Wood koshirae (tsuka and saya) with metal fittings/adornments. Any special use/meaning?

[waljamada]

Came across something I personally haven't seen before.  A wood koshirae.  Wooden tsuka but with metal menuki, fuchi kashira etc.. I mean technically I suppose the only thing that makes this stand out to me is the wood tsuka with inlayed fittings.  But still, is there anything beyond aesthetics behind such a thing?  The tsuka lacking ito and grip aspects seem less functional to me.  Also does this look Edo to you?  I get a Meiji sense, but I'm very much still training my eye.

[IanB]

Adam, I too have a wakizashi that has a wood saya and tsuka with all the fittings done in staghorn. Even the habaki and seppa are of buffalo horn, the only metal being the unsigned, hirazukuri blade. The fittings represent the 7 gods of good luck, not represented as such but by their attributes - rice bale, stag's antlers, a sack, a staff weapon etc. Perhaps made for a village headman or someone similar.

Ian Bottomley 

[ROKUJURO]

Adam,

I have seen similar KOSHIRAE being called 'merchant's mounting' as opposed to BUKE KOSHIRAE, but those were mostly short ones - WAKIZASHI and TANTO, as merchants were not allowed to carry KATANA. Yours looks quite long, I feel.

[waljamada]

Ian, that sounds quite an interesting piece!  Artists using non-typical materials/styles always catch my eye.  Ivory is an example of a material i would expect to see a bit more of in Koshirae but doesn't seem used often if at all.  Perhaps too brittle.  This koshirae I posted seemed to me an earnest attempt to make an uncommon model with a higher level of artistry.  Would love to see pictures of the mounts you described!

 

Jean,

I don't own these mounts and blade but find myself tempted by it just because it has stuck with me for a while.  Always wondered if there was a story/history to these types of koshirae as I have also seen them in tanto and even shorter wakizashi but this was the first time I saw one done with some elegance at a katana length.  The blade inside is about 25.5" nagasa so it was made to be katana length.  I could easily see this being a Meiji attempt at making a beautiful version of the "merchants koshirae".  But my Edo eye isn't good enough to rule this out as Edo either.  The saya and the tsuka do have a different stain/surface design so they also may not be an original pairing.

 

I haven't decided I NEEDed it as I wanted to know of there was any kind of meaning or reason for these kinds of koshirae other than just style/price.  Also the blade for personal reasons doesn't excite me and the whole package isn't cheap.

[waljamada]

Couple closer shots of its parts and one blade pic just to make this post possibly more useful to someone down the line.

[Peter Bleed]

Adam,

I jumped on this thread to see it it might be an Ainu sword. It is not that, IMHO, but it is very nice. Good find!

Peter

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

Looks great! Do you know the smith?

[waljamada]

49 minutes ago, Infinite_Wisdumb said:

Looks great! Do you know the smith?

Infinite, description says Fujiwara Morimichi circa Kanbun 1661. 

 

Here is a pic of the Hozon paper.

[waljamada]

Peter, sorry no Ainu....just an ol kinda fancy pants merchants sword.  I believe it was one of your posts that lead me down an Ainu search many moons ago.  Thanks for that!

[SteveM]

I think the design on the fuchi/kashira is "Bukan" (Fenggan in Chinese), who was a buddhist monk that is said to have tamed tigers. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenggan

 

You probably already know the bug is a cicada. Very common in Japan, and associated with summer. 

 

For what its worth, I think the ensemble is probably Meiji, and may have been assembled to appeal to the export market. 

The sword is early Edo. The fuchi/kashira is probably Edo as well. The cicada menuki...they look a bit big and not so refined, and for this reason they feel like Meiji works. The odd buddha kojiri also feels like a Meji addition. The tsuba is maybe iron cast from a mold?