KjetilK Posted March 24, 2007 Report Posted March 24, 2007 Hello all. I'm just in the beginning face of collecting anything nihonto, and I have a tsuba-related question. Why is the kogai-ana and kozuka-ana of a tsuba sometimes filled/plugged with silver or gold? Is it purely decorative, or does it have some practical function? Quote
Guest Simon Rowson Posted March 24, 2007 Report Posted March 24, 2007 Hi Kjetil, One or both ana were filled with gold, shakudo, copper or lead if they were unecessary for the sword to which the tsuba was mounted (ie: it didn't have a kodzuka and/or kogai). As tsuba would often be re-mounted on other swords later, the plugging of each ana was actually done with two pieces, inserted from each side and fixed in place with pitch or resin. This made them a lot easier to remove if the tsuba was subsequently used on a sword equipped with kogai or kodzuka. All the best, Simon Quote
KjetilK Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Posted March 26, 2007 Thank you. That is probably also why some of these "plugs" have so nice decorations. Kjetil Quote
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