Show Us Your High Class Tosogu

[Gakusee]

Yup, that is truly high class tosogu. I was afraid the thread had really deteriorated to “my favourite piece” as opposed to high class, but that Juyo Natsuo F/K of Fujin and Raijin is something else..... thanks for sharing 

[Tanto54]

Matt, I second Michael - truly high class!  That katakiribori carving is flawless - shows a true master's hand - no hesitation or halting cuts.

[masakatsu]

Glad you guys liked this set.  These 2 pics really exemplify the master level work... like George said, the katakiribori is superb, and check out the inlay work on Raijin.  The silver teeth, anklets and bracelets, and of course the eyes. I love the bold mei also, along with it being dated.  The Taikan has a sketch and an imprint, and the box lid inlay is original from his shop.  Photographic credit goes to Ted Tenold.

[terminus]

That probably one of my favorite F/K I've seen yet! the detailed inaly work and that rarely seen Natsuo long mei is beautiful! 

[masakatsu]

And a better pic of the kashira...

[Gakusee]

Well, no words are needed here. This is the topmost, the pinnacle of tosogu and should serve as a textbook example of what is high class workmanship and style. 

[Kurikata]

I wish I'll have opportunities to purchase such a nice set in the future.

 Pristine !

[Hoshi]

Sublime work. Thanks for sharing. 

[Gunome]

A pure beauty !

[Brano]

My best set.
Probably not quite High class, but I like this simple beauty
GOTO Kenjo

[Vermithrax16]

Brian had a post about spending time appreciating and learning from the most skillful works when one can.

 

I agree. Most of us mere mortals cannot afford most of the finest maker fittings, or even get access to them. But that should not dissuade from seeking them out and study. From examples, you can learn to spot poor work (inlay, engraving, patination) from good work. You can internalize the clever use of space as a medium in fittings, as it's surely a tool that makers used often. Themes and legends are often represented, from well rendered works one can lend that to evaluation of good works of the same. 

 

A couple of examples from "Pinnacle of Excellence: Sword Fittings of the Mitsumura Collection" that I have spent a lot of time looking at are posted below. I don't think posting a million pictures from books is a great idea, but I use this as a starter. We can resurrect this thread:

 

 

 

[Vermithrax16]

A little background and color on the Haruaki piece:

http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/g/gamatekkai.htm

 

https://art.thewalters.org/detail/25617/tsuba-with-the-taoist-immortals-tekkai-and-gama/

 

[Curran]

On 1/17/2021 at 2:04 PM, Brano said:

My best set.
Probably not quite High class, but I like this simple beauty
GOTO Kenjo

 

 

Ah ha. Glad to know where this set went.  I'm trying to focus on ko-goto and Goto Tokujo, but I sometimes really enjoy Kenjo work.

I have a Kenjo kozuka.

[Rivkin]

I am sure many will frown for posting here something unpapered, but I am a dumpster diver and too many of my items are like this.

Not being an expert, I do suspect its the earliest portion of Kaga Goto lineage.

[suketaka]

Two of mine...

 

Mumei Kodai Umetada and a Tsuba made by Akiyoshi.

[Hoshi]

One of the best thread of the NMB. Keep 'em coming.

 

I'll revive it with this image, which I found on the old archives of the forum. The most epic Higo lineup ever to have graced a table in Europe since Alfred Baur. 

 

 

[C0D]

The most "fancy" one of my collection. 
Shakudo tsuba depicting tiger and leopard by Itō Masataka 伊藤正隆 (aka Itō Katsumi 伊藤勝見)

[Brian]

Wow wow wow.

[Alex A]

Some stunners!

[suketaka]

@Valric

 

I thinik this is from the Samurai Art Expo 2018 in Utrecht.

 

Top notch first Jingo! 

[CHEN CHEN]

I'm glad the atmosphere here is active again. To celebrate. Continue to share my collection with you.

 

 

 

Ranka (legend)

One plot element of the legend features two immortals playing a board game, interpreted in later times as Go, so that Lanke (or Ranka in Japanese) has become a literary name for Go.

The legend is recorded in Ren Fang [zh]'s Shuyiji [zh; ja] or Tales of the Strange, and features a woodcutter, Wang Zhi or Wang Chih (王質, Wáng Zhì), and his encounter with the two immortals in the mountains. The story runs as follows:

Wang Zhi was a hardy young fellow who used to venture deep into the mountains to find suitable wood for his axe. One day he went farther than usual and became lost. He wandered about for a while and eventually came upon two strange old men who were playing Go, their board resting on a rock between them. Wang Zhi was fascinated. He put down his axe and began to watch. One of the players gave him something like a date to chew on, so that he felt neither hunger nor thirst. As he continued to watch he fell into a trance for what seemed like an hour or two. When he awoke, however, the two old men were no longer there. He found that his axe handle had rotted to dust and he had grown a long beard. When he returned to his native village he discovered that his family had disappeared and that no one even remembered his name.

 

[Tanto54]

Dear Chen Chen, looking back over this thread, I can see that you have a magnificent collection!  Thanks for sharing.  I particularly love the story on your new post.  I wonder if this is where the story "Rip Van Winkle" comes from?

[Brian]

Always a pleasure to see your collection. Such wonderful items.

[Ooitame]

Yanagawa set i believe.

[Vermithrax16]

Kozuka by Naoyuki, of the Hamano Shozui line. Something just another level to this piece:

 

[CHEN CHEN]

19 hours ago, Tanto54 said:

Dear Chen Chen, looking back over this thread, I can see that you have a magnificent collection!  Thanks for sharing.  I particularly love the story on your new post.  I wonder if this is where the story "Rip Van Winkle" comes from?

Yes, I think it is. The plots of the two have many similarities. So it is likely that Washington Irving was inspired by it. But in fact, there are more stories with similar plots in the East, such as another Chinese story "the governor of Nanke" or the Japanese legend "Urashima Tarō”。 Oh, by the way, don't forget Marvel's ancient legend "Captain America". Ha ha, just kidding!. But anyway, it seems that Ranka's plot is the closest to the novel.

By the way, my tsuba seems to be the only thing that uses this theme. I didn't see the second tosogu carved with this theme, including those in the market and in the museum. I haven't even seen any works on this subject in any book, which is very interesting. If you are interested, you can study it in depth in the future.

 

[sabi]

Owari Sadahiro (Shodai), Kikugata, 8.6 x 8.2cm, Momoyama/earliest Edo

 

[GRC]

Jeremiah, everything about the face on that kozuka is amazing. Definitely a cut above... 

[Caracal]

YOSHIOKA BUNGO SUKE 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by Caracal
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[CHEN CHEN]

 

The pattern on this Kozuka comes from the Analects of Confucius.

The Analects of Confucius is one of the most important classical books of ancient Chinese Confucianism. Its content records the words and deeds of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. In the chapter of gongyechang, there is a dialogue between Confucius and his student Zilu: The Master said, "My doctrines make no way. I will get upon a raft, and float about on the sea. He that will accompany me will be You, I dare to say." Zi Lu hearing this was glad.

I think it is the reproduction of this scene.