travellers were sword enthusiasts and they were shocked to find 1000 year old koshirae hanging untouched on the walls of the Ainu lodges! So there began a re-imporation of sorts with collectors buying old swords and fittings from "Ezo". There were early Mino and Early Goto items found, so much so people even theorized about an "Ezo Goto" school or that Yujo or some of his kin had been exiles. (He implies of course that we now know none of this to be true.) He describes two kinds of koshirae; one with no tsukaito and no tsuba often with a kodachi similarly outfitted but all looking very much like Kamakura era katana koshirae. The other wrapped all in silver with copper bands but make no mistake he says these were all made on Honshu. He also has an entry on Ezo menuki which is relevant; 磨り剝がした目貫 Surihagashita menuki also known as Shima-menuki. A style of menuki created by the Kyoto Umetada group around Kyoho (1716) - a base of shibuichi is "gilded" (Kinmekki) and then the high-points are sanded down revealing the base metal. As an example a gold mountain rubbed down would reveal a "snow capped" peak. In the Bakumatsu period the Edo Umetada group revived this type of menuki. (He says nothing here about Hokkaido or the Ainu) I also found in Haynes Catalog #3 pgs 13-15 and #9 pgs 168 and 169 several examples and he seems very careful to call these "Ezo" style. One description reads; "The base plate is a form of yamagane with a gun metal color. The gold is the usual heavy sheet both rubbed and carved from the surface. This type is classic for the school..." This describes a pair of menuki which he gives a very early date to, otherwise sounds a lot like what Fukunaga Sensei describes. I wonder if we havent misunderstood the appelation and these are more of a style than of a school or specific region? -t

For the record the implication in the original post was clear enough, The NTHK under Yoshikawa is a "business" if you like, but we are not for profit, no one draws a salary, any fees collected support the clubs activities such as the magazine, monthly meetings and shinsa. There are differences in the groups, yes. One is WE dont take every opportunity to impune the reputation of others... -t

I would point out that that the Nihon To-ken Hozon Kai under Yoshikawa Eiichi is not a "business" never has been in its over 100 year history. It is a group of collectors and scholars dedicated to the study and preservation of Japanese swords and nothing more. I refer you to Fukunaga Suiken, preeminent scholar of Japanese sword history: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/NTHK.htm -t

I thought it was gonna be Milton Ong!

Junichi - I would say in the case of the Mino and Goto pieces there may be quality we are not seeing in the photos. The base material is so very important and seeing top quality shakudo amid other examples for comparison really is the only way to understand. As far as composition and execution there is a rustic simplicity in very early fittings that appeals to Japanese sensiblities. This quality is generally never equaled by the sloppy work using inferior material done by later artists, that are almost always copies. At first blush they might seem similar. You might miss these Ezo menuki on a table of odd pieces but as has been said a little study goes a long way. There is a lot to be said for the great artists of the Edo period but from my perspective it is this early stuff that really excites. -t

Love number three - best of the lot in my opinion If collected in the 19th century they may have known the swordsmith - regardless interesting grouping -t

Still awaiting it's arrival on the West Coast, Watching Sumo highlights from 2013, Best wishes for a bountiful New Year!

Looks like Higo Dotanuki - Count me as another one very curious to see more of this wonderful find... -t

Definitely Raijin and I love this expression of the theme! Nice one Doctor, -t

Sorry i missed the mystery post - What i would say is that you cannot separate tameshi-giri (suimono-giri) from executions. Under the Yamano family these were official sword tests, using the bodies of executed criminals. Under the Yamada sword testing was a "service"provided as a side business to their profession as executioners. It all got codified and routine under the Tokugawa. Yari were used for crucifixions and were tested on heads as described in the article. They may not have recorded tests on yari but they were in fact doing this kind of thing. If youll allow me to paraphrase my teacher, " it is exactly because the world of the bushi was so harsh that they could produce such sublime art" the two are in separable... -t

Props to Dr Data for postting this a very interesting study, We need to remember why mutilation of the body was considered "judicial punishment" with official sanction and not just some grusome torture carried out by corrupt officials. In Chinese culture just as in Japanese culture it is believed that when you return as a spirit you take the shape of your earthly body. Thus in China the death of a thousand cuts was not a torture where you agonized thru 999 cuts, rather the criminal died rather quickly but was punished eternally in that he would be unrecognizable to his family or friends if hereturned as a spirit. The same logic applied in Japan, death by decapitation and use of your corpse for suimono-giri was the second worst punishment on the books. The very worst punishment was death by decapitation, suimono-giri and then your body was dumped in a potters grave with no proper Buddhist ceremonial. This was punishment not only for the criminal but also for his family and it was eternal. The fact that these two bodies were buried in a family plot in a temple suggests to me that they were most likely related. Also it suggets that while thier crimes were serious, they did not receive the severest punishment or we would not have their bones as evidence today. -t