Tora Menuki ID

[sabi]

Hello all!

 

I recently picked up a single menuki for a project of mine from a member here and I was hoping to get some info on it.

 

The tora motif is a favorite of mine and finding nicely executed examples seems to be a bit of a challenge, at least for my budget! This piece is a wonderful one, IMO and I'd love to know more about its origins. The seller thought it might be Nara school and from my limited knowledge (6 months into this hobby) this certainly isn't a bad guess.

 

I know the pictures aren't the best but hopefully they can shed some light on this little girl.

 

Any input or discussion is graciously appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Evan

 

 

 

[sabi]

Bump, maybe someone who knows will see it this time around.

[Jorgensen]

It makes me think of Mito school, but I am not sure quality of workmanship is good enough for that... others here are much more knowledgeable than me and maybe can tell...

[sabi]

It makes me think of Mito school, but I am not sure quality of workmanship is good enough for that... others here are much more knowledgeable than me and maybe can tell...

 

Thanks for your reply!

 

Certainly not a bad guess, there as definitely some similarities there.

 

As far as the workmanship is concerned, I know its not a masterpiece but I think it's very well executed. The flow of the bamboo over the tiger is nice and elegant and I quite enjoy the overall posture and style of the cat. It has that distinctively Japanese look that I love.

 

I'm guessing this would be late Edo, but again I don't know quite enough about menuki yet to be sure.

[Bazza]

Unless I'm going off my head this menuki portrays a leopard, not a tiger?????

 

BaZZa.

[sabi]

Unless I'm going off my head this menuki portrays a leopard, not a tiger?????

 

BaZZa.

 

From what I understand, spots were used to designate a female tiger and males were given stripes.

 

Could be wrong, but that's what I've read. Wish I could remember where so I could provide a link!

 

Edit: found the thread...

 

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17552&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

[Bazza]

Evan,

 

Thanks very much for the definitive link with Oracle Darcy's concluding post beautiful menuki. I have no idea where I read the leopard connection, but I'm certainly glad to have that little misunderstanding cleared up. I'll go back to that thread and "catch up" on The Rule of Thirds.

 

Best regards

BaZZa.

[sabi]

Evan,

 

Thanks very much for the definitive link with Oracle Darcy's concluding post beautiful menuki. I have no idea where I read the leopard connection, but I'm certainly glad to have that little misunderstanding cleared up. I'll go back to that thread and "catch up" on The Rule of Thirds.

 

Best regards

BaZZa.

 

I had no idea about the stripes/spots thing either until I found that thread.

 

Glad to link that and I'm happy it helped. The set that Darcy posted is my favorite pair of menuki, they're stunning in every way.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Tiger? Leopard? There is a possibility this still could still be a leopard. Short tail, pointy ears, and compact body in pouncing position has me favoring leopard at this point. Mito is not a bad guess.

[sabi]

Figured I'd update this for kicks. This is what I eventually did with this piece, and it was my original intention when I bought it. Knife and sheath by Stuart Branson. Sheath is lined with deerskin to be as gentle as possible on the ito and menuki.

 

 

 

[Brian]

Nah....

The spots on the tiger/leopard definitely called more for hitatsura with lots of tobiyaki.

Kidding! Very nicely done mix of East and West. You managed to get a nice hamon on that...I assume Western steel? Well done Evan.

 

Brian

[sabi]

Haha! Still have no idea on the leopard/tiger debate, nor the school bit it doesn't really matter. Nice little menuki.

 

The steel is W2, very high performing tool steel that is known to produce wonderful hamons when forged and heat treated properly. The pics aren't the best, its a bit more defined in real life. This piece also has an iori mune.

 

This is about as traditional as you can go while still having a functional EDC knife. I've had a full on nihonto style ko-tanto commissioned and the thickness of the whole package along with the wooden says make it a tough carry.

 

The leather sheath slims down the package considerably but still provides a nice canvas for some creative embellishment.

[cabowen]

He didn't make it, Stuart Branson did....

[sabi]

He didn't make it, Stuart Branson did....

Yeah I wasn't sure if he was thinking I made it or just nicely done on the project as a whole lol.

 

I love Stuarts work and he was on the short list of people who I knew could do this menuki justice. I certainly wouldnt have sent it to just anybody.

[bubba-san]

Nice blade . The menuki fits right in ... I love using W-2 water Quenching steel mostly. It does produce a great hamon. It is usually low in Manganese as is some 1075 .

 

I also make blades (modern) using antique parts menuki, tsuba, and occasionally a saya that fits. here are a couple with old hardware and new blade.... James