Tsuba/Fuchi/Kashira/Menuki sets

[Torrez]

Were all sword fittings produced in the same shops after those had moved out of the bladesmith shops, i.e. were there supposed to be matching fuchi/kashira/menuki sets produced simultaneously for each tsuba?

[Ford Hallam]

No, fully matching themed sets are a relatively later fashion.

 

Some art and fashion authorities in the Edo period in fact deplored the very idea of matching or themed fittings as being unimaginative and expressive of a dull mind. 

 

One aspect of that criticism was undoubtable a political comment in that the Shogunate relied on uniformity and continuity to reinforce their authority, notably in the proscriptions surrounding swords mountings at court. In this the Goto were an essential actor.

 

The aesthetic ideal of non-matching elements is most visible in the choice of utensils used in the tea ceremony, the practice of which was the pursuit of the most cultured members of society. The spirit of the tea ceremony was one of egalitarianism, the tea house being a place where everyone was socially equal, a potentially subversive idea in a feudal society, and so, naturally, this more eclectic aesthetic can be seen as being in opposition to that of the regulated official tastes.

[Torrez]

Thank you, Ford. It makes a lot of sense!