Samurai crest menuki

[GARY WORTHAM]

Fitting never cease to amaze me in their subtle underlying tones and themes. This pair, that I have had for years, looked of a bug ???, but I felt there must be more to it. Just fell in to the discovery, that they are, indeed, mons of the samurai crest of one of 3 familys; Taira, Seki, or Ikeda II. Attached are the menuki pair; the discovered catalyst kozuka, from online browsing, and an example crest of the Samurai family design. It seems the butterfly has more than historical merit, dating back, to the early family crest, of the Taira clan.

 

As always, additional thoughts and concepts, are always welcome to broaden my knowledge and data base. Gary Wortham

 

ps: Yes, I have the rewrap of the tsuka, in the plans of the future, when finances are in line for this direction.

[IanB]

Gary, During the Edo period the Ikeda were daimyo of Tottori. Sadly their castle is now gone but the foundations remain. A few years ago a gent brought a tanto in the Royal Armouries Museum for appraisal and that was the ultimate in formal daimyo wear. Black saya with gold Ikeda kamon, unbound white same hilt with gold Ikeda kamon menuki, Goto style kozuka with the same kamon and lacquered horn fuchi / gashira. The blade was unsigned and very difficult to place, being itame hada and suguha - just nothing to really go on. The whole ensemble was absolutely pristine, even retaining its original silk bag.

Ian Bottomley.

[GARY WORTHAM]

Greeting to Ian;

Thanks for the additional comments and thoughts. Each of us, no matter our place. in this world of study of the Japanese swords and fittings; come across unique experiences, which others enjoy experiencing, thru the eyes of others. Your contact on this comment, caused me to look up to my book shelf; and feel proud to see the book; Arms and Armor of the Samurai; of whom the author is no other than you. Great, well written, diverse, book; educating one on all aspects of the chronological evolution of the samurai, and their weaponry. Extremely complicated endeavor of study, takes a lifetime and more; and the reason of my choice. Thanks !!!! Gary Wortham

 

So, any comments on the menuki: age, school, smith, material of composition, quality, etc.

[Soshin]

Dear Gary,

 

I don't have much information to offer except I have a katana sized tsuba with a very similar butterfly design on it as your set of menuki. The butterflies are among grass that is drawn in lines. I think my butterflies are made of copper. The butterflies are inlay-ed in high relief (taka-bori) and are some how stamped on to the surface of the iron tsuba. I don't know much about the tsuba other then it likely dates to the late Edo period. Here is a scan of the omote side of my tsuba. Hope you find my little information helpful in your research.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David S. (Soshin)

[GARY WORTHAM]

Greetings to David; Thanks for the additional input, with your tsuba, on the use of the butterfly [ mon ] motif on the various fittings. Seems a very old and popular figure; as well as held in high esteem, by the Japanese culture of the past. Gary Wortham

[Bugyotsuji]

Browsing an antiques fair in Tokyo over the weekend I came across a fairly large Ageha Cho butterfly Mon Tsuba, similar in style to the large crest in Gary's scroll above. (A friend has just bought a suit of armor/armour with the same standing butterfly silhouette, so perhaps that is why it caught my eye.) In this part of the world we differentiate between the flat open-winged Bizen-cho butterfly of the Okayama Ikeda family and the standing Tate-ageha-cho in a circle butterfly of the Tottori cousins branch of the Ikeda family, although there were some crossovers.

 

The Taira/Heiki one had no circle, and Oda Nobunaga who inherited the butterfly Mon allowed the Ikedas to use it, I believe, where it acquired the circle. Maru-ni Tate-ageha-cho...

 

Well, I ended up buying it, attracted by this Kamon and its relative rarity in Tsuba form, but paid far more than I should have. (Or , "should of" as we are supposed to say nowadays...)

[george trotter]

Speaking of the butterfly in the circle kamon...my memory tells me that this is very common on weapons, art objects, tiles etc at Himeji Castle in Hyogo Ken (old Harima). The Daimyo 1600 onwards was Ikeda Terumasa, so I suppose he was connected to the Tottori Ikeda clan to the north.

In the case above, where the cho is used as menuki, but not in a "heraldic" pose, I would hesitate to call it a kamon...more like a a simple cho menuki...unless there are "heraldic" cho on the saya or other fittings?

George.

[John A Stuart]

I have an Ichimonjigasa that has this crest upon it. John

[Bugyotsuji]

Speaking of the butterfly in the circle kamon...my memory tells me that this is very common on weapons, art objects, tiles etc at Himeji Castle in Hyogo Ken (old Harima). The Daimyo 1600 onwards was Ikeda Terumasa, so I suppose he was connected to the Tottori Ikeda clan to the north.

In the case above, where the cho is used as menuki, but not in a "heraldic" pose, I would hesitate to call it a kamon...more like a a simple cho menuki...unless there are "heraldic" cho on the saya or other fittings?

George.

Forgot to mention the Himeji link to Okayama and Tottori. Thanks for pointing this out, George.

[Ed]

Himeji Castle was affiliated with numerous clans over time, including the Ikeda. Towards the rear of the castle there is a display of tiles related to these various clans.

 

I am including a small photo of it here, however you can not distinguish the individual mons. If you care to see a much larger photo there is a provided link as well.

 

http://yakiba.com/Himeji_Mons.htm

[Bugyotsuji]

Here's the Tsuba while I remember. Roughly 8.1 cm x 8.3 cm. Unsigned. The dealer thought mid-Edo.

[Jean]

http://www.aoi-art.com/fittings/tsuba/F09357.html

[Toryu2020]

The following is from an article in that appeared in the NCJSC newsletter on Okayama;

 

After Sekigahara Kobayakawa Hideaki, 小早川秀秋, was granted the lordship of Bizen he then dismantled outlying Ukita fortresses and castles and used the material to rebuild, repair and expand Okayama-jo. Hideaki died suddenly and without heir, the Tokugawa then installed Ikeda Terumasa 池田輝政, lord of Harima, but unfortunately he was not lord for long. Terumasa’s son, Tadatsugu 忠継 after him was lord of Okayama for only two years before he was killed at the battle of Osaka castle. His son, Tadao 忠雄, enlarged the omote shoin, remodeled the otemon into a masu-gata mon and added three yagura, including one of the last remaining original towers at the castle; the Tsukimi-yagura. After 18 years, Tadao had to swap lands with his cousin, Mitsumasa 光政, who was brought down from Tottori and installed at Okayama where this branch of the family ruled until the Meiji Restoration.

 

http://www.ncjsc.org

[John A Stuart]

It is too bad it was mostly destroyed in 1945, but, it is one of the better reconstructions. It has some interesting displays inside. Kurasajo is worth a visit and just across the Asahi river is the Korakuen, one of the top gardens in Japan. Just outside of it are some great noodle houses. I recommend it. John

[Bugyotsuji]

http://www.aoi-art.com/fittings/tsuba/F09357.html

 

Jean, that was clever to find that. Spitting image. Thank you. (Very cheap, though...)

 

Toryu. I had always heard that the new Lord Kobawakawa was unloved for having betrayed Ukita and the whole Western Army at Sekigahara, went crazy and died. Looks like he did some useful work repairing the castle first, though. Interesting.

[Jean]

Jean, that was clever to find that.

 

Just memory Piers, no need to ggogle, I have seen it before I was sure on AOI Art, the quality of this one is not outstanding

[george trotter]

Interesting thread. The pics of the tsuba with cho sukashi must surely be Ikeda kamon?...the rim provides the circle?...like on John's jingasa. I also remember that some of the weapons at Himejijo had two mon on them Ikeda and another, but I forget what it was...the star of Hosokawa or Ogasawara?...or did it have ken blades sticking out between the star "spots"...anyone remember? This supports the multitude of different mons on the tile-ends. I also remember Korakuen and Karasujo (the sinister Black Crow castle) one of only two? black castles in Japan. In those days (1980s) we used to go to Ando Hiromichi's swordshop...still going I think...also to Kurashiki...good sword museum...ah...too many sake and noodle nights since then...memory becoming nakunarimasu.

George.

[Bugyotsuji]

George, click on Ed's link on the previous page for a closeup of the various related Mon. Choose one! (Although for some strange reason the Bizen-cho is not featured in that shot.)

[IanB]

By sheer coincidence I was reading up on Tsuyama in Mimasaka last week. This had been part of Kobayakawa Hideaki's territory and was ruled from Okayama until his death in 1602. It was then confiscated by Tokugawa Ieyasu and given to Mori Tadamasa with a stipend of 186,500 koku. He built a magnificent castle in Tsuyama called Kakuzan-jo that was said to rival Himeji.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

By sheer coincidence I was reading up on Tsuyama in Mimasaka last week. This had been part of Kobayakawa Hideaki's territory and was ruled from Okayama until his death in 1602. It was then confiscated by Tokugawa Ieyasu and given to Mori Tadamasa with a stipend of 186,500 koku. He built a magnificent castle in Tsuyama called Kakuzan-jo that was said to rival Himeji.

Ian Bottomley

 

Oh, thanks for that snippet, Ian. Another piece of the puzzle just fitted there for me.

 

Piccie of Tsuyama Castle in 1872-3

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95% ... ograph.jpg　

 

Lots of clickables in here:

http://www.city.tsuyama.okayama.jp/chik ... index.html

 

Mori Mon:

http://www.mori-family.com/jp/kamon/index.html

[IanB]

Piers, It gets more interesting than that. Tsuyama castle was in Mori hands for only four generations. In 1698 Tokugawa Tsunayoshi evicted the Mori and installed Matsudaira Nobutomi in their place. Why this happened I have yet to find out. Slightly more interesting is the fact that when Hasekura Tsunenaga made his epic voyage to Europe, he not only carried gifts for Philip III of Spain, but also for Louis XIII of France. We know that these were a gift from Ieyasu, through his son Hidetada, since Date Masamune was criticised by Hidetada on Hasekura's return for sending a vassal to negotiate with the Pope. Date wrote back pointing out that not only had the Tokugawa ordered the visit, but had supplied letters to the foreign powers, gift armours, the ship on which the expedition crossed the Pacific and twelve samurai as bodyguards. One of the two armours given to Louis XIII was one that has the Mori kamon on it. It appears in a painting done in 1687 by Le Brun (1619 – 1690), on the ceiling of the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ in the Palace of Versailles and is mentioned in the inventory of the French Royal Collection of Arms and Armour together with a naginata and what appear to be at least five swords (these last are not well described although:

304; Un petit Sabre de deux pieds, un pouce de long a guarde de fer, poignee de cuir, et fourreau fond noir orne de nacre de perle.

- must be a wakizashi).

Why a Mori armour was included I do not know since the others in the gifts are battle loot and the other in the French gift is a bag of bits made up from several armours. Perhaps the Mori gave it as a contribution for being granted Tsuyama. It wasn't new at that time since it was made by Iwai Yosaemon of Nara and probably pre-dates Seki ga Hara.

Ian