Kusarigama... nihonto?

[JamesH]

Hi all,

 

Im not sure if this thread belongs in this section of the forum, Brian please feel free to move as you see fit.

 

I wanted to find out whether KUSARIGAMA are considered nihonto, that is, whether they carry the same characteristics of hada, hamon etc.

 

If so, does anyone have pics of one in mint traditional polish?

 

 

With thanks,

James

[Bugyotsuji]

I once had a Kusarigama with chain and ball, signed, and dated in the reign of Sakuramachi Tenno.

I never polished it or looked closely at the blade. Kusarigama are exempt from the Toroku requirement in Japan, for some strange reason. Perhaps if you polished one it would then need paperwork! I too would love to hear the answer to this question.

[John A Stuart]

Kama are still being made with hamon just like you find on non-Nihonto blades for the kitchen, bonsai and garden work. They are farm implements and can be found with various levels of craftmanship. As such, they can't be regulated, except some countries will not import them if they have a martial adaptation, like kusari. John

[cabowen]

Nihon-to are defined in the Ju-To-Ho (firearms and sword regulatory laws) as having both hamon and meguki-ana. Sushi knives and the like do not need a torokusho (license) because they lack a meguki-ana. The same would apply to kama and other blades that have a socket. Socket yari are a grey area. I have seen them with and without torokusho.

 

I have seen knives made for butchering whales that were made by a sword smith. They had a cutting edge over 2 shaku and could certainly be used as a sword would be. No torokusho needed though as they had no mekugi-ana.....

 

It has more to do with purpose than practicality....

[Nobody]

Chris,

I have to disagree with your comment. Actually, the Ju-To-Ho itself does not define Nihon-to in detail. The law only says that it regulates swords (including Katana, Yari, and Naginata) whose blade length is 15 cm or more, Ken whose blade length is 5.5 cm or more, Aikuchi, and jackknives. And the law is not concerned with mekugi-ana.

 

The reason why Sushi knives and the like do not need torokusho is they are legally considered to be tools instead of weapons, even if their shape resembles swords.

[Brian]

I don't think they would typically have hamon and hada, as a working tool. But there are always exceptions of course, as long as people have money and smiths like to experiment: http://nihonto.ca/takahashi-nobuhide/

 

Brian

[cabowen]

Yes, Moriyama san is correct that the JuToHo does indeed not specifically mention anything about mekugi-ana, it only discusses katana (刀)　and specifies cutting edge length. My mistake.....However.....consider then the definition of katana as the important factor: What I have been told　by sword smiths and police in Japan is that a katana is defined as a blade with hamon and mekugi-ana.

 

I was told when I asked my local prefectural police chief that if I was to put a mekugi-ana in a sushi knife with an edge longer than the legal limit of 15cm it would then need to be licensed because it was then no longer a sushi knife. As I have never seen a sushi knife with a mekugi-ana, I would tend to think there must be some truth to this. It makes one wonder though about some of the blades made for shrines with no mekugi-ana.....

 

As is the case in much of Japan, interpretation of the law is always dependent on who you talk to. I have a yari with a blade length of less than 15.5cm and it has a torokusho. I asked at shinsa why it needed one and everyone there from the Bunkacho rep, to the shinsa'in, to the police rep said because it had a mekugi-ana....

 

In any case, I think the important point is that katana seem to be defined to have mekugi-ana while regular cutlery does not have this feature.

 

Not directly related, but interesting is that relatively recently the JuToHo was amended after a few murders, one using a firearm and one using a dagger (double edged blade). Now, double edged dagger like blades must be less than 5.5cm in length, instead of 15.5cm, to be legal.

 

By the way, Brian, I have seen old kama with hada and hamon....same with chisels, planes, and other edged tools.....

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Taikei Naotane is well known for having made Nata (papered by the NBTHK), and man can find large *sushi knife* like this one below

 

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Darcy have (had?) a nice sickle-like blade for sale on his website. But the use could have been related to (or more likely meant to remember an ancient) naval warfare use (IMHO).

Can't check from where I'm now.

[Jean]

http://www.nihonto.ca/takahashi-nobuhide/

 

Here it is

[IanB]

Gentlemen, Whether or not they fall under the law, I have seen one real kusarigama, in polish, with its tsuka and saya. That one is in the Watanabe Museum in Tottori. It was supposed to have been made for a member of the Ikeda family and had their kamon on the shaft and on the saya, which if I remember correctly were done in nashiji with karakusa in gold. Unlike a farmer's sickle, the blade was of diamond section and curved downwards like a bird's beak. How old it was I do not know - but late Edo or even Meiji would be my guess.

Ian Bottomley

[Eric H]

Sword for flower arrangement by Naotane

 

Eric

[J-T]

Just to contribute a photo to this old topic, this is a kusarigama that I have in Japan, probably antique. It is made of single piece of metal and has no markings on it. The weight on the end of the chain bears kanji which I'm unable to read. It's eerily small (about 20 cm long with 5 cm worn out blade, 1 meter of chain), perhaps it was meant for concealed carrying, or just made as a showpiece/replica? If anyone has come accross similar piece, please let me know.

[Bazza]

Again, just to post a photo of a kama "in action". I've had this ukiyoe for nearly 50 years, having bought it as a newbie wanting anything to do with swords - the polisher fitted the bill!! I'm sure the ukiyoe cognoscenti will know, but I believe this to be by UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI I. I did some googling once and found a hint of a legend wherein a polisher ruined the sword of a samurai and here we see said samurai taking his revenge. Note the MIE pose - the cross-eyed expression was intended to indicate intense emotion - on this topic see for example http://www.shogungallery.com/wwwboard/a ... 3/100.html

 

I mentioned this ukiyoe in the following thread, but at the time didn't have a photo available. Having found it this present thread seems just the place to post the photo:

http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... dcfab348a4

 

Best regards,

BaZZa.

[Tcat]

The above should be posted in a sticky warning against amateur/fraudulent polishers

[Bugyotsuji]

Johnny, the chain on one that I had ran from the base of the haft. I cannot see exactly how yours would work. (?)

 

Can you take a close-up of the lettering on the weight? From here the character looks like the unit of weight, ie Monme 匁　so perhaps there is a number above that?

[J-T]

Piers, I could google pictures of kusarigamas with the chain attached in end of the handle, but also in the neck of the blade. So I guess both versions existed.

 

I don't have clear close-ups now, but here's how the other side of the weight and blade look like roughly.