Two colour Tsuka ito bind, a sign of rank/status?

[mfarrar]

I have this sword with a two colour bind of tsuka ito. I have heard mention that this might be a sign of a Samurai's rank or status, or that it has some relation to the samurai's clan? Is this true? Or is this done just simply for aesthetics?

 

Cheers, Mark

 

[Brian Hancock]

Hi Mark,

Good to see you on Sunday. I have a papered sword with a 2 colour bind as well. I will be interested to see what the board members come up with. Steve Smith thought it may be a rank or status symbol or a clan thing as you suggest.

 

Cheers,

 

Brian.

[IanB]

Mark and Brian,

I agree, Sunday was a real treat. Both these bindings are interesting. There certainly were some clans who identified themselves by the style of binding of their swords. Some ranks of the Shonai Han had bindings similar to the so-called Satsuma Rebellion hilts. Whether or not these two colour styles were similar I just do not know, but I suspect they may well have been.

Ian

[mfarrar]

Yeah it was a good day, though it was quite depressing looking at that Gassan sword with the ayasugi hada and knowing I will probably never be able to afford something like that! Though I will have to get used to that for when I goto Japan.

 

Good to see you too Brian, thats a nice Tsuka and in good condition, mine is a bit on the tatty side.

 

Thats interesting Ian, I wonder if there any examples of this type of binding on any woodblock prints of samurai.

[outlier48]

Hi all - I don't have any light to shed on the question of status, but do have a tsuka with 2 color ito you might find interesting. Sorry, cannot seem to find a photo of the entire tsuka (will post when I take new pics).

 

Unfortunately, I am missing the fuchi (no doubt lost many years before I inherited this tsuka) but am ever optimistic of finding it (or a suitable replacement) someday.

 

Regards,

 

Charlie Brashear

[reinhard]

The "two-coloured" ito starts to be two-coloured about three crossings above fuchi. Not good.

 

reinhard

[IanB]

Reinhard,

You make the point that the second colour of braid on Mark's hilt starts at the third crossing and then make the enigmatic comment that this is 'Not good'. Why is it 'Not good'? Are you implying that this arrangement is some way inferior? Clearly the binder could have started the second colour at the first crossing on the ura side if he had chosen to do so; but he didn't. One must assume he had a good reason for this choice.

Ian Bottomley

[Jean]

You have scored a point, Ian, taking into consideration that it often happens on saya with lacquer work.

[leo]

Dear Mark,

unfortunately this tsuka wrapping is not only in a miserable condition, it is also not 2-coloured but "discoloured".

This usually happens when the natural dye of the ito has been exposed to sunlight for some time. In this case the tsuka was exposed to sunlight coming just from one side. Some stingy fellow took of the the band then tried to rewrap the handle with the already messy ito, hence the strange pattern.

Make your sword look good again and simply rebind the tsuka with new tsuka- ito.

Also to my knowledge a 2-colour tsuka is no sign of a particular status but rather a matter of taste.

 

All the Best,

Martin

[mfarrar]

Hi Martin,

 

Thanks thats certainly food for thought. I have had a good close look at the bind, to me the colour seems to be too even to not be intentional I would think that perhaps the change is due to a treatment rather than by natural discolouration.

 

I wouldn't change the bind I like it as it is and can live with the miserable condition lol. Personally when I look at a sword with a new bind it makes me wonder what else has been changed.

[reinhard]

Reinhard,

Why is it 'Not good'? Are you implying that this arrangement is some way inferior?

Ian Bottomley

 

Ian,

 

Inferior to what? Additional to Martin's points, one could mention: Diamond shapes are asymmetrical. Damaged same contains an ugly gaping spot never repaired. Protruding mekugi doesn't fit the hilt properly. Ito was damaged during the attempt of replacing menuki. (New) Menuki are too small and were inserted carelessly. - All in all, this tsuka contains most elements of a "home-made" handle, made with some stuff at hand, but without any ambition whatsoever. The "two coloured"-wrapping looks accidental, artificial and is far from Japanese aesthetics and perfectionism. The whole tsuka looks like so many attempts of reassembling old stuff without understanding basics.

 

reinhard

[IanB]

Reinhard, I agree with some of the points you have just made, but the hilt has seen a lot of abuse and is now very poor condition. It was obviously not in that state when bound. The fact that the mekugi sticks out and that some of the same is missing is irrelevant to the original point about the two colours. Whether the menuki are original to the sword is another point that is difficult to decide. Many bushi were desperately poor had had to be content with what they could afford or acquire. One thing I have noticed is that the hilt appears slightly wider for the first crossings. This may well indicate that the wrap has been repaired, but I still think it was done a long time ago.

Ian

[Guido]

Post deleted.

[mfarrar]

Well i have to say im deeply sadened by the critisism of the mekugi peg, I slaved for a atleast a good two mins carving that out of an chopstick with a kitchen knife lol.

 

But seriously, yes my sword was a poor example of a two colour bind but its the only example I have. As to the topic of the bind It may have just been fashion trend, but even if it that was the case it might be possible to find out whether it was a regional trend or if it was something done across the whole of Japan.

 

I am always reluctant to replace an old bind but if general opinion is that is not worth keeping then I will consider restoring it.

[IanB]

Guido, I feel very hesitant about writing and contradicting a moderator of this forum, but I really must comment on the view you have just expressed. I agree with you that some Japanese swords are first and foremost Art, but many, perhaps the majority, are also weapons carried to indicate the status of their wearer and to enable him to accomplish his role in life. I can and I do study the finest, and I have dragged around more museums than most, but it is imperative that we do not limit our study to a small subset. I am firmly of the view that all swords are relevant and even the most humble can inform. Like you I do not know if the two colour bindings indicate anything other than taste - but unless we look and ask questions we will never find out. Does it matter if two colour bindings have a meaning? I think it does, it adds to our knowledge of the Japanese sword. Does it matter if a fine blade has a gimei signature? Yes, but only in that it was not made by that smith, it still remains a fine blade.

There is also the matter of ownership. Many of the members of this Message Board aspire to owning swords. I personally feel very privileged to own both swords and armour, much of the latter acquired when the more upmarket auction houses hardly deigned to sully their delicate hands dealing with it. Unfortunately very few can afford to acquire great art swords, although I'm sure we all aspire to, but I'm sure many, like me, derive a great deal of pleasure from and have pride in what we do own.

Ian Bottomley

[Brian]

I'd rather we didn't go down this road yet again -----> pure art study vs general collecting etc.

I think it has been rehashed far too many times already, and people are ultimatley going to make up their own minds and collect what they feel comfortable collecting. The ideals are known, whether we go that route is a decision we have to make for ourselves.

How about we get leave that whole debate for another time again?

I have no problem (and I am sure neither do any NMB mods) with contradicting opinions as long as they are civil and elaborated on. No worries there Ian.

Info such as what Reinhard posted is also helpful, as these are the things that we do need to look for, and often overlook.

 

Brian

[IanB]

Brian, I fully agree.

Ian

[reinhard]

Aftermath:

 

During Meiji period Mr.Spoerry, a Swiss merchant in Yokohama, collected Japanese objects of everyday use: Tools for craftsmen, combs, ordinary baskets, weir-baskets, cages for birds and insects and a thousand other things. They are now under custody of the museum of history in Bern, Switzerland. All these simple objects, once made for ordinary people and craftsmen of low rank, were made with utmost care without exception. They were made by people striving for perfection beyond economic criteria, which is hard to believe from a vulgar-Darwinist point of view, called neo-liberalism. - If cages for cicada were made with utmost care, displaying a breathtaking sense for aesthetics and supreme craftsmanship, what can we expect from people fitting the supreme symbol of the warrior elite?

 

reinhard

[pcfarrar]

It's kind of irrelevant discussing the quality of the tsukamaki as its split on multiple points. Of course it's not not going to look nice as the tension is gone. I do agree that the menuki are possibly replacements. Looks like the old ones were cut out or just fell out of the tatty ito.

 

what can we expect from people fitting the supreme symbol of the warrior elite

 

What about Satsuma rebellion swords?

[Jacques D.]

During Meiji period Mr.Spoerry, a Swiss merchant in Yokohama, collected Japanese objects of everyday use: Tools for craftsmen, combs, ordinary baskets, weir-baskets, cages for birds and insects and a thousand other things. They are now under custodity of the museum of history in Bern, Switzerland. All these simple objects, once made for ordinary people and craftsmen of low rank, were made with utmost care without exception. They were made by people striving for perfection beyond economic criteria, which is hard to believe from a vulgar-Darwinist point of view, called neo-liberalism.

 

Very interesting, but i would not be so categorical. If you look at that with an anthropological point of view, it could be different. Effectively when man has the choice between two things (particularly if they are at the same price), inevitably, he will choose the best.

Japanese are like all of others, they made nice and bad things (Meiji tourists objects for example)

[reinhard]

Japanese are like all of others, they made nice and bad things (Meiji tourists objects for example)

 

Sorry Peter, for hijacking your thread. It was just such a nice opportunity to start a discussion overdue.

 

What I'm aiming at is the particular history of Japan. Secluded from the rest of the world until mid-19th century and never been colonized like the rest of east Asia, Japan maintained its unique "medieval" society longer than any other nation. This included a system of values different from their neighbours', not to speak of our "modern" one. Enforced opening of the country resulted in serious decline of quality in arts and crafts. Particularly swords and their fittings, all of a sudden obsolete and exposed to a much more primitive market than before, were strongly affected.

 

From a present point of view, some people tend to mix ancient Japan with Edo-culture with Satsuma-rebellion with Meiji-period trade with ShowaTo with GunTo. They are trying to excuse lousy craftsmanship by times of emergencies in the past. This attitude is preventing people from understanding quality levels in the context of Japan's history.

 

reinhard

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

I would see what utilised Hinin, Eta, and basic peasants. The Sakoku is not concerned. Man does not idealise too much Japanese people, as, in this regard (and others), they are good, less good and bad artisans.

 

About nihon-tô, all the tsuba made to fit kazu-uchi mono are far from chef d'oeuvre.

[reinhard]

And the academy award for last say goes to......?

 

reinhard

[sencho]

Hi,

 

I would see what utilised Hinin, Eta, and basic peasants. The Sakoku is not concerned. Man does not idealise too much Japanese people, as, in this regard (and others), they are good, less good and bad artisans.

 

About nihon-tô, all the tsuba made to fit kazu-uchi mono are far from chef d'oeuvre.

 

Jacques,

 

Were you drunk when you wrote this? :lol:

 

Cheers.