Re-Constructed Daisho;

[Henry Stewart]

Gentlemen;

 

I thought you may care to see a re-constituted Daisho, as best as my own poor efforts allow,

A young member of this board named Ian was kind enough to sell me a matching set of F/K and Kozuka,but Ive lost his name,perish the memory of an old man. A gentleman in Birmingham did the Tsuka in dark blue,whilst an artisan good with wood made the Saya and laquered them. The sword bags made of silk damask,and stand came from Japan as did the blades.

,which were supplied by Bill Tagg.

The whole thing will go on display with a suit of armour,two Naginata lances @ 10' long, and a 27ft Banner in coloured silk,depicting the exploits of one Uda Nobunaga; finally surrounded by the full court dress of a high ranking samurai, in fact all I'm missing is the samurai.

 

Henry

[Stephen]

Well done sir

[Bruno]

Daisho are always a pleasure to look at. Nice work.

 

Thanks Henry.

[Bazza]

Henry,

 

Nice job. Hopefully not being too picky, but I think they are more correctly displayed with the handles to the left???

 

Barry Thomas.

[Bruno]

they are more correctly displayed with the handles to the left

 

Is there a special rule for that?

[Stephen]

to the left for peace in the house, to the right ready to war...or something like that, problem is to the left one does not show the kozuka

[Gabriel L]

The whole "left-right" display thing is one that I hear many people repeating stories about, but precious little original information on. Suffice it to say that it seems pretty universally traditional to display with tsuka to the left, which makes sense since that's the "omote" (outer) side of the sword. Why would you display a sword with the ura facing out? It just feels backwards. :lol:

 

On the other hand I couldn't care less which way someone else chooses to display their swords, so long as they know how to properly take care of them.

[Bruno]

I thought it was more a matter of right/left-handed person.I mean if the samurai is a left-thanded man, he will display the handles to the left(in case he has to quickly grab its sword for a fight), if right-handed man he will display the tsuka to the right for the same reason.

 

But I am one more time

[Bruno]

I found this on the internet:

 

Handle to left

When you face a displayed katana, if the handle is pointing to your left, it means there is no hostile or threatening attitudes as the handle cannot be drawn with the right hand.

 

Handle to right

When you face a displayed katana and the handle is pointing to your right, it shows an aggressive and guarded attitude, as the katana can be drawn directly from the stand with your right hand and respond to any immediate attack.

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

Bruno,

 

Left-handed samurai never exist. About katana placing, you are right :D

[John A Stuart]

No, Sephen is correct. When having guests if the tsuka are in a position to allow the sword to be drawn quickly (to the right face) than it shows a troubled atmosphere and would be uncomfortable for the guest. When in seiza there are a few different positions for the sword depending on the situation one is in. As to left, right handedness, although training in kenjutsu both ways are trained to balance the body and be prepared for left handed play or two handed play (nito) right handedness was correct and left not. John

[watsonmil]

Hello Henry,

Congratulations, ... Very nice to see a Daisho. As far as left hand , right hand ... I always preferred my left hand.

... Ron Watson

[Hikozaemon]

Congratulation, sir!

 

I have a multi-year daisho restoration/re-mounting project with Robert Benson, and seeing yours helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

BTW, when not in the steel safe, my nihonto are displayed showing the ura side, just like yours. I've heard the peace/war explanation before, but haven't paid much heed to that. As a kenshi practicing and instructing Kendo and Koryu kenjutsu, the ready position is the preferred position to me. Opinions may vary among sensei and styles, however. Also, yari are stored with the blade facing the nearest door or path in/out of the house.

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

John,

 

I think Bruno and Stephen say the same thing (with differents words)

 

About etiquette, a very good article here.

[Henry Stewart]

Gentlemen

 

May I offer you my very sincere thanks for your very kind remarks on my efforts; it is very gratifying to receive such comments from those more qualified than I. To the gentleman constructing his own, my dincere good wishes for your project.

 

 

Henry

[george trotter]

Henry san,

Well done on a very worthwhile and rewarding project. I don't know if it's just me, but I always appreciate seeing plain black saya and plain dark iron or alloy fittings on suguba swords. This combination always projects a feeling of calmness, of restrained, understated strength and power. I imagine the samurai who carries such a pair as thoughtful, competent and likely to resolve situations with words rather than instant swordplay...but chillingly efficient when necessary. Once again, thanks for sharing with us.

Regards,

George.

[Eric H]

but I think they are more correctly displayed with the handles to the left???

At home Samurai put their Daisho on a double-rack, edge up, Katana on top, Tsuka to the left.

 

http://www.shadowofleaves.com/Koshirae%20History.htm ... Article by Guido Schiller

 

Eric

[drbvac]

How closely do the mounts and blades have to be to be considered a "daisho" . Do the tsuba, fuchi and kashira all have to match or be a similar theme or same smith? Same saya, color shape, etc, I am assuming as a matching pair this would be the case but >??

 

I guess two that are close could be displayed as this - but are not true daisho

 

[Bazza]

Ahhh, what is a "true" daisho... Many words have been written on this topic and our Moderator Brian may be able to fish the topic out of the archive disk I sent him. If not (BRIAN!!) I'll dig it out myself. Suffice to say, there are many variations...

 

Regards,

BaZZa.

[Eric H]

Ahhh, what is a "true" daisho...

Generally a Daisho is defined by its matching Koshirae, the blades can be made by different makers.

A "True Daisho" however is made by the swordsmith with intent as a pair and the accompanying Koshirae, if existent, must be original, as they were carried by the Samurai at that time. Submitted to Shinsa this fact will be recognised and "papered" accordingly.

Blades from the same smith later united and perhaps equipped with matching Koshirae cannot be classified as a true Daisho.

Eric

[george trotter]

For the sake of discussion...

If a daisho is defined by matching fittings, what do the Japanese call the other pairs of daito and shoto with non-matching fittings worn by 99% of samurai ?

As I've said before, I'm not up on samurai nomenclature but it seems to me that the term "daisho" is just an abbreviation for daito and shoto. This is joining of the first syllable of two words daito and shoto = "dai + sho" and it is very common in Japanese to shorten the length. Another prime eg is Atomic Bomb = Genshi Bakudan...but most Japanese say Genbaku.

George.

[John A Stuart]

Yes, any two swords daito and shoto worn together are a daisho. We always see words like 'true' in front of daisho to indicate they are an original pair. I haven't seen words like 'dokuzukuru' in front of daisho to indicate a single maker or smith. I am curious if there are words to identify actual degrees of pairing. Two swords by different makers in mated koshirae; two swords by the same maker, but, of different times and intentionally in mated koshirae; two swords made concurrently by the maker and intended to be in mated koshirae. Never really thought about that before either. John

[Stephen]

matching in anywhy shape or form? no

but its my daisho.

[Brian]

Ahhh, what is a "true" daisho... Many words have been written on this topic and our Moderator Brian may be able to fish the topic out of the archive disk I sent him. If not (BRIAN!!) I'll dig it out myself. Suffice to say, there are many variations...

 

Regards,

BaZZa.

Barry,

I would be glad to post that bit from your wonderful cd's. Might take some time though, as I am still working through the longest and most frustrating house-move in history, and whenever I need something, it is guaranteed to be at the other house

Anyone tried to move 2500 gun books, and a decent amount of sword books..while maintaining a 11 hour a day fulltime job? Never mind the rest of the house and 20 years of "stuff"

The good side is that I am finally going to adsl though...with a 5 gig a month cap But better than dial up...

 

Which is all a very long way of saying I'll post the daisho commentary in a week or 2 if you haven't got to it yet

 

Brian

[Eric H]

I am curious if there are words to identify actual degrees of pairing

To my knowledge there are no specific words but many "united" Daisho. A Daisho made on purpose, Katana and Wakizashi are dated identical, year and month. On undated blades the appearance and condition of the Nakago's may be the decisive factor. In any case a potential buyer of a Daisho should carefully clarify by controlling the Nakago's if its a united or a true Daisho.

Another "true" Daisho by Tairyusai Sokan, dated 1867...no Koshirae.

Eric