CurtisR Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Greetings, This kojiri (and the saya it was attached to) are somewhat interesting I think...it shows both Kikumon and Kirimon in gold. I know that the Hdeyoshi kirimon had a 5/7/5 leaf pattern, and I can't quite tell if this one does as well. It is also displayed on the fuchi (which I'll post later). The kojiri is old iron, as is the fuchi (I don't have the kashira sadly) but "how old" is the question. When I first obtained it I thought that the fittings were pooly done, but if very old, is it possible that they were done as best they could be? The katana that came with it is a beauty, although how nice remains a mystery until shinsa. I don't have the tsuba ( ) so can't even quess what it might have been. A friend - with better eyes than I have - said he believes the kikumon has 14 petals, but I'm going to use a loupe to see if I can see the same.... Thoughts or comments are very welcome of course. Enjoy! Curtis R. Quote
CurtisR Posted February 18, 2015 Author Report Posted February 18, 2015 Sorry - here are the pics: Curtis R. Quote
John A Stuart Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 So often these seem to wear the ravages of time so poorly. This one isn't in too bad of shape, imagine it untouched. John Quote
Brian Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Trying to link swords and mon to important people is a dead end, in spite of wishful thinking. I know everyone does it, but they really are not an indicator of anything important. Just trying to save you going down that road. Brian 1 Quote
Robert Mormile Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Curtis: I see 3/5/3 not 5/7/5. Robert Quote
Steve Waszak Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Hi Brian, Just thinking about what you say here about linking mon to important personages... I can think of a few examples, actually, where the association (as found in tosogu, anyway) is pretty compelling. The first that come to mind are those tsuba presenting with the mon of the Hosokawa made by the Higo tsubako who worked directly for the Hosokawa, and even directly for Hosokawa Sansai. There are many examples, especially of tsuba made by Kanshiro Nishigaki. Then there are pieces which, while not necessarily depicting a mon definitively linked to a specific individual, do use motifs which can, with some degree of confidence, point to an association with a particular lord or clan. I do agree with you that certain mon, because they were used for so long and by so many different families, become dead ends with regard to connecting their use in a given work to a specific person, and that this, mostly likely, is the rule, rather than the exception. Cheers, Steve Quote
CurtisR Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Posted February 19, 2015 Thank you all for the input - and Robert, that's the # I see also... To Brian, I can imagine it's very, very difficult as you say and probably the wrong road to go down. But they are old and cool . Quote
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