Wooden Lacquered Tsuba

[Jean]

What are their use, when do they appear?

 

In short, I should be grateful if anyone could provide some data about their history and pictures. Some seems to have been elaborated.

[DirkO]

Couldn't find much:

 

 

[Jean]

Thanks a lot Dirk

[John A Stuart]

Chato have wooden fittings I believe. John

[kaigunair]

Well, since no one else is replying....

 

As was mentioned, seems like they were used early on with black lacquer - mostly dogu like a tosho.  From what I can tell, seems the fell out of favor in lieu of iron and metal tsuba, then came back en vogue late Edo period, with some very gussied up examples.  Probably a similar reasoning as the leather gusoku armors of the same period.  The big koshirae book has pics of the earlier ones.  I recall some pics from swords taken from temple rafters that had a number of lacquered leather tsuba.  The Edo and later period ones can look both understated (i.e. formal fittings) or pretty fancy.  Have seen both maki-e as well as pressed designs in these.

 

Can you narrow down what specifically you're looking for?

[Kurikata]

Jean,

 

I have one in my collection. Very simple, with black lacquer but very late Edo or even beginning of 20th century to me.

[Jean]

Thanks Junichi for this answer. I don't know anything about wooden tsuba and did not know they existed, so I did not know what to ask for. I was wondering what were their utility compared to iron ones, were they ised in fights? Were there schools? Are they collectors? Can they be papered?

[kaigunair]

Ah, sorry Jean.  I saw "lacquered tsuba" and immediately thought leather.  Regarding wooden, I've only seen late edo examples, and could only tell because because the lacquer was chipped that it was wooden vs. leather.  If lacquer is intact, I might be harder to discern whether thee core of these light weight tsuba are leather vs wooden?  I have a lacquer example where one of the layers has bubbled from the inside and cracked the surface, indicating it was leather and not wooden.

[Jean]

The question remains unanswered. What were they made for?

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Jean,

Is there any reason why they have to be made for a reason different from the reason for other types of tsuba?  We are told that the purpose of a tsuba is to prevent the holder's hand from sliding forward onto the blade; wouldn't wood and lacquer work as well as anything?

Grey

[Jean]

Hi Grey,

 

Thanks for the answer. I was wondering if a wooden lacquered tsuba would be effective in battle compared to an iron one, would not it be cut in half more easily by a sword cut than an iron one? It is very curious. Not a lot of information available, were they any schools as Akasaka or Higo....

[DirkO]

Some additional resources:

In the WL Behrens Catalogue (1966) Volume 3 - Page 112:

2860 Wakizashi, blade 15J ins. long, Bizen Osafune Kunimitsu, mounted in a guri lacquer scabbard and haft, wooden tsuba

 

Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc 1981 
Item 39 - Rare Wood Tsuba, 19th Century, heavily carved plate, carved with ato ana, applied with a puff fish in bone, signed ________

[Isocyanide]

Most likely made for style and aesthetics. 

[Rodenbacher]

Wooden Tsuba where used as Okimono or Netsuke, not for swords. It had to be wood because metal would have been too heavy to be worn at the obi, that's all. They where not made by tsubako but by Netsuke carvers.

[Jean]

I have to disagree with this statement Rodenbacher, here are two counter-examples

 

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16481-help-with-kanteisho-translation/

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16964-Japanese-sword-samurai-sword-satsuma-hirazukuri/

[Justin]

Perhaps used for decoration. Maybe there were times when you wanted a light koshirae, i.e. tsunagi and wooden tsuba. This could have been for ceremonial occasions when you had to wear the daisho for long periods of time and you were in an environment where no fighting would occur. Just a thought.

 

Please find attached an example of a wooden tsuba that I came across recently. I thought it was iron until I picked it up. The lacquer has an iron affect to it. Probably would have fooled most people if mounted on a sword.

 

[Tanto54]

It is interesting that we all love swords, but many of us do not seem to know how they are used.  The tsuba is not intended for blocking or catching an opponent’s sword.  If it were, it probably would be shaped more like the hook (kagi) on a jutte or sai.  Instead, a tsuba’s main purpose is to keep its owner’s hands from sliding forward onto the blade (and to balance the sword).  Think about it, what are the chances that you could “catch” your opponent’s strike with the 1.5 inch radius of a tsuba or, with the way swords “rebound” when hitting each other, that the opponents blade would slide neatly down your sword and stop right on top of your tsuba?  That’s why you don’t see many tsuba with kiri-komi (cut marks).  This is also why it doesn’t matter that tsuba are often made of soft metals (shakudo, shichu, etc.).  We shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves if we had this misconception about tsuba because even one of the directors at the NTHK-NPO (who is often cited as a sword expert) is clueless on this point.  He actually declared that soft metal tsuba were not intended for real battle use because they might be cut through when blocking any opponent’s sword (despite the fact that there are literally hundreds of thousands of such tsuba in existence and even some very early swords had soft metal tsuba and many are from the waring periods).  On the extremely rare occasion that the opponent’s strike might slide down your sword and stop against your tsuba, it has become a glancing blow with little force and can easily be stopped by a soft metal tsuba.  But what about leather or wood covered tsuba?  We see similar “soft core” armor items (e.g., helmets, torso and thigh protectors, etc.) that are made from leather covered with lacquer.  Some of the more decorative armor items were made this way during times of peace or for weight considerations for Samurai that did not intend to use them in battle; however, many that were made this way were intended for, and used in, battle.  Change out Tameshigiri mats with lacquer covered leather with silk bindings and you will probably see a much larger percentage of cutting fails...  I also believe that a blocked sword sliding down the blocker’s sword would probably not cut through lacquer covered leather (remember the reports of Samurai returning from the Korean campaigns with many of their swords broken by Korean leather armor?).  While I would strongly prefer a metal tsuba in battle, I could also believe that some of the lacquered leather and wood tsuba may have been used for more than decorative purposes.

[Jean]

George,

 

You should post more often. Very interesting POW

[Kurikata]

Jean,

 

just to add another exemple of a wooden tsuba representing Daruma....

[Jean]

Thanks Bruno

[Rodenbacher]

Dear Tanto54, I did not speak about blocking a blow with a Tsuba but said that you will not use a wooden Tsuba on a sword, which are two totally different things. Please bear in mind that wood will react to rain, frost and heat and will crack easily then, even If coated in lacquer. A metal Tsuba will only become patinated when reacting to weather.

 

And otherwise a minor hit against a stone or against a metal object may cause serious damage on a small and thin wooden object. It would have been very difficult to use a wooden Tsuba in a battle or even in a whole campaign. Even in peaceful times it would have been impractical in day-by-day use, it would have looked ugly and full of scratches after a few weeks...

 

There may exist some Koshirae with wooden Tsuba for some reasons, but these are rather artistic examples and not very common.

 

Kurikata's example of a Daruma Tsuba was either a Okimono or a mere decorative object. That doesn't mean it's worthless! It's a nice Tsuba and I like it very much.

[Tanto54]

Dear Peter,

 

I've seen several wood/leather tsuba with signs of mounting and wear.  Also, many parts of armor are wood/leather covered with lacquer and withstand rain and extensive use and wear.  I had an old shinai with a lacquer covered leather tsuba that lasted for many years.  I'm not saying that a wood/leather tsuba is a great idea, but I do believe that they were sometimes used. 

[Rodenbacher]

It's obvious that a lot of lacquered stuff existed in Japan, we all know that. But that's not the point. You don't have to go that far: you ever wondered why every saya is made of lacquered wood but nearly all Tsuba are made of metal? If the saya gets a crack or even breaks you can still use the sword. If the Tsuba breaks you will have a serious problem: your hand is in danger of sliding onto the blade, that's what I'm talking about.

[Tanto54]

Sorry Peter,

 

I am having a hard time understanding exactly what your point is.  I'm saying that there were a very few wooden/leather lacquer covered tsuba that were actually used on swords (not many and not that it was an especially good idea).  You seem to be trying to make the point that there were absolutely none that were ever used that way (and I believe that is incorrect).

[Rodenbacher]

No, we have the same opinion. Just tried to explain why there are such few wooden Tsuba.