Tosogu with samurai women / strong women motif

[Tigerinbamboo]

Looking for tosogu with motif of samurai women, including Empress Jingu, Tomoe Gozen, Hangaku Gozen, the strong woman Oiko who stops runaway horses with her geta. Also portrayals of Amaterasu, Benzaiten, Kannon.

 

Also, women who are mythical, literary, magical and bad girls.

 

Kathleen D.

[vajo]

Hi Kathleen, i have this Kanesada Tsuba showing the poetess Ono no Komachi (834-900) who studies a Chinese landscape. Unfortunately it is mounted on a koshirae for a Kanesada sword .

 

[Stephen]

Best i can do is tell you about a ex-wife or two.

[Tigerinbamboo]

Vajo, that's a lovely tsuba, very contemplative. What signified the watcher as Ono No Kamachi?

 

Stephen, if you have a tsuba with your ex-wife on it, I definitely want to see that ????.

 

Here are some recent examples I've found:

 

Fuchi and Kashira on a tsuka showing Bezaiten presenting a magic bow and arrows to Minomoto Yorimitsu, then an amazing tsuba with the same theme:

[Tigerinbamboo]

Examples of Empress Jingu, with her Minister of War Takenouchi no Sukune holding her infant son Ojin (Hachiman), followed by a netsuke of Princess Wakana sitting on the magical earth spider.

[Tigerinbamboo]

Couple of tsuba showing Benzeiten, followed by one of Ono no Komachi:

[vajo]

Vajo, that's a lovely tsuba, very contemplative. What signified the watcher as Ono No Kamachi?

 

Hi Kathleen,

Yamashiro Kuni Fujiwara Kanesada often makes the theme of Ono. There exists severall Tsuba with that theme. The face and the cloth all this is Ono 

[Lance]

 

Below are a couple images of a kozuka with NTHK attribution to Kaga Goto Etsujo  depicting, Orihime  the weaver maiden working at her loom, a figure from Japan's Tanabata festival.   

 

.Tanabata  also known as the Star Festival originated in the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on 7 July of the Gregorian calendar. The celebration is held at various days between July and August.

 

Orihime (織姫 Weaving Princess), daughter of the Tentei (天帝 Sky King, or the universe itself), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川 Milky Way, literally "heavenly river"). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星 Cowman/Cowherd Star, or literally Boy Star) (also referred to as Kengyū (牽牛)) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime would no longer weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter's tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come because of the rise of the river and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet. The rain of this day is called "The tear of Orihime and Hikoboshi".

 

 

http://www.Japan-suite.com/blog/2014/7/6/tanabata-story-of-two-star-crossed-lovers

 

 

 

Regards, 

Lance

[Tigerinbamboo]

Lance, thank you for the picture and the stories. The Tanabata is a lovely festival, and there are some beautiful tosogu with that theme.

 

I'm looking for items to buy, to add to my collection. Price range of a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars.

 

Kathleen D.

[Brian]

This one is very nice indeed.
https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/eng/product_details_e.php?prod_no=TSU-1781
Amagoi Komachi.

[Tigerinbamboo]

Brian, that is indeed gorgeous. I'm looking at my bank balance.

Look at the tsuba.

Look at the bank balance.

Look at the tsuba.

Look at the bank balance.

Look at the tsuba...

 

Kathleen D. ????

[Tigerinbamboo]

This one is very nice indeed.

https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/eng/product_details_e.php?prod_no=TSU-1781

Amagoi Komachi.

[Tigerinbamboo]

Brian, I did manage to acquire that beauty. Please let me know when you run across another find. ????‍♀️

[Brian]

Kathleen, congrats and well done!
We will all keep a lookout for you and see if we can guide you into bankruptcy