Sodegarami

[ChrisW]

Hey all!

 

Wasn't sure if this would be the proper subforum for this, but I thought I would show an acquisition I got a couple years back. This is a sodegarami if I am correct, they fall in the category of nonlethal mancatchers that was used by Japanese police. Though it certainly doesn't look very nonlethal! One would definitely get the impression by the presence of all the spikes. This is one part of a set of three tools as I understand. Unfortunately, the pole has been cut down some time in the past before I got it. It seems unlikely that a new one could be affixed judging by how it is assembled. Though a new pole could be spliced into the existing part by a good woodworker. Sadly, I do not know what kind of wood it currently has. Has a very reddish-purple tone to it.

 

I do have a question though, does anyone know what its approximate age could be?

 

~Chris

[Bugyotsuji]

Very difficult to tell from those photos. My gut feeling is that this is genuinely Edo, but be aware that replicas have been made. They were designed to catch and snag in the folds of the kimono of the baddies and help reel them in.

[ChrisW]

My apologies, where and what can I photograph better to assist identification?

[Bugyotsuji]

Sympathetic photography is a field on its own, Chris, but every site has threads full of useful hints. Ultimately though even taking it in hand we have to rely on past experience handling such things. In my hall I have a fake/replica that someone gave me. Not quite sure why I accepted it; perhaps because I did not have a real one. It has been a pointer and a reminder for me. I cannot imagine anyone cutting a replica in half to send abroad, though. Spears are sometimes cut in half like that, an indication to me that the object was probably thought by the sender to be genuine.

 

The wood used for these, and for spears and gun stocks etc., tended to be Japanese Ichii Akagashi, red yew oak, often with a coat of yaki-urushi.

[ChrisW]

Honestly, I've no idea if its real or not. The aging seems appropriate and from what you said, the wood type seems correct (it matches the type you just told me in terms of color and grain). However I am not an expert, so I cannot make a call on its authenticity. As for the shaft being cut, its a clean cut so it was either broken and then cut off OR it was cut down for transport and then the other part was lost/never reattached. I'll try to get some better pictures for you!

[kissakai]

I was just nosing round for netsuke and found your post

 

This is my sodegarami

 

Sodegarami.pdf

 

 

Grev