mirror

[John A Stuart]

Hi All, I am coming to have a Momoyama period bronze mirror. I know in museums they are not touched, and the conservators abhor any restoration, but, could the mirror surface be restored to function without destroying the integrity of the piece? It seems to me that these mirrors are rarely displayed showing the plain side so what harm? John

[Bugyotsuji]

A very good question there, John, and I wish I knew enough to answer you. I bought one in London a couple of weeks ago and someone had polished the mirror surface to some degree. It looked far better than most of the untidy streaky surfaces one usually sees at antique markets in Japan. UK ignorance is bliss? Later at Sandown Park I saw another two which had been polished in the same way, down to the pink surface.

 

I heard that they used to be rubbed with mercury to get a proper reflective surface, but have no idea how much truth there is in that. Mirrors were objects of reverence and superstition, and very few people would ever leave a mirror facing upwards, even today.

 

Do you know when they stopped making round ones and started making rectangular ones? Beginning of Meiji?

 

I also have a small round bronze mirror with a Mei from around 1275 which was subsequently made into a Maedate. The swastika on it suggests it was used for Hachisuka armour/armor.

[remzy]

I also have one of these but mine isnt very outstanding, so i decided to polish the mirrored surface, it help but without some tin or silver... this thing doesnt reflect much

 

btw, if you really want to invest in restoring your antique mirror, run a search for "resilvering antique mirror" in google to find someone that could do this for you, apparently thats not somthing that you can do yourself.

[John A Stuart]

Thanks Guys, Not something I will do willy nilly, but may leave it alone as the display is the patterned side anyhow. John

[Brian]

I'm also interested in picking up a kagami or 2 when I am in Japan, especially with the link to the kagamishi tsuba, and Japanese metalwork in general. Are they common in antiques shops? I understand many later copies/repros were made, and it can be hard to differentiate.

My understanding (and I have very little knowledge on them) is that they weren't coated with anything at all. It was purely the high polish gloss finish that gave the reflection. I would be very wary indeed of restoring them in any way unless you know a Japanese metalworker. I don't think there was any silvering done.

Here is a hint that with the correct polish, they have sufficient reflection: (any corrections welcome)

http://www.kagutou.com/2007/11/te-kagam ... irror.html

I'll be keeping my eyes open for any nice examples in Tokyo.

 

Brian

[John A Stuart]

That was my understanding as well. The kagamishi connection to tsuba was my attraction as well, but nicely patinated bronze with character is always a good bet. They do not seem too outrageously priced yet either. John

[Bugyotsuji]

That's a good link, Brian.

 

Here is a shot of the little one with the added tang behind for slipping into the Maedate receptacle. No female receptacle on this helmet, just a prong, so I whipped up a copper one for the photo. No idea on how 'genuine' this mirror is. Something for a rainy day. I wonder if anyone does paperwork for mirrors???

[John A Stuart]

I thought you all might be interested in a pic of the mirror and some info about it. It is not old as these things go, Momoyama period. It has a theme of kiku (mum), (chased after casting), tsuru (crane), inaho (rice) and ducks (romanji?) in pairs except the rice heads. What sold me was the central kame (turtle). Signed Tenka Ichi. This is a standard inscription meaning 'First Under Heaven'. John

[Bugyotsuji]

Can't see the signature, but what an interesting mirror, quite unlike anything I have seen in antique markets. The central turtle is where the string was threaded on those very old mirrors found in tombs back when Wa was bringing over valuable stuff from China. (Before they had handles.) It would be interesting to hear an expert's explanation of mirror history.

[John A Stuart]

Hi Piers, The inscription is beside the ducks. The image contains elements that evoke fecundity, fertility and longevity. May have been cast for the emerging merchant/farmer class around Kyoto during the Sengokujidai. John

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Piers, The inscription is beside the ducks. The image contains elements that evoke fecundity, fertility and longevity. May have been cast for the emerging merchant/farmer class around Kyoto during the Sengokujidai. John

 

Ah, now I see the cartouche. I was thinking that was a mask... nuts. Thanks for the background info. Good stuff!

[John A Stuart]

Further to this mirror thread. I just received another kagami. This one is only around early Meiji period. This meant that the silvered surface was in pretty good shape. I decided that I could remove the foxing if I used a non-abrasive polish. I used PEEK and the result was a fully functional mirror with small spots left where age had caused some irreparable damage. Only the reflective part was polished. It also carries on a very similar theme as the Momyama period kagami although it has a become a hand mirror that would be found on a table. An interesting feature is the mei (cast) that reads Tsuda Satsuma no Kami Fujiwara Iesato. Almost sounds like a sword smith. John

[Bugyotsuji]

Visiting a local archaeology museum the other day I was surprised to see a brightly-shining mirror prominently displayed in a glass case. It was surrounded by very old mirrors and I thought of you, John. Close examination revealed that they had actually created a bronze mirror especially for the display and had polished it to show how it would have fuctioned new. It didn't seem to have anything coating the surface, just a bright orange-reddish reflection in which I could see my familiar handsome face fairly well.

 

Incidentally, the small mirror (later adapted to be a Maedate) which I posted above was made by "Tsuda Satsuma no Kami Fujiwara Ieshige" and I found some material on the internet referring to a larger mirror made by this person in Kamakura in Einin 3 nen, (1295). This was certainly a line of mirror makers, rather like the swordsmiths, as you say.

 

PS An antique dealer told me last month that the length of the the mirror handles gives an indication as to age, but I can't remember which way round he said. The longer, the... (?)

 

PPS In your first post you ask what harm in polishing a mirror? I have noticed that J people are very particular to place mirrors facing down. Further, I have been told that the mirror is one of the oldest sacred objects in Japan, possibly even ranking with the sword in status and mystery. Even today I sense many Japanese people have a strongly susperstitious reluctance towards them.

[John A Stuart]

Good info Piers. I suspect they would be strongly superstitious of mine. When I look in it I see a very horrible Oni staring back. John

[Stephen]

Through the mist and fog of great antiquity, there remain the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, which are still held in reverence by the people: the Scared Mirror, the Comma Shaped Beads, and the Sword.

from The Samurai Sword. by J Yumoto.

 

understand the Sword and Scared Mirror. what is it behind the Comma Shaped Beads? If one puts two together you get one O or the circle of life, the yin yang aspect?

[John A Stuart]

Hi Stephen, A wiki of magatama. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magatama John

[kusunokimasahige]

Just wondering what the Holy mirror would have looked like which Amaterasu omikami owned...

 

KM

[John A Stuart]

Hi Henk-Jan, The mirror is mythological and the one in the Imperial Regalia is not seen except by a very select few. I do not know who may have actually made it. It is a white copper mirror called the Eight Handed Mirror (Yata no kagami). Omoikane no Kami made it as well as the Yasakani no magatama to seduce Amaterasu Omikami from her cave to bring back light to the world. There were other inducements as well, especially the dance by Ame no Uzume (I would have loved to see it, very earthy times). There is a famous tryptych of it, but, this is an artists view. John

 

BTW, the mirror is kept at the Ise shrine.

[John A Stuart]

I found this.

[kusunokimasahige]

Wow interesting photos!

 

I always presumed the sword to be an early type of tachi, the mirror made out of bronze and the jewel to be not made of Jade.. (tf these are in fact the regalia 三種の神器, Sanshu no Jingi / mikusa no kandakara)

 

i know the tachi was supposed to have been lost in the battle of dan no ura and presumably was replaced by the replica or the grass cutting sword..

 

very intrigueing indeed!!

 

KM

[Nobody]

Wow interesting photos!

 

I always presumed the sword to be an early type of tachi, the mirror made out of bronze and the jewel to be not made of Jade.. (tf these are in fact the regalia 三種の神器, Sanshu no Jingi / mikusa no kandakara)

 

i know the tachi was supposed to have been lost in the battle of dan no ura and presumably was replaced by the replica or the grass cutting sword..

The images in the picture are based on mere supposition. There is no image published and no one knows their exact images, even if some of them might still exist.