Soshin Posted October 9, 2010 Report Posted October 9, 2010 Hi everyone. He is a koshirae for a katana I have taken photographs of today in my free time. This is my only complete koshirae in my tosogu collection. The tsuba is of the Tempo shcool and was discussed on this Tosogu forum here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7814&p=63580&hilit=Tempo#p63580. I would now like to discuss the fuchi-gashira set for the koshirae as well as the set of menuki. Here is what I already know. The fuchi-gashira set are made of iron with a dark patina. Contrasted with kin-zogan (gold inlays) applied in in a snowflake and vine designs intermixed with crosses. These designs appear on both sides of the kashira even though I only photographed one side. The menuki are of two shi-shi dogs made of what I think is copper. The ito and same of the tsuka have both been heavily covered with black lacquer which does a wonderful job of matched the black lacquer saya not photographed. I find this simplistic fuchi-gashira design very different then most fuchi-gashira made using soft metals or alloys such as copper or sakudo. Does anyone know of a specific school that would work in hard metal (iron) fuchi-gashira with kin-zogan inlays? Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my topic. Yours truly, David Stiles Quote
sanjuro Posted October 12, 2010 Report Posted October 12, 2010 David. I had waited until now to allow those more knowledgable than I to supply some more difinitive answers. The deafening silence however perhaps lends weight to the observations I now offer. Your fuchi kashira set and indeed the entire koshirae is of a utilitarian type fairly common from the mid Muromachi period onward in various forms. The black lacquer finish to the same' and what appears to be a leather tsuka ito, was considered most durable and the iron fuchi and kashira speak of a lower level samurai or common warriors sword mounting of a late Momoyama/Edo sort of vintage. The engraved arabesques on the fuchi tend to indicate an Early Edo period form of decoration and the simplicity of the zogan supports this to some degree. I cant tell from the photographs if the kashira has a similar decoration which would indicate a matched set. The shitodome of the kashira are of a simple and common type without the little washer that normally accompanies a higher quality set of the period. That basic style of shitodome was common in the late Momoyama period. All in all not a remarkable set, (if they are a set), but none the less they are well preserved. I rather like these simpler styles of iron mountings myself. Not much help I'm afraid, but as to school I have no idea. Such mountings are hard to ascribe to any specific school since they were so prolific and unremarkable. What you have is basically a good example of a fighting koshirae, or at least a koshirae that leans more toward the practical rather than the decorative. It would interest me to know how this assessment adds up against the style and quality of the blade upon which these were mounted. Quote
Soshin Posted October 12, 2010 Author Report Posted October 12, 2010 David.The engraved arabesques on the fuchi tend to indicate an Early Edo period form of decoration and the simplicity of the zogan supports this to some degree. I cant tell from the photographs if the kashira has a similar decoration which would indicate a matched set. The shitodome of the kashira are of a simple and common type without the little washer that normally accompanies a higher quality set of the period. That basic style of shitodome was common in the late Momoyama period. All in all not a remarkable set, (if they are a set), but none the less they are well preserved. I rather like these simpler styles of iron mountings myself. Hi Keith, After spending the better part of 15 minutes searching for my "For Sale" post I was not able to locate it that section of the website. Maybe a site administrator can help us out by posting a link for the discussion. I posted the Nihonto for sale late last year around Oct. to Dec. The Nihonto that was attached to the koshirae dates to the Kan'ie (1624-1644) of the Edo period and was made by Yoshitane of the Echizen Seki school of the Mino tradition. The Nihonto came along with NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho shinsa origami. I noticed a mistake in my original post I mixed up the fuchi and gashira in my attached photo. Sorry about that. The kashira is plain iron without gold inlay work but with a nice dark patina. The ito isn't leather as I first expected but is silk covered with a massive amount of black lacquer. Currently in the koshirae I have a full length wooden sunagi of the original Nihonto. Yours truly, David Stiles Quote
sanjuro Posted October 12, 2010 Report Posted October 12, 2010 David. You can narrow down your search by clicking on the 'view your posts' header just under the date and time line at the top right hand corner of the web page you are looking at. I would like to read it and to see the pictures of the blade in question. It seems my assessment of the period is about right, and that is interesting because it was a common practice at that time to repair damaged koshirae with disparate parts. It was a fairly nervous time in the early Edo period with some Tozama Daimyo still holding out against the newly arisen Tokugawa regime. It was a time when the warrior kept his weapons battle ready. There were two great sieges during the time you have nominated (1624 to 1644). If nothing else your koshirae belongs to an interesting historical period. Quote
Brian Posted October 12, 2010 Report Posted October 12, 2010 If it was a for sale item that sold, then the topic has been deleted. Also, after the advert has been up for a very long time, I may prune the posts in line with most forums out there. The database is already quite huge by now. Brian Quote
Soshin Posted October 13, 2010 Author Report Posted October 13, 2010 David. You can narrow down your search by clicking on the 'view your posts' header just under the date and time line at the top right hand corner of the web page you are looking at. I would like to read it and to see the pictures of the blade in question. Hi Keith, I tired this and it didn't work likely due to the fact that the sold Nihonto thread was deleted as Brian has indicated. I am going to check through some of my written papers to see if I have any written records of the Nihonto in question. I will reply again if I find something. What you said about it being more practical then decorative koshirae would fit very well with the reputation of Mino swords in general even the one made by a good representative swordsmith such as Yoshitane. I am basing this on Nagayama sensei comments on page 245 of The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords. Yours truly, David Stiles Quote
Eric H Posted October 13, 2010 Report Posted October 13, 2010 Not possible to send the original site. Eric Yoshitane.pdf Quote
Soshin Posted October 16, 2010 Author Report Posted October 16, 2010 Dear Eric, Yes this was the Nihonto that that was originally for the Koshirae in question. Thanks Eric for taking the time to find a PDF of the thread. I was not able to find anything else about the Nihonto in my file folders. I was able to find another Nihonto made by someone working in the same school at a latter time period. Here is the link in has nice photos and good amount of information. http://www.sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p1445.html The sori of my daito was much greater then this Nihonto in question and it had more of a Koto overall character to it. For someone who has given up Nihonto I sure still enjoy talking about them. :D Yours truly, David Stiles Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.