Egret and crow tsuba

Michel D · December 11, 2007

Hello everybody!

I keep my word!

Following a previous discussion on a tsuba from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and showing a crow and an egret (at the least for me!), I was wondering what could be the tale related to this subject.

I have found four tsuba bearing the same subject:

-a tsuba by Toshinori, MFA Boston, referenced as # 11.11204 page 254 in the book by Morihiro Ogawa

-a tsuba by Hashimoto Isshin in the Kiyomizu sannenzaka museum, referenced page 16 on a museum catalogue on kinko tsuba, recently published.

-a tsuba in the Baur Museum referenced # D 1491 page 219 on the museum catalogue devoted to swords fittings.

-a tsuba assessed as being Nara as given through the following link (hope it works! ); Sorry my museum isn't at the same level :D

Any information on a Japanese (chenese?) tale or legend about this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

deskjet · December 11, 2007

i have no information about the story behind the tsuba ,but what a fantastic tsuba

Brian · December 11, 2007

Michel,

Once I figured out it was a heron and a crow, a google search turned up all the info

http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/heron.htm

"Herons are fabled to be the enemies of eagles and the friends of crows. In Japan and China a heron and a crow may be pictured together as a symbol of the yin-yang."

http://books.google.com/books?id=rZPrsy ... #PPA241,M1

A lot of info there on page 241.

http://www.kiseido.com/printss/p10-1.htm

In his album Momo Chidori (One Hundred Plovers) Utamaro portrays a snow-white heron with a black crow, traditionally symbols of the black and white go stones.

Hope this helps.

Brian

Michel D · December 12, 2007

Brian,

Thank you very much for your help; I had been looking through Google, but to no avail. I now understand and like the yin-yang concept.

Regards

Bugyotsuji · December 12, 2007

What a stunning tsuba! Lovely, lovely, lovely...

I wouldn't mind having that in my collection! :lol:

In saying the above I do not mean to detract from any other of the superb tsuba that I see on this site.

yogoro · December 12, 2007

Hello Michell !

Please downloada "Legend in Japanese art" in .pdf format

http://www.archive.org/details/legendin ... 00jolyuoft

regards

Mikolaj

Brian · December 12, 2007

Mikolaj,

That is the find of the year...congratulations and thanks!

It's gonna hurt the dial-up..but will be worth it. Everyone...wait a day before you get it..I need all the bandwidth I can get :D :lol:

Brian

sencho · December 12, 2007

looks like too many people are downloading at once....

great resource.... haven't looked expensively, but have also already found Japanese Swords Guards in the Boston museum of Fine Arts - Okabe-Kakuya... the whole book!

great!