Christian Kogai

[Ron STL]

This is an interesting shakudo kogai which has a well done hidden Christian cross on it. When inserted into the kogai pocket the cross is hidden. A friend bought this a few years ago and I finally talked him out of it. The maker is MITSUYUKI. What I can't read and need to understand are the first two kanji above the makers name. Haynes lists a half dozen MITSUYUKI on page 1124 in the middle volume of his Index, but none of these seem to show these first two kanji. I was hoping these read GOTO but no luck there. Anyone have an answer on this? Would appreciate that very much.

 

Chicago show is upon us. I'll have a table as always. A few fittings for sale but only swords are for show & tell; Hatakeda Moriie and Hojoji Kunimitsu, both Juyo. Stop over and have a look. Ron STL

[Pete Klein]

 Ron - I couldn't find anything specific in the meikan or the Studies in Kyo Goto book but it very well might be Goto Enjo of the Waki Goto Saburoemon and Shichirobei lines, Haynes 00475.  He also went by Mitsuyuki with these kanji.  The first two kanji are a variant of Goto seen in some of the side branch schools.  If you can please bring it to Chicago as I'd love to see it.

 

See you there,

 

Pete

[Ron STL]

Pete, I'll bring it to Chicago. I heard from Chris Leung who also mentioned waki Goto man. I saw several other names in Haynes that used Mitsuyuki but ran out of time to dig too deep. Leaving in A.M. for the windy city.  Ron STL

[JohnTo]

Just wondering if the christian cross is a later addition.  The photo is a bit fuzzy, but the cross does not look quite summetrical.  Nice piece though.

 

regards, John

[SalaMarcos]

I'm with John, the cross seems added many years later.
It's sad, but I know some people even today that bougth Edo period tôsôgu and then fit with zôgan techniques some crisian crosses, virgin Mary medals, and so on... and they sell it as a kakure kirishitan tôsôgu... Not just private colectors but also museums are falling in this kinds of fraud.
I was at the kakure kirishitan museum inside the Shimabara castle, and the few things related to crosses or christian motifs are very very well hidden.
About works on the years of the "iberic century" with the permision of catholic religion, I saw also few examples of christian propaganda on tôsôgu. Just some myôchin tsuba, or some nanban tsuba with little crosses, but no more.
Recently, I read some researchs about the tokei sukashi of Owari tsuba in relation with jesuitic anagram, that's is very intersting and kind possible, but when I saw corsses so clear like that, my opinion is about 99% added later, in the XX or XXI century.

But about the Gotô original kôgai... good piece.. just shame about adding the cross.