"War and tsuba" book by Prof. Nagaoka

[OceanoNox]

Has anyone read it?
I have downloaded it, probably from the Japanese Diet library. It is difficult to read, as it was written in 1942, and there is no punctuation and the Japanese itself is so different from what I know. But it does state interesting things. Such as:

 

①　While the Tokugawa government imposed many things, it seemed to not have set absolute rules on tosogu (or at least tsuba), but there were official complaints about tsuba.

②　Several sources are detailed (such as by Yamamoto Kansuke), and it seems there is a consensus on tsuba size (around 3 sun in diameter).

③　Several people appeared to recommend thin tsuba with sukashi and thicker mimi, to avoid vibrations in the hand and in the habaki and mekugi, which are stated to be damaged when a thick tsuba is hit.

④　It is written that thick plain tsuba should be avoided (and also gold or silver kojiri) (there is also a mention of fine tsuba, 細鍔, but I do not understand the difference with thin tsuba, perhaps Owari or Akasaka style sukashi?). One reason, besides the vibrations, is that it would be overly heavy without added benefits.

⑤　At the same time, the sukashi should be small enough to avoid getting tangled or run through by a blade.

⑥　There is also a recommendation that the tsuba should be a bit taller than wide.

 

Anyway, I am still reading, but I would like to know if others have read it, and what your thoughts are. I am especially confused by the statement that the Tokugawa government did not establish rules on tsuba, as another book stated that for court appearance, the tsuba should be shakudo (and other requirements in general).

 

N.B.: As I wrote above, I am not sure if I got everything right, as some kanji are downright obsolete, my Japanese is limited in the case of historical documents, and the quality of the scanned document is a bit lacking.

[Kiipu]

Arnaud, I have not read it; but, I will post a link for others to take a look.

 

Nagaoka Tsuneyoshi 長岡恒喜. Sensō to Tsuba 戦争と鐔 [War and Tsuba]. Bijutsukurabu Shuppan-Bu 美術倶楽部出版部 [Art Club Publishing Department], 1942.

https://ndlonline.ndl.go.jp/#!/detail/R300000001-I000000684581-00

[Ford Hallam]

Quote

Several sources are detailed (such as by Yamamoto Kansuke), and it seems there is a consensus on tsuba size (around 3 sun in diameter).

 

That's 9cm! I don't know who this author is but if he's positing this notion I'm already taking his thoughts with a big pinch of salt 

 

There was at least one Tokugawa regulation concerning tosogu and koshirae, that being the formal requirements when wearing swords mounted in Kamishimo-zashi or Ban-zashi fashion for formal court attendance. In these cases shakudo plate, either polished or nanako, was specified.

 

At various times sumptuary laws banned the use of solid gold or silver tsuba as being wasteful of precious metals much needed for commerce.

 

Quote

⑤　At the same time, the sukashi should be small enough to avoid getting tangled or run through by a blade.

Hmmm, so a vast number of Owari, Kanayama and other venerable sukashi schools made poor design choices, as did Musashi Miyamoto  What were they thinking?

 

His last comment seems superfluous too,  it's very rare for any tsuba to be wider than its height. 

 

A case of overly confidant 'armchair expertise' perhaps? 

[OceanoNox]

40 minutes ago, Ford Hallam said:

That's 9cm! I don't know who this author is but if he's positing this notion I'm already taking his thoughts with a big pinch of salt 

I lack data for a good statistical analysis, but from what I have seen in online collections (such as MET or Boston Museum of Fine Arts), kachushi tsuba being around 9cm in diameter seems not uncommon in the 14th and 15th century, and tosho seem in the vicinity of 8.5cm (but as said, limited by online museum collections, and also limited to the labels by said museums).

 

40 minutes ago, Ford Hallam said:

There was at least one Tokugawa regulation concerning tosogu and koshirae, that being the formal requirements when wearing swords mounted in Kamishimo-zashi or Ban-zashi fashion for formal court attendance. In these cases shakudo plate, either polished or nanako, was specified.

Yes, I found such a reference for Edo period in Mr. Kawami's book, Tosogu wonderland (2016), hence my surprise reading that in this book.

 

40 minutes ago, Ford Hallam said:

At various times sumptuary laws banned the use of solid gold or silver tsuba as being wasteful of precious metals much needed for commerce.

Thank you! I had no idea that there were such restrictions.

 

40 minutes ago, Ford Hallam said:

Hmmm, so a vast number of Owari, Kanayama and other venerable sukashi schools made poor design choices, as did Musashi Miyamoto  What were they thinking?

Those are not his comments, but citations from various old texts (I only know that Yamamoto Kansuke was smack in the middle of the 16th century and he is said to have had a large tsuba). Another seems to be 劔甲新論 by 鈴木黄軒, which may be in Edo era.

I did not say they made poor design choices, but depending on what you want from your tsuba, surely the design parameters would vary?

 

45 minutes ago, Ford Hallam said:

His last comment seems superfluous too,  it's very rare for any tsuba to be wider than its height. 

I'd say that instead of a tsuba wider than its height, it's more about having a tsuba that is not completely round. Since the whole topic appears to be war and tsuba, I'd wager that all the previous comments CITED by the author are less about esthetics but about a certain practicality.