Tiger Menuki

[Jake6500]

Hey Tosogu fans,

 

I'm doing my usual thing and creating this thread to share my latest acquisition with the forum.

 

I recently picked up this pair of tiger menuki on Jauce signed Hamano Noriyuki! The menuki are uncertified however they seem to match the Hamano school stylistically.

A fine detail that caught my attention and convinced me to bid for these was the different purities of gold used in the stripes of the tigers distinguishing them from each other.

 

Here is an enlarged photo of the signature from the original auction listing, followed by a photo of my own taken from my phone camera. Apologies for the less than stellar quality!

 

 

Edited October 28 by Jake6500

[Jack Zacao]

Nice set. I have a single tiger menuki as well and like the design very much especially the cute eye brows. I have been wondering whether the gold paint is added after the chisel fur marks or before …

[Geraint]

Dear Jack.

 

I cannot speak to your menuki, no photograph,  but the examples that Jake posted have honzogan or true inlay gold stripes.  No paint here!  You can see that the fur marks are made across the shakudo and gold in places.

 

All the best.

[Jack Zacao]

Hi Geraint,

 

I do not think the gold stripes are inlaid. they are normally referred as ‘色繪’ which is a kind of gold gilding technique.

 

Jack

[Bazza]

Gives me an opportunity to show a pair of mumei tiger menuki I have had for decades.  They come with an old paper to Yanagawa.

 

BaZZa.

 

 

[Charlie C]

17 hours ago, Jack Zacao said:

Hi Geraint,

 

I do not think the gold stripes are inlaid. they are normally referred as ‘色繪’ which is a kind of gold gilding technique.

 

Jack

Hi Jack,

 

Though many menuki use 色絵 to produce stripe patterns, 象嵌 is a natural alternative. This specific case provided by Jake looks like 象嵌 to me, as there seem to be tiny gaps between the gold stripes and the black body, but of course higher-resolution photos and photos of the reverse side could provide more information.

 

Just by the way I think the difficulty increases in the following order: 色絵 -> 象嵌(gold on others) -> 象嵌(shakudo on non-gold) -> 象嵌(shakudo on gold). 

C.C.

Edited Friday at 06:16 PM by Charlie C

[Jack Zacao]

Thank you Charlie for the info. I have not seen one with true inlays on menuki, but of course I am just a novice. The Tiger menuki I like the best is from Iwamoto :

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/9808/pair-of-menuki-in-the-form-of-tigers?ctx=670ac707-7750-44fc-871e-06f418d308b9&idx=8

It is very detailed, even the furs on ears are carved. the size is only 3.3 cm

[Jake6500]

2 hours ago, Jack Zacao said:

Thank you Charlie for the info. I have not seen one with true inlays on menuki, but of course I am just a novice. The Tiger menuki I like the best is from Iwamoto :

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/9808/pair-of-menuki-in-the-form-of-tigers?ctx=670ac707-7750-44fc-871e-06f418d308b9&idx=8

It is very detailed, even the furs on ears are carved. the size is only 3.3 cm

Interesting example Jack,

 

It's always interesting to see how Japanese artisans - the majority of which would never have encountered a tiger before - present tigers in their work. The example you've linked attempts to portray tigers through a realist lens which makes it an interesting case study that deviates from some other Edo Period examples that adopt a more surrealist approach. Yurakusai Sekibun for example produced a large variety of tiger tosogu along the realist-surrealist spectrum, some of which appear more cartoonish and many of which have exaggerated rounded features.

[MauroP]

On 10/31/2025 at 1:34 AM, Jack Zacao said:

 

I do not think the gold stripes are inlaid. they are normally referred as ‘色繪’ which is a kind of gold gilding technique.

 

iroe (色絵) – The term iroe, lit. “color(ed) picture,” is sometimes
wrongly applied to different techniques of coloring by gilding or
silvering, but should be used to describe any coloring of a motif,
regardless of the technique used.

[From Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords by Markus Sesko]

[Charlie C]

On 10/31/2025 at 7:48 PM, Jack Zacao said:

Thank you Charlie for the info. I have not seen one with true inlays on menuki, but of course I am just a novice. The Tiger menuki I like the best is from Iwamoto :

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/9808/pair-of-menuki-in-the-form-of-tigers?ctx=670ac707-7750-44fc-871e-06f418d308b9&idx=8

It is very detailed, even the furs on ears are carved. the size is only 3.3 cm

HI Jack,

 

I am a novice too, just sharing my observations. It seems like the work you attached also utilized 象嵌. Below is another example.

[Exclus1ve]

5 hours ago, Charlie C said:

HI Jack,

 

I am a novice too, just sharing my observations. It seems like the work you attached also utilized 象嵌. Below is another example.

Yes, that's right. It becomes perfectly clear when you see it in person. You can tell by the sharp, straight contour lines. Sometimes you can even see the incisor mark (about 50-100 microns thick)

 

When a coating is applied, the contour becomes slightly blurred, and under magnification, you can see the difference in thickness.

[Exclus1ve]

Excellent addition to the collection, Jake!
It's time to start thinking about buying a camera))

Edited 9 hours ago by Exclus1ve

[Exclus1ve]

Let's add an example related to the topic. In this case, there is no inlay, only a gold coating.

[Jake6500]

8 hours ago, Exclus1ve said:

Excellent addition to the collection, Jake!
It's time to start thinking about buying a camera))

 

I will be looking into getting a better camera soon, as well as some lighting...

 

I just purchased my first blade today (literally about 2 hours ago) and will need the appropriate light to fully enjoy the fine details after all!

Edit: Link to thread https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/54033-gassan-school-sadahide-kinnoto-first-blade/

Edited 1 hour ago by Jake6500

[Jack Zacao]

Hi Charlie, I now realized I do have some menukis that have 高肉象嵌， but I have trouble distinguish 平象嵌 and 金袋着 or gilding. In the case of shishi menuki, do you mean the shakudo dots are inlays? i guess so because they can not be gildings…how about the gold color eyes?