Telling the age of Menuki

[Akitombo]

Hi,

Can anybody direct me to either a publication or with this forum, on the dating of menuki by looking at the back of them.

Most books on fittings show the front, but it seems to be the "bit behind" that can give more clues to its age and school.

Cheers Guys

David

[Pete Klein]

Hi David -- This is a great question with no good answer due to the fact that there is practically nothing written in English (and little in Japanese from my understanding) on this topic or menuki in general. What I can offer are the articles written by Thomas Buttweiler in 'Bushido' magazine, vol. one, number one and two on Ezo menuki/fittings, and the 'Northern California Japanese Sword Club Token Taikai Lectures' book from 1976. Menuki are a great field of study but they are best observed in hand with a magnifier to see the subtleties in execution. I believe http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com has a good page on menuki with pictures front and back to help.

 

PS: these come available on Ebay now and then so patience may be warranted. I looked around and there is only one copy of the Taikai available on-line and the price is a bit steep. You could ask Robert Benson if individual copies are available at the http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com site.

 

PPS: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/kodogu.htm

[Brian]

Thanks Pete. Edited the Bushido links to correct them. Can't find the menuki article that used to be there, perhaps someone has an updated link or has backed up the article?

Here is a short previous discussion: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=844

 

Brian

[Pete Klein]

DOH! Thanks for the correction Brian.