Carving style

[Veli]

Dear friends,

 

I recently acquired a katana (o-suriage tachi) in koshirae. The fuchikashira carving resembled the guribori style, but the metal was homogeneous shakudo, i.e. not layered. The fuchi was signed "Takahashi Masatsugu (Kao). I wonder what I should call this carving style, and whether it is a copy or just an "affordable" version of the famous guribori method by the same artist.

 

The workmanship looks decent and the signature skillfully carved, but I lack both expertise and tosogu references to evaluate whether it is original... In any case the fuchikashira had very little to do with my decision to acquire the sword in question, apart from that it did not seem clumsy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BR, Veli

[John A Stuart]

Hi Veli, Of the examples in the Kinko Meikan there are subtle differences in the signature that would make me want an expert appraisal done if it matters to you. I would call this takanikubori and it is competant and looks good. John

[Veli]

John,

 

Thank You for the clarification of the term. "High relief carving" sounds the right word. Can you say whether this wide, deep carving pattern with curve-based geometry emerged via the invention of the guribori/mokumegane method, or was it used in sword furniture already earlier in the history?

 

 

BR, Veli

[John A Stuart]

While the carving technique is similar I don't know which came first or if they were concurrent styles. John

[drbvac]

Veli:

Well I certainly like what your new purchase is wearing !! Very nice indeed and if that is any indication, any chance you have any pics of whats under the koshirae? Must be a pretty nice blade if you didnt really care about the fittings :lol:

[Stephen]

we had a big thread about this motif...where's our house detective when we need him....Moriyama sama?!?

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Veli

 

I think this is a very decent set and shouldn't at all be considered less than patterned mokume guri bori. In fact the material cost of solid shakudo set would actually would have cost more than the usual copper/shakudo mix.

 

The mei is so confidently and elegantly cut as to completely convince me of it's authenticity any question of it not being "right" seems unnecessary.

 

As to what to call this technique, I would not describe this as takaniku-bori. Sorry John ....Takaniku-bori is the inlaying of a raised motif that is then further carved. In this case the design/pattern is incised, ie: cut into the ground. I've not been able to find the original kanji for guri but there are associations with a curving movement/pattern and the sound of this word. Bori is hori, to carve. I'd suggest the term guri-bori therefore refers to the technique of producing these sorts of incised curvilinear patterns, the layering itself is not specifically implied by this term alone. Where we see distinct layers we tend to add the qualification mokume.

 

This is just my understanding of this technique at the moment and may be revised as new clues come to light :D .

 

There's some interesting info here, on this mokume artisan's site.

 

regards,

 

Ford

 

p.s. edited toadd;

 

This kanji for Guribori 屈輪彫 would seem to support my conception of the meaning; ie to do with the curvilinear pattern etc.

 

p.p.s

Just found this here;

"屈輪 also written 呉利, and pronounced guri, gori, or gurin. A design of stylised bracken-leaf shapes forming repeated curved lines, or a continuous spiral. The pattern was rought to Japan from China with Zen Buddhism and was used on Zen style architecture *zenshuuyou 禅宗様, and smaller items like incense cases *kougou 香合, and trays bon 盆. The pattern was carved into red lacquer tsuishu 堆朱 and black lacquer tsuikoku 堆黒."

 

So it does seem the term "Guri-bori" refers to the pattern and not specifically to the layering of different metals.

　

[Veli]

Stephen, are you referring to this one:

 

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2164?

 

Brian, I'll be happy to post some pictures of the blade. I still need to have a photography session with the new blade (during next weekend I hope...) I am a man with limited financial resources, so please do not expect too much. The blade is slightly tired, but wears its great age graciously. It has strong characteristics, so I hope it will arouse some interesting and educational discussion. But that will be in another topic!

 

Ford, thank You very much for the information. That was surprising: I have done myself some diffusion bonding of silver with modern vacuum tools, and that was a headache. I thought the process of layer-welding would have been very difficult and consequently very costly, but maybe labor was cheap in respect to raw materials back then? And yes, the mei is a piece of art in its own right...

 

BR, Veli

[Stephen]

Yes sir thats the one...very intersting thread, as is this.

[John A Stuart]

Hi Ford, I believe guribori refers only to the multi-layered carving showing differently coloured strata. Without the layers it isn't guri. You're right that takanikubori doesn't define it properly. Maybe hukabukaburi 深深彫 deeply carved would describe it better. Maybe someone has heard an accepted term. Morita, Moriyama sama? John

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John,

 

I believe this description of what guri is makes things clear. The addition of bori ( hori) lit; to carve, completes the explanation....for me at least in metal working parlance.

 

"屈輪 also written 呉利, and pronounced guri, gori, or gurin. A design of stylised bracken-leaf shapes forming repeated curved lines, or a continuous spiral. The pattern was brought to Japan from China with Zen Buddhism and was used on Zen style architecture *zenshuuyou 禅宗様, and smaller items like incense cases *kougou 香合, and trays bon 盆. The pattern was carved into red lacquer tsuishu 堆朱 and black lacquer tsuikoku 堆黒."

[John A Stuart]

OK, I can see that. 屈輪 meaning bent wheel (kutsurin?), that makes sense, but, 呉利 guri means 'doing something for profit'. The first character 呉 doesn't read in Chinese. Good a name as any I suppose. John

[docliss]

While readily acknowledging Ford’s expertise in matters relating to tosogu, I must admit to my surprise upon reading his appreciative comments regarding Veli’s fuchi-gashira, which I would personally describe as ‘poor man’s guri-bori’. Without the exposed, contrasting strata of soft metal alloy, which is an essential component of such work, this incision of curvilinear patterns – while skilfully done – is, on its own, a sterile exercise.

 

Interestingly, the carving technique of Veli’s tsuba is quite different from that of true guri-bori work. The walls of the former are rounded, while those of the latter are V-shaped in order to display strata of colour of a consistent thickness.

 

Finally, while agreeing with Ford that the mei appears ‘confidently and elegantly cut’, I remain a little unhappy about both it and the kao, and believe that Veli’s tsuba might well get a ‘thumbs down’ if submitted for shinsa.

 

John L.

[Ford Hallam]

Hello John

 

I recognise your point about this present example not being typical of so called "guri-bori" work but I think it would be a mistake to judge a piece by our contemporary standards (as collectors and classifiers) . I can see no real reason to suggest this set is in any way inferior the the more typical works either in terms of technique or aesthetic.

 

As you point out, the actual carving is round bottomed ( like some girls I know ) whereas classic mokume guri bori has a sharply defined "v" shaped groove to better define the layers but this merely seems like an aesthetic choice to my eyes.

 

As I've argued, the term "guri-bori" may refer only to the curvilinear pattern itself and we know that the inspiration for this style was Sung Dynasty lacquer ware. One of the distinct styles within the Chinese works is in fact a solid black lacquer carved in this way. One might even suggest that rather than being a lesser version this, plain black, example might have been worn by someone wanting to demonstrate a degree of educated culture and a willingness to go beyond the more obvious fashion of the day.

 

Here's a fine example of the sort of Chinese lacquer I've referred to.

[docliss]

Ford, thank you for your, as always, interesting post. Correct me if I am in error, but I have always imagined the soldering of matching layers of contrastingly coloured, soft metal alloy as utilised in the creation of true guri-bori – especially when applied to kashira – to be one of the pinnacles of technical achievement by Japanese metalworkers.

 

John L.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John

 

The different metals are actually fused together and not soldered so it's even more of a technical achievement than soldering so certainly quite remarkable for the time.

 

What I find more impressive is the very precise cutting of the curving V grooves. Total control of width and depth and all within the context of very complex and symmetrical patterns . and of course the whole effect of the classic layered look is utterly dependant on this precision.

[docliss]

Ford, youi state that the metal strata in guri-bori work are 'fused together', and I understand that to mean that they are patially melted so that the metals run into oneanother. BUt how on earth is that achieved without distorting the symmetry of the layers?

 

John L.

[Veli]

First of all, thanks to you all for this enlightening discussion! Once more I have learned a lot by simply asking a question in this excellent forum

 

I hope Ford shares his deeper, practical and theoretical knowledge with us, but while waiting for that I'll try to explain some basics of the process (what I think it is), since I have actually done that during my engineering career.

 

There is a metallurgical process called diffusion welding. If we press a stack of conformal, preferably planar, metal sheets together with a very high force, and simultaneously heat the stack close to, but not quite at the melting temperature, the metal atoms start to diffuse across the interface of the sheets without actual melting of the metals. This produces a very high-quality joint between the said metals, provided they are unoxidized, untarnished, under uniform pressure, and the surfaces are very smooth.

 

What I do admire deeply, is the fact that the 17th century artists did this without modern tools and equipment, like accurately machined pressing tools, vacuum ovens (in vacuum one does not need to worry about surface oxidation), temperature sensors...

 

BR, Veli