Kaga koshirae

[Okan]

  On 6/15/2024 at 9:13 PM, Franco D said:

 

 

Much better images!

 

Questions answered.

 

Thank you

 

Regards

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👍 no worries

[Dereks]

  On 6/13/2024 at 8:06 PM, Okan said:

Derek, as Colin mentioned, Tachi swords were worn throughout the Edo period, and a piece with this level of detail would have been very expensive (it still is). It was nearly impossible for a low-level Samurai to own one, as it would be equivalent to 4-5 years of his salary. Therefore, it was probably commissioned by a high-level Samurai for personal use or as a gift to a Lord or someone of high status.

 

To me, although this requires further research, a more interesting fact than the amount of gold on the koshirae is the year it was made, 1853, during the Perry Expedition and the opening of Japan to the West, events which contributed to the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. This was a year when the Japanese were uncertain about what to expect and were preparing for all possibilities. The depicted Kachimushi (dragonfly), known as the symbol of victory, and Ame Ryū (Water Dragon), known as the guardian of waterways, might have been depicted in accordance with the situation.

 

As for the materials, gold and mix metal inlays on Shakudo base, polished soild silver(or shibuichi) Habaki with gold inlays and solid gold earlier gen. Goto menuki. 

 

And the sword is not gimei.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thank you, Okan. I have one more question if you don't mind, why there are no dragonflies on the shakudo based parts but water dragons? Does that mean parts were made by different people in different cities who didn't have the chance to communicate and matched together at the last stage?  Hope that makes sense.

 

Thank you

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

I am not Okan, but yes, in EDO times, artists often could not communicate as much as we can today. But compared to KOTO times, there was much more exchange among them so techniques and styles were copied a lot.

But the question is: What is a match? Our Western ideas of "matching themes" or "harmony" are not necessarily the same as in Japan in the EDO era. 

[Okan]

Derek, @ROKUJURO explained it perfectly. While the Westerns experimented to find new artistic approaches, the Japanese focused on perfecting the techniques of their predecessors.
 

Back in the days, schools were very strict and didn’t allow any “experiments”. Thats why today we can attribute their work to specific schools. Every once in a while, they came up with some new design elements. If you look at todays Kimono designs, you’ll find the same elements that was used 600 years ago.

 

With all being said, there are dragonflies, hidden under ashikanamono.