Shikoro

[Ian]

Hello all

 

Can anyone help me out with the name for this shape of shikoro.

 

Many thanks

[IanB]

Ian, Are you referring to the shape of the edge of the plates? If so, it is usually called tsure yamamichi (see Chukokatchu Seisakuben by Sakakibara Kozan - edited by H. Russell-Robinson, 1962, Holland Press). Although not exclusively so, this kind of shaping of plate edges was very much a feature of armour made in Kaga province during the Edo period. According to the family documents of the Maeda preserved in Kanazawa, They employed Haruta armourers to turn out quite considerable quantities of armour, aided by the low ranking soldiers of the Han. It was this group who employed Unkai Mitsunao, the grandson of a Korean armourer brought over by Hideyoshi.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

Interesting as the name Unkai means "a sea of clouds", usually viewed from a hilltop over a valley filled with rolling early-morning mist or clouds. I wonder if the shape of the edging is a play on that?

[IanB]

Piers, That is interesting. The name Tsure yamamichi is supposed to mean 'mountain paths coming together'. Whether Unkai Mitsunao was the one who introduced the idea of shaping the edges of the plates I am not sure, but the Kaga group did take on several characteristics that are unusual. Apart from the plate edges they started piercing the corners of the lowest plates with inome and also used a rather unique gilded leather having the surface punched with small circles and is usually embellished with reddish painted dragons. Mitsunao himself introduced a style of hottoke dou with an asymmetric cloud-shaped overlay, often of red leather, at the waist (possibly an allusion to his name) - the plain space above this overlay being decorated with a russet iron cut-out of something like a ho-o bird, or pawlonia leaves and flowers, invariably splashed with sawari. Two other positive identifiers were that the interior of the dou was lined with an open weave cloth glued to the surface and generally gilded, although I have seen one done in red lacquer and that there is often a strong Buddhist theme. When he died, the group continued to produce similar armours that gradually became simpler. Some of the latter ones having the cloud-shape at the waist just done in reddish lacquer.

Ian Bottomley

[Ian]

Many thanks,a great help!