Hello ,
One of my friends is looking for Namban Fuchi Kashira for a Katana .
Thanks by advance for any help
Friendly
Marc

I have a set; I sent you a PM.

Marc,

I know of another set. I can see if it's available. There were also Namban menuki. I will check with them and PM you.

Hello,

I don't know to what Namban Fuchi Kashira looks like.
Is it a dragon patern ?

Sorry I am curious.

Sebastien

All, I'd love to see pics of Namban fuchigashira and menuki...

Regards,
BaZZa.

I should have some pictures by the middle of next week. A friend has them and he's not available to get images of them until then.

Namban fuchi kashira are highly unusual, as are menuki. I actually saw a namban kozuka once as well, and haven't seen another since. They're not too difficult to imagine if you think of a namban tsuba in the form of fuchi and kashira.

Just to add a couple of pretty pics. I've taken a bit of a fancy to Nanban fittings thanks to DOCLISS and his publication. Attached are a couple of rescued pics from two sets that have come up on ebay over the past few months. The first set with Kozuka fetched $800 ish US, and I think the second set went for about $300 odd.

Chris O

Hi,

Now I understand what namban F/K look's like.
Thanks a lot

Sébastien

Yes, so do I. Thanks Chriso for putting these up. I have never seen Namban fuchigashira or menuki in all my years of collecting, so maybe they are thin on the ground??? Very interesting indeed.
Best regards,
BaZZa.

First for me too. thanks.
Very interesting, so much so that I have moved it from the wanted section to this section so that it remains here for the future. Would love to see more pics if anyone has any.

Brian

I am grateful to Chris for posting the images of the Namban fuchi-gashira and kozuka. There are a number of possible reasons for the extreme scarcity of these small fittings. The production of such delicate work must have been technically difficult; such small fittings do not adequately display the skill of this work; and the undercutting on these would have created a large surface area relative to their size and made them very prone to destruction by rusting. Neither is the character of fittings associated with Namban tsuba known, and these may generally have been either plain iron or low relief karakusa-and-dragon designs. The problem of the adequate display of the undercutting was sometimes resolved by backing such fittings with gold foil.

Namban menuki I have never seen, always assuming them either to have been destroyed by rust, or to have consisted of plain iron ‘washers’. PLEASE post some images of these for me.

John L.

How was these mounted? I mean; some picture of a old mounted tsuka to see if there was same or brocade or something else? Being the fuchigashira see through, lends to interesting visual effect

Dear Lorenzo, it is very difficult to be certain of the original form of Namban koshirae. Without a secure provenance there is no certainty that those in existence are ubu, and Namban koshirae were not deposited in reputable Japanese collections. However, those that I have seen have all been conventionally mounted, with same tsuka, and I see no reason to doubt that this was the norm.

Regards, John L.

Hi Docliss,
I have also never seen any Iron Namban Menuki, perhaps working iron at that size and scale was just not practicable.
Factor in sweaty palms, and iron menuki must have been a major liability.

Hirado Kunishige's style is considered a variation of the Namban theme.
This is an orphan menuki in Yamagane, 43mm, signed Hirado. N.B. The smaller image is actual life size.

Steve

Makes me think of Kunishige work