Probably One Of The Nicer Koshirae I've Had The Pleasure Of Owning

[Nickupero]

I had this really nice piece I was able to get my hands on end of last year, both the blade and Koshirae have just passed Hozon, I would like to think the Koshirae would pass Tokubetsu Hozon but didn't try. The blade Mumei O-Suriage attributed to Mihara, but the focus is not actually on the blade but more the fittings as I feel the blade is not equal in quality. What is interesting to me are a few features, the Kojiri which is extremely large and the level of detail borderline incredible, signed also with Kao. If you look carefully the beard and small details are very uniform. Something I did not notice when I bought the sword was the Kurikata, also beautiful but it was also signed which I only saw once I pulled out my zoom lens. I have not had the chance to translate any of it yet so if anyone is quick to the draw it is welcomed

Another nice touch are the Fuchi/ Kashira, I always find it interesting when the designed extends past what we are used to seeing, in this case the bell. Again interesting details as the makers work was so fine that atop the bell he was able to clearly design the 2 dragons which is ridiculously small when you have it in hand. The same thing goes for the Kashira, on the Dou of the Samurai a dragon is clearly chiseled in and so finely to. Maybe it is my taste and some of you don't see this as anything incredible, just something above average, but I enjoy it and would like to share it with members before it ends up in someones collection which at that point probably none of us will ever see. So opinions and views are welcome, if the motifs tell you something that I missed please feel free to give your views and interpretations, Tosogu is not my strongest point so these interactions with sharp eyed collectors always enjoyed. Thanks in advance for your participation.

[Gordon Sanders]

Nick... this is very beautiful.  I like it!!

[Nickupero]

some close-ups...

 

 

[Nickupero]

this picture adding thing is addictive, but needed

 

[Nickupero]

Thanks Gordon , hopefully you got to see the rest

[Greg F]

Nick if your becoming addicted to putting up pics then im happy to enable you by looking at them, very nice. One of the details that grabbed me was on the Kashira and the Tsuka on the Sword the Samurai is wearing, reminds me of a leather wrap. If I owned it I would spend many hours looking at the Saya. Cheers.

 

Greg

[Mortis]

Wow, really incredible! So much detail and it's all somewhat different too. It would be hard to ever lose interest in studying it all.

[ggil]

A lot of cultural history packed into that koshirae.  The kojiri is out of this world!   Although the blade isn't the object here, I wonder how nice it is, especially when such a nice fitting set was made for it.  It makes me think that you can't judge a book by its cover. 

[Tanto54]

Dear Nick, very interesting motif. The Kurikata depicts Moso (Ch. Meng Zong [Meng Tsung]). He was a 3rd-century Japanese/Chinese paragon of filial virtue, and is usually depicted with a hoe and bamboo in the winter time (see the snow on his hat and coat?). Moso's sick mother wanted to eat bamboo shoot soup in the middle of the winter. They usually grow in the spring, but he went looking for them anyway. Miraculously, he found fresh bamboo shoots growing under the snow and cooked his mother some bamboo shoot soup. She soon recovered from her illness. Loyalty to parents was a popular samurai motif. You should be able to identify the other characters depicted on the koshirai and then figure out the overall motif (it should be fun detective work for you...)

[Tanto54]

No detectives?  Another hint: The Bell on the Fuchi is the Bell of Miidera (sometimes Meidira) shown being carried over the waves by Oni (demon) from the Dragon King, so the Samurai on the Kashira is almost certainly Tawara Toda (Fujiwara Hidesato) (which makes the dragon on his Dou make sense...)

[Nickupero]

Thank you Greg, Justin, and Grant, even rolls nicely off the tongue in that order!

George a big thank you for your valuable input, so well explained! Seeing as nobody has chimed in yet care to take us all the way??

[Nickupero]

George are we looking at Shoki and Jurojin on the Kojiri?

Oh and the both Kojiri and kurikata are signed by Mito's Takase Eiju.

[Jimmy R]

Holy s**t

[Jimmy R]

Nick, you astound me.

[Tanto54]

Hi Nick,

 

Instead of Jurojin look at Guan Yu (sometimes Kwan Yu) and some of the stories of his life.  Guan Yu is one of the most famous Chinese generals, and he is associated with the Three Kingdom Stories.  He is usually represented on tosogu in Chinese dress with a long beard and a Chinese style halberd (guan dao or naginata).  His halberd was named Green Dragon Crescent Blade (see how the halberd on your sword has a "habaki" in the form of a dragon just like the example below?)

 

Guan Yu with Guan Dao:

 

[Guido]

George is right: depicted are the two famous generals Guān Yǔ 關羽 (Japanese: Kan-U) and Zhāng Fēi 張飛 (Japanese: Chō-Hi) from the "Records of Three Kingdoms" (Sānguó Zhì 三國志).

 

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Beautiful !!