Charlie C

Hi Kai, As a menuki fan (I basically only collect menuki), I must say there aren't any well-written books solely on menuki. One primarily learns about menuki knowledge from books that describe the styles of different schools when they produce menuki, or in the catalogues of tosogus. Mei is not as prevalent on menuki as it is on kozuka and tsuba, although some schools prefer to add mei more frequently than others on menuki. I suggest starting with looking for as many menukis as possible before buying to gain an expectation of what is well-made and what is not. Modern replica or antique mass-produced mould pieces are not uncommon, though most of them are easy to identify. The piece you attached doesn't seem modern to me. I hope you enjoy your own menuki collecting or browsing journey! C.C.

Tadanori literally means getting a ride for free. It's actually his official rank, 'Satsuma no Kami', which became a reference for getting a ride for free. I haven't seen anyone practically use this ダジャレ in the modern world, but surely people would recognize it if they know who Tadanori is.

A quite interesting pattern - just wondering if it could be some plants threaded onto a pole for drying. The small spheres could be fruits, and cross-pieces might be barrier plates or sliced fruits. Best, C. C.

Yes, the character in the poem is 留主 and 留守 is a more frequently used version of the same word which automatically jumped out when I typed.

埋忠家寿　行年七十(七十一?)歳

Hi Steve, Nicely written, but I believe you read the caligraphy wrong. It should be 名月や　留守の人にも　丸ながら. I am also quite curious where the last name 'Fukuda' is from. It is neither her father's or her potential husband's last name.

I am more than sure that they have the same poem. Doesn't look like lacquer painting to me. The flower petals on this kozuka are quite attractive, but I'll quit if you are into it. I am happy enough with the rediscovery of my menuki now.

Hi Curran, I just found a kozuka that resembles the same motif as the ones you posted: an arrow with a 短冊. Apparently the one I attached is not in the exact same design as yours, so I presume that it was made by a different family within the Kaga Goto school. I found this to be kind of frequent that different families under Kaga tend to differ in the fine design while producing the same motif. Just to update for anyone else who is not familiar with the story, on this 短冊 writes the final poem of the poet warrior 平忠度. It roughly translates as 'After a long travel now the sun is down in the west; I rest in the shade of cherry trees, and flowers are my landlords tonight'. That's probably why there's an arrow with it as this is a warrior's story.

Just want to update this thread that I bought the Kaga Kinko Taikan and just had a quick glance at it. To my biggest surprise I found one pair of menuki I had listed in the book! This is quite not the result I expected when I decided to buy it, and it certainly cheers me a lot. This finding alone, without any other info, paid off not only the interest but also the investment in the book. Praise books!

安藤兼基鍛之 just in case you want to search in its original character

Hi, This is a very interesting post which revealed the two major philosophies regarding tosogu collection. Dan, I definitely respect your idea of sharing your experiences about how to find interesting tsuba on eBay. Apparently you have been doing well with your philosophy of buying anything available and pleasant to your taste. I personally am a practitioner of the other philosophy that other kind people posted about saving money and buying more expensive tosogu that very likely with higher qualities, but I agree with you that if you are not interested in re-selling your collection and enjoying your current practice, you should keep doing it. The ultimate goal of anyone who buys tosogu should be to please themselves, then maybe gain some economic profit in due course. I am against some opinions indicated in this post that expensive tosogus are always better than cheap ones, or cheap ones are all of poor quality; but it is true that tosogus of higher qualities are very rarely cheap. So my suggestion to new buyers is that one should probably find as many examples as possible online or in books to decide for oneself what 'good quality' means, then join the trade with cash. I believe this should be true in any collection, not just tosogu, that browsing provides more info to new buyers than buying.

野村包教 Nomura Kanenori

若州住冬廣作 jakushu ju fuyuhiro saku

則宗 Norimune indeed

I am jealous as a kaga lover. Very beautiful indeed. The menuki, though mostly covered, doesn't seem to be in line with the major Goto line. Possible waki-goto? Maybe kaga-goto considering this is a kaga koshirae.

Thanks for sharing your communication Kevin! This is apparently a very humorous, modest, and wise gentleman you have been talking to. I just wanted to add a little bit of my personal observations, which as I said may well not be correct, on one thing: although menuki as a part of koshirae did exist during the Kamakura period, their form was quite different from what we now know as menuki, which emerged around the mid-Muromachi period. While I’m not aware of any archaeological discoveries, all surviving examples of Kamakura-era menuki tend to have highly formalized geometric or simple floral designs, rather than the more expressive and aesthetic motifs seen in later periods like yours. However, from the photos I wouldn't say this is a modern cast either. Hope other people could provide a more accurate timing.

Hi Kevin, A very interesting menuki pair! I am not an expert on menuki but have a great enthusiasm for it. The filled / not hollow back, the thickness of the plate, and the smoothness of the back all made me believe that this was made rather late, not early. Lacking studs is a hallmark of early Muromachi menuki, but this pair doesn't show any other signs of being made in that time. My personal guess is after 1800. It's quite possible my opinions are not reliable and I would also love to hear from real knowledgeable people out there. Best, C. C.

Hi Dee, I would say it probably doesn't matter in this case since the flow of both pieces is in the same direction. The direction of the body, not the head, usually determines the direction of the animal pattern. Best, C. C.

Hi Steve, A nice piece! Just want to point out that the understanding and translation of the original poem are somewhat divergent from the original intention, and the explanation unfortunately mixes up Chinese and Japanese culture, even though the two have a long history of rather asymmetrical communication. The original poem was written when Du Fu visited the tomb of the de facto founding father of the Tang Dynasty while the country was in turmoil. He recalled how the great emperor unified the country without excessive war and hoped the emperor's descendants could replicate their ancestor's achievement. The poem you referred to is 風塵三尺劒，社稷一戎衣 Even though the first word 風塵 can be literally explained as wind and dust, it actually means war here as a reference to Han Shu, "邊境時有風塵之警". 三尺劒 has nothing to do with 野太刀 (again, this is a Chinese poem) but just means sword. The first emperor of the Han Dynasty stated that he "提三尺取天下", hence 三尺 became a synonym for sword and a metaphor of leading military forces on one's own. 社稷 can be understood as the world as an object, and 一戎衣 though literally means 'a set of military uniform', but actually is another reference to the first emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, who "一著戎服而滅紂". So the whole sentence could be translated as "He defeated all rebellions with his own military talent, and the whole country can be at peace with minimum disturbance". Masculinity is definitely not the main point here. 覇気? Maybe, but *minimum* of haki is desired as the rex philosophus is not expected to be a warmonger in the traditional Chinese culture. Anyway, this is NOT in keeping with the Japanese 武士道 culture. Best, C. C.

Hi Luca, I am happy to translate some episodic pieces for you - I can also preview it a little bit since I currently do not have the book. Best, C. C.

Hi @zanilu, I have added the romaji. Thanks for your interest.

Thanks Gerant - it seems I misread a book, which specifically mentioned 霞象嵌 instead of the general nanako over hira zougan. Edo kinko is still somewhat novel to me, yet.

@Mantis dude Yes probably the shinsa team is the only one to give a solid answer if they would - unfortunately I was not into tosogu when I was in Japan and now I am into it but lost my Japan cell number. Your love for mantis is outrageous!! I didn't know that kaga people also do nanako on hira-zougan. I thought that was a unique technique by the Ichijo school. Nice collection! It always cheers when seeing similar pieces on books (or better, the same pieces).

Alright, I am convinced. I'd better buy a sponge to absorb future sulfur instead.

Thanks Franco, is Brian also on this forum? I am the kind of person who would rather not call people I have never met to consult...