Kodogu for the fairer sex....traditional or electroplating?

[kaigunair]

Just purchased this one. I liked it based on the sakura theme and the fact that it looks like kin zogan work identical to that used for kodogu/tosogu. This is an obidome, or a small decoration used in the wearing of kimono by women.....goes on a rope that would be front and center of the ribbon/bow of the kimono.

 

Hoping my little one will appreciate it someday. I'm wondering if I was off on the technique used to inlay the sakura and this is some modern electro plating....? The loss on the sakura makes me suspect this is maybe not inlay work.

 

Thanks in advance!

[watsonmil]

Dear Junichi,

Although it would be better to form an opinion with it in hand rather than making a judgement from photographs. I would say this is plating rather than inlay.

It is never the less quite attractive.

... Ron Watson

[runagmc]

The vines look like nunome zogan to me ( I think I even see some cross hatching that wasn't totally erased by the ground texturing)... which if that's the case, it would make sense that the flowers were inlayed too.

[Ford Hallam]

This is a pretty nice example of Kyoto nunome-zogan made probably in the Showa period. Records from the Meiji period indicate that Higo workers migrated to Kyoto for work and provided the skill base for the famous nunome zogan export wares. Companies like Komai, Inoue, Otsuno and others all produced remarkable nunome zogan work in Kyoto.

 

This obidome was made for the domestic market and I'd suggest Showa period because it was about that time that metalworkers in Tokyo came up with the notion of wearing these little brooches on Obi as something of a fashion statement. The fad was enthusiastically taken up by the 'so called' Mitsukoshi wives, fashion conscious ladies married to wealthy businessmen.

 

One interesting story about the origin of obidome is that in the Edo period a young Geisha might use a piece of tosogu belonging to her lover as a decoration on her obi to signal her devotion. After the ban on wearing swords metal artists adopted the idea as a way of creating work for themselves.

[kaigunair]

Thanks all for the input! Was definitely struggling to figure out how to tell zogan from electroplate so I'm glad to be in good company. Nice to know that its zogan work!

 

This obidome was made for the domestic market and I'd suggest Showa period because it was about that time that metalworkers in Tokyo came up with the notion of wearing these little brooches on Obi as something of a fashion statement. The fad was enthusiastically taken up by the 'so called' Mitsukoshi wives, fashion conscious ladies married to wealthy businessmen.

 

Wow, like nordstrom/bloomingdale wives. Google search came up lots of stories about what happened to many wanna-be Mitsukoshi wives during the bust of the 90's. Very sad.

 

One interesting story about the origin of obidome is that in the Edo period a young Geisha might use a piece of tosogu belonging to her lover as a decoration on her obi to signal her devotion. After the ban on wearing swords metal artists adopted the idea as a way of creating work for themselves.

Hmmm...well now, if I see my little one wearing any other obidomi than what I pick up for her, that boy better high tail it before I go nihonto on him! Not as bad as that whole colored wrist band issue in the schools a few years back, but mark me as an uber conservative when it comes to my daughter!

[runagmc]

Ford , something that I have wondered in the past, and that came to mind as I was writing my post earlier... is it incorrect to call nunome zogan "inlay"?

[Kevin Adams]

As the technique involves cutting a number of very fine channels into the ground and working the wire/sheet down into those channels, I think it can be safely be called inlay. Although it DOES seem counterintuitive, doesn't it?

[runagmc]

My thoughts exactly, which is why I was wondering what the accepted terminology was. I guess we'll go with inlay unless someone informs us it should be something else... Thanks