Gassan Koshirae

[Nihonto Chicken]

Possibly a re-re-re-re-re-re-temper?

[Brian]

I suppose it was made as a dedication sword with the moon theme. Can't say I don't find it fascinating, and I don't hate it.

Wondering if there is anything about its history in the Japanese description on that page. Anyone able to scan though it?

[Shamsy]

Please don't misunderstand me, I to find it interesting, different and would like to know the why's around its creation and use. I just happened to think it's rather unappealing to look at. No one seemed to have that opinion and I was curious to see if I was alone on that. There have been a few interesting points made and I couldn't agree more that it's a unique piece what would be a great conversation starter. From this thread, it has already demonstrated that.

[Shugyosha]

With the help of Google translate - the torokusho was registered in the name of a daimyo (former daimyo): Hiro Aimasaru of the Tosa Yamanouchi clan.

 

The sword was a special order (no sh!t Sherlock) being the only one of its kind in the world and that the crescent moon shape symbolises new beginnings and that the sword being dated the 3rd day of the 11th month ties in with this as it was known that a new moon would usually appear on this day.

 

I'm assuming, therefore, that it had no particular use but was ordered to comemmorate some significant event.

[Grey Doffin]

I've been wondering about how the saya was made.  Traditional construction would lead to a problem called short grain and the saya would break easily at either end.  Seasonal wood movement also would be a problem.  The work around is to use bent wood or even better, bent lamination.  No matter how it was constructed, it must have a sloppy fit to the blade to allow for movement and drawing/withdrawing in use.

Quite impractible and, I think, a bit ugly.  Grey

[Jim P]

Hi Grey, I thought that the solution probably was  bent wood it seems that it has held up well so he was good at his art and with the problems with a blade like this even more so.  When I posted this it was the Koshirae that had drawn me in as I would have been skeptical that it could be done and the blade drawn. A sloppy fit would explain it , it’s also interesting how some see the work as a bit ugly as it is so far from what we are used to seeing in a blade. I did not see it as ugly as I saw it as BaZZa did a homage to a crescent moon and in that context it was enjoyable

[jason_mazzy]

I love it and would gladly give 675000 yen for it if it were available at the price...... sadly it is not.

[SteveM]

If I could revise and add to the google translation:

 

The Daimyo Tōroku mentioned in the description is a phrase specific to the sword trade, and it points to the swords registered from 1951. Apparently there was resistance to the sword registration - people thought it was a ruse for the government to grab swords. The government appealed to the old nobility and families of wealth (in other words those who were sure to have swords), to register their swords. So "Daimyo Tōroku" means any sword registered in 1951. I couldn't find anything on the person who registered this sword (Hiro Aikatsu, I think).

 

Alas, the sword has already been snapped up. 

 

Interesting to note that all of the furnishings are crescent moons, too. We have the ongoing discussion on the forum about the aesthetics of the themed koshirae: an interesting topic for me because several years ago I made a koshirae with a tiger theme, and in retrospect I am having some doubts about the choice (was it a bit too simplistic?). Seeing all these crescent moons gives me some comfort that my comparatively subtle tiger theme is probably OK, and I might not need to spend any more time second-guessing it.  

 

http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1065765970

[Brian]

Refer to this thread about those early 1951 registrations. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14879-date-of-first-post-war-Japanese-police-sword-registrations/

Definitely a lot of good swords registered right in the beginning by high up people. But also some normal blades by regular folk too.

[Shogun8]

Please don't misunderstand me, I to find it interesting, different and would like to know the why's around its creation and use. I just happened to think it's rather unappealing to look at. No one seemed to have that opinion and I was curious to see if I was alone on that. There have been a few interesting points made and I couldn't agree more that it's a unique piece what would be a great conversation starter. From this thread, it has already demonstrated that.

I too find it ugly. To me, it doesn't at all reflect or represent the elegance of the Japanese sword and is simply a curiosity. And like many curiosities, it's almost disturbing and gives me a queasy feeling...

[Jussi Ekholm]

Encountered this one on my weekly sword shop browsing, I remembered there was alraedy a thread about the last one, so I thought I'd resurrect this. Not nearly as curved as the first example but still pretty extreme.

 

http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords5/TT327973.htm