Shachi - Dragon Fish

[Spartancrest]

Back to the double shachi design- This one is honestly described as a "Cast copper paper weight"

https://www.jauce.com/auction/p1071384105

[Spartancrest]

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/sieben-tsuba-schwertwaechter-205-c-6af47fdbb1

This one caught my eye what do you think - Shachi or dragon? Hizen?

 

[GRC]

It's got fins on the body and tail, so shachi it is 

Looks like it's also cast like so many (but not all) of the others.

[Spartancrest]

Something out of the ordinary - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/134330481486

 

Not a tsuba, but a wooden 'bell' or gong.

[Spartancrest]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1073501843

[Spartancrest]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1074610877 - it is a new one but very similar to a few already posted, you can check the nakago-ana and tagane marks on the seppa-dai

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Beware the ones coming to eat your castle! They’ll swallow you like Udon.

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

Piers, watch out this one could be on your hat! [well a helmet but who wears a helmet these days?]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/155291310840

[Spartancrest]

Unfinished work - by Walter L. Behrens

 

 

And a couple of ojime as well from his lecture.

 

[Ed]

Cruising around here today and saw this thread which has been active quite a while.  

 

On 12/6/2022 at 2:36 AM, Bugyotsuji said:

Beware the ones coming to eat your castle! They’ll swallow you like Udon.

 

 

 

Piers, I took these atop Himeji Castle

[Ed]

I have this set of Soten F/K depicting Shachi or Dragonfish.

[Spartancrest]

Some rather fat tailed menuki - sorry the images are pretty fuzzy from the auction site, [or am I still hung-over?]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1077275847

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/d1077275847

 

 length 45mm width 14mm thickness 3.5mm

 

[Spartancrest]

These shachi menuki are starting to turn up in numbers. These are fat in the front end rather than the tail end of the previous ones.  I am no judge of menuki but they look particularly rough on the underside.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/275603702956

 

[Matsunoki]

My small contribution to this topic-

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Colin, nice, is that a Shachi menuki?

[Matsunoki]

26 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Colin, nice, is that a Shachi menuki?

Hi Piers

oops….I thought they were but upon very close inspection they might be “normal” dragons twined around/through a tree!!! 
Must remember to put my specs on first!

[Spartancrest]

How about this modern sukashi  [hobby piece?] 

 https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b1061368266

 

Or this double, it reminds me of a few others, as single Shachi posted earlier - They have a "killer smile" 

https://aucview.com/yahoo/u333724112/

[Spartancrest]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1078569561

 

[Deez77]

Hi friends,

 

Additional pictures of one of the examples I posted in this thread previously. 

 

Seems pretty minimalist, but the shachi head appears so well done to me. 

 

Not a typical Kinai style (based on all the reference material I've seen), assuming signature is authentic.

 

Damon

[Spartancrest]

Shachi is only a small section on this guard.  https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20503/lot/1033/?category=list

 

 

Fuchi  - https://www.jauce.com/auction/j1080038495

[Deez77]

I believe the bottom example hasn't been shown here yet. Accompanied by a short Google translated write-up on the topic.

 

 

 

 Damon S.

[Spartancrest]

 

Single menuki from a group auction - https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1080993901

Approx. 28mm long

[Spartancrest]

Three more examples from the V&A - copyright images so check the sites.

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O461701/tsuba/

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O461647/tsuba/

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O465834/tsuba/

[Spartancrest]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/h1084245389  Katamenuki

[Spartancrest]

I don't think we have seen this one before? 

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/edo-period-antique-Japanese-tsuba-signed-kaneshige-107-c-cc74a89a91   Signed Kaneshige

[GRC]

Another we haven't seen... this one by the Hazama school.

The clever thing about this one is that the two thick lines are "beams" that cross each other at an angle to make a "peak", inferring an abstract "roof top" where you'd typically see one of these shachi dragons.

 

[GRC]

And another one (both listed at Ginsa Chosuya) that has that more "whale" shaped version of the shachi, by Choshu Tomotomi:

[b.hennick]

Here is a Shiachi kabuto

[Bugyotsuji]

Smashing example, Barry!

We've got a pair of Shachi in the garden here.

Photo follows...

 

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

1 hour ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Shachi in the garden

Move them inside and you can have a really nice Katana Kake! 

 

[Yes I know - too much time on my hands]