question on kogai

[Bungo]

boys und girls,

I read somewhere kogai is rarer than kozuka because it's part of the " formal dressing " for sword and only when going to official visits to the higher end of society......

it's used for arranging hairdo .

The question is ....... what's the function for the split kogai ? Besides hair dressing, do they use it as chopsticks ? Hard to imagine one carry their own chopsticks at a dinner party and harder to imagine carrying one's weapons when attending one.....

 

what do you all think ?

I do use them as chopsticks just for gag.

p.s. I heard they use it to stick in their ears too.............

milt

[John A Stuart]

Milt this is what I understand and have read in various places about waribashi. It could be another one of those fantastical tales for all I know. Samurai were traditionally superstitious, and that makes sense, the kami being influential in the affairs of men and must be propitiated and omens looked for that indicate their desires. So, accordingly if something went wrong on the eve of battle it might indicate the kami's disapproval and foretell disaster. This could be as simple as your hashi (faai ji) breaking on that evenings meal. So, to preclude that disastrous omen the waribashi being unbreakable were used. Now this may be fabulous like the kogai marking heads, but, that is the story. John

[Jean]

Copycat of Milt :

 

Milt has written

p.s. I heard they use it to stick in their ears too.

 

 

Copycat Eager B has written

That is why were created wari bashi - because we have two ears

[remzy]

 

Great story John, most likely accurate too!