Kogai

[Stephen]

Never gave it much thought until I read another post today.

 

would it be acceptable for a wak to house a kogai instead of kozuka?

[Brian]

Can't justify my answer, but yes..I think it would be a little wierd.

 

Brian

[kaigunair]

fyi, I was just reading the kigen sasano book where he identifies kogai whose designs indicate they were mounted in the kozuka side (i.e., design looks upside down if mounted on the side away from the body). It does not indicate whether the size of the kogai was indicative of wak or katana or tachi though.

[BMarkhasin]

It is absolutely acceptable, especially on pre-Edo koshigatana, before etiquette and customs were standardized under the Tokugawa. Kogai and Kozuka location was more matter of taste and not set as general protocol. Nor was there necessarily an attempt to 'match' themes between the two implements if both were used. When you reveiw old original Muromachi / Momoyama kakejiku of daimyo, you occasionally see kozuka facing out, which suggests if a kogai was also used, it would have been worn on the inside. As Junichi mentioned, Sasano and others have also addressed this matter in some of their writings, but I would not say I have ever seen a comprehensive discussion on the subject.

 

PS edit.. Some Muromachi wakizashi / koshigatana saya were designed with only one slot (facing the wearer), but the slot would accommodate very long implements. Presumably, the owner could then decide whether to use a kogai or kozuka.

 

Best,

Boris.

[kaigunair]

PS edit.. Some Muromachi wakizashi / koshigatana saya were designed with only one slot (facing the wearer), but the slot would accommodate very long implements. Presumably, the owner could then decide whether to use a kogai or kozuka.

 

Interesting! I would wonder whether the "thickness" of the opening could indicate if one or another was used? I'm thinking that a kogatana would be much thinner than the shaft of a kogai. So a slot for a kogai might not hold a kozuka/kogatana securely and a kozuka slot might not be wide enough to allow a kogai into? Now if the slot was made so there was a middle channel or bulge down the length to accommodate the kogai, it could possibly hold both?

 

Caveat: I don't have many katana sized sayas with both the cut outs to compare the kogai vs kozuka slots. Also, the only kogai example I have in my collection is Edo period, and it appears to be a larger & thicker example. If earlier kogai shafts were thinner in construction, or kogatana were thicker per-Edo, this totally throws out my ideas....

[BMarkhasin]

Junichi,

There is of course an amount of variation through all periods, so no hard and fast guidelines I can promote. Fyi, I measured the dimensions of a Muromachi period koshigatana koshirae in my collection, which has one 'inside' slot. My koshirae has a kogai associated with it, which measures 22.4cm x 1.43cm x 0.29cm and fits smoothly into the pocket. Out of curiosity, I also tried a Muromachi kozuka with old blade which not surprisingly fit comfortably and snuggly. A total of ~13cm of the kogai is inside the pocket, which is considerably longer than a Muromachi kogatana blade, so this supports the idea that the pocket is designed to accommodate both options.

 

Best,

Boris

[kaigunair]

thanks Boris for the testing and confirmation.