Tosho & Katchushi

[tokashikibob]

Gentlemen,

Currently very ignorant on Tosogu. I bought these two for under 100 figuring they were a good buy. After looking at some of the better websites such as Nihontocraft, I am guessing the correct terms would be Tosho and Katchushi?

 

What would be the a recommendation on a good tosogu book I should search for, to enhance my knowledge?

 

Semper Fi,

Bob

http://www.okinawarelics.com

[hxv]

Bob,

 

If you are interested in iron tsuba, "Japanese Sword Guards" by Sasano is a great book. Neither of your tsuba looks tosho or katchushi, but someone more knowledgeable will probably point out my mistake as soon as I post my comment.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[seattle1]

Hello:

Well they are certainly good buys for $100.00! To discuss them first, I suggest that no matter how good the image it is always good to give the width and height in mm's and the same for the thickness of the rim and the seppa--dai (the area around the nakago-ana), as those dimensions are critical for judging age. The top one could be made by a swordsmith, however it looks post 1600 from what appears to be the thickness and because the hitsu is designed for a kogai which, when standing alone, usually means a later piece. The other one with the raised rim is meant to be armorsmith inspired from the presence of the raised rim, however again it is late as it has a design which anticipates the need for a kodzuka, though it might be that all the sukashi is later, that is added. A ko-katchushi will usually be 3 mm or less and it looks thicker, but again I cannot be sure. I would guess early Edo to mid Edo on both.

The Sasano suggestion is a good one though for tsuba as a whole its scope is limited. An excellent overall tsuba book, tosogu being a broader term, is Tsuba An Aesthetic Study by Kazutaro Torigoye and Robert E. Haynes. Haynes is a student of Torigoye from the 1950s and the latter is directly in the Akiyama Kyusaku line, probably the most import single tsuba scholar of modern times having passed away in 1936. That book is not expensive but might be a little hard to find, last having been reprinted by the Northern California Japanese Sword Club. It covers all the groups. Beyond those you can spend lots of bucks on tsuba and tosogu books, but start with Sasano and the Aesthetic Study first.

Arnold F.

[tokashikibob]

Hoanh, Arnold,

Thank you both for taking the time to write, I will be on the look out for both books as to be informed with referance books in this hobby for anything more than WW2 Gunto is the wise investment.

 

Semper Fi,

Bob

[Grey Doffin]

Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study is available cheap from The Northern California Japanese Sword Club. I think it's nice to have that along with the Japanese original: Tsuba Geijutsuko, for the much better quality photos. There are so many good tsuba books; Tsuba Kanshoki and Toso Soran come to mind but there are tons more. You can find most any of these titles on my website, with descriptions and photos to give you an idea what you'd get. Not trying to tout the site; just that I've been told it is a good sword book reference.

Grey