Reconstructing Koshirae

[raynor]

Greetings all,

 

I have a question regarding re imagining a blade's koshirae dimensions. Say you have the blade itself, the habaki, tsuba and saya, nothing else.

 

Now to find what dimensions one need for fuchi to fit the koshirae I assume the best starting point would be the koiguchi? or pherhaps the habaki?

 

For a new tsuka the nakago size, tsuba and fuchi thickness naturally has to be considered, and then kashira fitted accordingly.

 

Are there any rules of thumb to this? Mainly interested in how to determine a new fuchi's dimensions.

 

Have a great weekend!

[ROKUJURO]

Omar,

there are no simple rules of thumb. In SAMURAI times all this had to be made to fit the needs of the warrior, and the decoration had to follow the rules of court, in case he was a nobleman.

Today we can choose from so many different styles of KOSHIRAE depending on era and use. There are three basic shapes of TSUKA plus several ways to apply the SAME and ITO, and of course the sizes of FUCHI and KASHIRA will depend on hand size and shape, length, weight and balance of the blade, and more. 

If I had to have redone TSUKA, SAYA or to replace KODOGU, I would discuss that with a specialized Japanese craftsman and trust that he would know how to fit everything to the existing parts. 

[raynor]

Jean,

 

Thanks for the sound input. Naturally a real reconstruction needs to involve a trained craftsman or two, with the blade itself at the heart.

 

I am curious as to how one hypotetically could go about putting dimensions together if the whole puzzle was not present so to speak.

 

That's why I was wondering if say habaki or koiguchi could be a reference point for fuchi size, visually koiguchi makes sense since they line up in a good mount, but things are not always that easy.. wich makes it interesting.

 

A rough idea of what I at the moment plan on ending up with if I go ahead in the future would be say a black gloss saya with purple sageo, hammered iron/shakudo tsuba with a subtle plant or leaf inlay, shakudo fuchi kashira again with a subtle plant or tree motif and black same under indigo leather tsukamaki. For anything remotely flashy the menuki is probably where I will do that, if any.

[ggil]

You need to match your Fuchi to the existing saya size or actually just a hair smaller, for it to look right. If you want to keep the saya. The fuchi dictates the saya width, and the tsuka width at least.

 

after that then you are right back to Jean left off. Good luck and hope to see your results. I’m curious what the price would be?

[Ken-Hawaii]

Omar, what they are saying is related to why almost all polishes require a new habaki to fit the new shirasaya. All the pieces need to work together to hold the blade in place, & there's no easy way to guesstimate the size of the fuchi without all the pieces in place. Does your saya fit the blade & habaki perfectly? Otherwise, you might as well plan on starting from scratch.

[raynor]

Well currently I am playing with ideas. I do have a blade in very good polish, done some ~4 years ago in shirasaya. It has its original antique Kaga style copper habaki that still fit like a glove and its original saya.

 

The saya shows it is well over a century old, cracking along its seam with koiguchi missing and overall in a clear state of decay. It will have to be replaced if making a new koshirae.

 

The blade also came with a fine tsunagi so I have a decent starting point but no rush, I need to learn more before committing to the expenses involved and ending up with something tasteful.

 

I started today by measuring habaki, nakago and saya opening so I can start look for a fitting fuchi. As I understand even with measurements one is not locked to a certain number but rather have some leeway around the measurements to work with. Enjoying the process so far.

 

I read that the fuchi should line up with the habaki when blade unsheathed but that does not make sense to me as of now, my logic says as you have kindly pointed out that saya opening is a better place to start or the tsuka and I assume saya will be minuscule and weakened. Even tho for display I would want a mount made with intent in mind not just looks.

 

A rough idea of what I at the moment plan on ending up with if I go ahead in the future would be say a black gloss saya with purple sageo, hammered iron/shakudo tsuba with a subtle plant or leaf inlay, shakudo fuchi kashira again with a subtle plant or tree motif and black same under indigo leather tsukamaki. For anything remotely flashy the menuki is probably where I will do that, if any. Maybe gold.

[raynor]

Onwards to fuchi, again its hard to find very good photos in the biggest catalogue out there, Ebay.

 

Am I correct that the first example here is cast, maybe carved? I do not see any inlay marks nor on the inside marks to bump the section consisting of the branches and flowers upwards to be worked.

 

 

 

 

Then there is this piece, which I am pretty sure is inlays and carving, and appears to be of a higher quality then the former?

 

 

 

[ggil]

I would say the first is higher quality, and then defer to the experts to school us on technique!  my guess is the "soten" piece has no inlay but plate guilded (?hira zogan?).

[raynor]

Interesting. How come you think the first one is higher quality? I'm a greenhorn at this so any input is appreciated. Personally I find the first one a bit cluttery versus the Hotei one, although I enjoy it too.

 

Maybe it's the not stellar photos versus for example this better photographed one, showing among other things the blue hue of shakudo much clearer.

[Guido]

In an ideal (nihontō) world, the koshirae starts with the saya, which should be slender, and slightly egg-shaped. By “slender” I mean being as slim as possible without sacrificing its integrity; such a saya doesn’t only look elegant, but is also more difficult to make, and thus shows the skill of the sayashi.

 

The koiguchi then dictates the size of the seppa, which should be slightly larger than it, extending about 1 mm or a little more, depending on the decoration of its rim. The seppadai of the tsuba should align with the seppa. The second seppa (and usually the upper seppadai) is a tad smaller than the lower seppa, and determines the size of the fuchi.

 

The next step is tsukanari, i.e. the shape of the tsuka. The dimension at the tip is of course in accordance to the kashira, assuming that the fuchigashira are a true pair. The length might be adjusted depending on the width of the tsukaito chosen, but usually it’s the other way around. In any case, shape and length should be in harmony with the length and shape of the sword/saya. (Don't ask me to give a definite rule, it's like with porn - I can't describe it, but know it when I see it.)

 

That’s how it was done traditionally, and also nowadays if executed by a koshiraeshi who knows what he is doing. A little tweaking is possible if the tsuba has no discernible seppadai, and the fuchi is a little larger than of perfect size.

 

The role of the koshiraeshi is IMO often underestimated, producing one that “flows” with the blade isn’t an easy task by any means. But then again, I’m quite anal when it comes to koshirae (my country of birth makes it probably immensely politically incorrect, but I actually wouldn’t mind the term “koshirae-nazi”). I just hate those animé-style mountings, and colors and decorations that are non-traditional – being possible and maybe considered cool by the younger crowd isn’t something I can subscribe to, it just gives me the shudders (and I suspect sometimes even tinea or parodontitis, but I can’t prove that). But to each his own, de gustibus non est disputandum …

[raynor]

Thanks Guido, that's all very interesting, and inspiring. Completely agree on overly flashy mountings, tho I might myself at the moment be overly enamoured with the dark side as shakudo, black lacquered same, saya, even indigo or brown tsukamaki and purple sageo etc. currently seem appealing. In my head quality doesn't (shouldnt) need flashy colors, rather the opposite.

 

With risk to aggravate your health, have you seen they offer colored blades now too? How about acid etched saw toothed red blade with neon green same to proudly display.

 

What you pointed out are things I noticed with my old ailing saya, the slenderness, elegance and slight egg shape.

 

I am slightly bummed that it is falling apart, but it is preserved enough that I can ask for the woodwork to be copied if I have a new koshirae put together.

[raynor]

I'm gonna risk a bump on this since to avoid succumbing to corona induced wall crawling I have decided to go ahead on this project. Guido gave a very good description of the craftmanship I am after and I got all the pieces together sans the needed new from scratch tsuka and saya.

 

I am in no rush but seeing how shipping items to Japan is out of the question for now does anyone have some names for me stateside regarding quality work for new tsuka and saya, maybe same wrapping? I've already found someone to do the tsukamaki down the road. Looking for quality work and materials, this will not be a flashy mount but I'd want it done right, form from function and so forth.

[Dave R]

 What I have done in the past, has been to buy an old stripped tsuka core of the right size, open it up and recut the interior to fit the new nakago. Then buy in the fittings of the right size. Not perfect I know, but you do end up with something that looks OK, Funnily enough, when I have opened some of these up, I have found evidence that I was not the first to do that with them, and that it was done quite some time in the past.

 

I have also used original cores as a model or pattern when I have wanted something that I could not buy in good enough condition.... This is why I have a collection of original, but varied and sometimes poor condition tsuka. Shin Gunto are the easiest, but it works for others as well.

 

 

[nagamaki - Franco]

Brian Tschernega