Clan Crest Iron Kashira - Good or Nay?

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

So, looking about for a not-to-expensive vintage set of fuchi kashira, with simple, abstract designs (no people, animals, plants) for a Showato blade. I came across this, with a certain clan mon that may fit the bill. 

But I'm a novice here. I don't want to buy something new or repro, or otherwise low-quality garbage. What say ye?

 

[b.hennick]

Does it have a matching fuchi? I must have done this in my sleep. Error corrected!

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

37 minutes ago, b.hennick said:

Does it have a matching kashira?

I'm confused. Is this not a kashira? The "head" of the tsuka?

[ChrisW]

Fuchi = tsuka collar/ piece closest to tsuba.  Kashira = endcap.

Yes, he meant fuchi.

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

There is a matching fuchi, but I'm hoping the images here will be enough for a good/bad evaluation. 

[ChrisW]

It would be ideal to show both as it is akin to only giving half the picture. A lot of quality can be gleaned from seeing how they look as a set.

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

Thanks Chris. Fuchi images.

 

[ChrisW]

It looks like its certainly taken a beating. The kashira is a bit warped. Looks late Edo. As for quality... its about average to lower end. The mon looks off-center.

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

Yeah, I think I'll probably give it a pass. Just having a hard time finding the sort of abstract design I'm looking for, but I should probably just be patient. 

[ChrisW]

Make a thread in the sales section requesting exactly what you want. You might be surprised, I bet a few here have what you might be after.

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

4 hours ago, ChrisW said:

Make a thread in the sales section requesting exactly what you want. You might be surprised, I bet a few here have what you might be after.

I might give it a try in a bit.

In the meantime, a question or two. 

The nearly exact type of fuchi kashira set I'm looking for is the type pictured below. With the rounded shape, the rudimentary flowers, and especially the winding S-curve, this design is a near dead-match with the tsuba I'm looking to use. 

The set below, however, is a modern copy of an old Higo design. The modern copy is by "Hyper-Cafe", a Japanese company that makes repro fittings. 

How common is this design in the wilds of Nihonto World?

Assuming I'm not able to locate an original antique of this design, would using a modern copy be acceptable? Keeping in mind here, the blade is a pre-war Showato, not a true antique.

And if so, what about this company, Hyper-Cafe? From the looks of it, their products are praised by those who are enthusiasts of modern swords, but their work appears to be in bronze, not copper or iron. They look decent quality, but I am not a qualified judge of such things, and I'd feel better if the metal was more traditionally typical. Any opinions? 

 

[Yasaka Azuma]

There seems to be no answer, so I will send you information as simply as I know. The combination of fuchi and kashira with this characteristic is also found in koshirae in Owari, Sendai, and Shonai.
Needless to say, Higo is famous. Higo koshirae has two codes and does not use shitodome metal fittings. fuchi is easily big enough for an kashira to fit inside.
As a practical matter, the metal fittings of the Edo period do not match the wide new Japanese sword due to the size. The use of modern metal fittings is unavoidable as long as the Higo code is satisfied.

 

 

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

Thank you Yakozen, this is very helpful and informative!

Do I understand you correctly?  That in this case, because of the Showato blade, using a modern set of fuchi-kashira may not only be acceptable, but actually necessary because the Edo parts won't fit properly?

If this is true, it will make my search simpler. 

[Yasaka Azuma]

That's exactly what I'm trying to say with my poor English. Many enthusiasts in Japan hope to make higo-koshirae in the era of Hosokawa Hou.
However, the more I collect and study materials about higo-koshirae in advance, the more I realize that the blade of higo-koshirae used by the guards of Hosokawa Hou, and the modern Japanese sword are different. I used to do that too.

[Professor Zhirinovsky]

Your English is very good, I just want to be sure I haven't misunderstood. I am very new to this, so please forgive my asking questions that seem very obvious. 

Also, thank you for this last graphic, comparing sori, and the lines of the top and bottom of the tsuka. I'll be considering this for a bit.

[1kinko]

YAS.A-

fmyi- do you know if there is any other kosherae where the shitodome is absent from the kashira?