Tosogu Themes?

[Taz575]

I have a tanto (showa production, not super old, but with nice activity) that I am getting ready to send out for a polish.  I am debating the mounts for it currently.  I am wavering between Aikuichi style (ray skin, no ito) with a lacquered saya and a regular style with all of the fittings.  I have a nice little tsuba I picked up a while ago with a straw broom and inlaid straw needles on it that would fit very nicely size wise (it will need some filing on the nakago ana to make the nakago fit since it is fairly wide).  What other fittings would go well with the Straw Broom theme??

 

If I do aikuchi style, I have some nice stabilized woods and M3 composite material and I was wondering if anyone ever did fittings from this or would they need to be metal fittings for strength?  I see buffalo horn used often, but I wasn't sure about other materials.  That would be a nice way to go and to use up some of my left over materials.  I also have some nice, thin pieces of Curly Koa and Curly Maple that are stabilized that may make a nice saya; maybe even have one of the saya made where the inside can slide out for cleaning from Honoki and the outside can be the stabilized woods? 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Tim,

2 things to keep in mind.  The saya of hardwood with a honoki inner sleeve is fine but if you go with a saya that isn't honoki be sure to check the acid content of the wood.  Wouldn't want the saya to corrode the blade.

Nothing wrong with you plan but you should realize that when the time comes to sell this tanto (and the time will come) you will be lucky to get back half what you spend on the koshirae.  Collectors want traditional Japanese, not what some westerner put together in 2016.

Cheers,  Grey

[Taz575]

Yeah, I am not sure of the acid content of stabilized wood like Curly Koa and Curly Maple?  Its wood that has been dried below 10% moisture content and then put into a vacuum/pressure chamber so epoxy resin is absorbed into the pores of the wood to make it more stable.  I am leary of the acid content of that and also that moisture doesn't typically get absorbed by stabilized wood, so it may promote the rusting, even with the honoki inner core.  It was stabilized years ago, but I am not sure of any out gassing over time, too?   

 

Not looking to do super expensive with the koshirae; even modern reproductions are fine.  The blade isn't that old and I got it for cheap.  I figure the Aikuchi would be the least expensive style since there is no ito maki, no tsuba, etc. and was looking at the simple buffalo horn fuchi/kashira and a small menuki on each side, dark blue lacquered saya.  I have an extra tsuba already (bought for the first wak, but was WAY too small!), but had no clue what went with pine straw as a fitting theme if I went the full mount route. 

[Tanto54]

Dear Tim,

 

In Japanese art, a broom and pine needles often allude to Takasago and represent longevity.  Jo and Uba are an old wrinkled spirit couple who sweep up the pine needles under the famous pine that is depicted in many Japanese stories and plays.  They are sometimes shown together (an old man and old woman) - Uba with a broom and Jo with a rake; however, they are often represented merely by their implements.  So in tosogu, you might see one menuki of a rake along with the other menuki of a broom, or a fuchi with a broom leaning against a pine tree and the kashira showing a rake.  This is a common motif that samurai would have been very familiar with and is often used on presents (kimono, swords, etc.) to wish the receiver a long life.

 

(Kanzan and Jittoku are also a possibility, and in that case, the broom would be coupled with a scroll; however, the pine needles that you mentioned point towards Takasago).  

[Taz575]

Ah, ok, thanks!!  Where can I learn more about these types of themes/reasonings/explanation behind them?  Would a book about koshirae have them or is it more folklore books I should be looking at?

[Brian]

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/19239-interesting-pdf-articles-and-links/

 

Look at the very first link. Download links on the right.

Then get Markus' book Legends and Stories Around the Japanese Sword too.

[Taz575]

Just finished the download!  Wow, 730 pages, I know what I will be reading for the next few days!  I read thru several of Markus' stories he printed online from his books; next purchase are the 2 volumes in e book!