Tosogu References?

[SwordGuyJoe]

All,

I have recently asked some questions about fuchi, kashira, and tsuba that have come with swords that I purchased. I have been buying swords based on the blades and not the fittings, but I am very interested in learning rather than having to come back to this group to ask questions. What are some key references that you suggest a person, new to Tosogu, should own to help himself?

 

I am thinking something along the lines of some sword books I have, Connoisseurs..., Hawley's, Slough's, Toko Taikan, etc. only for tosogu. Thank you for your help, I do sincerely appreciate it.

[Curran]

(1) Harry Watson's translation of the Kodogu Volume.

(2) A copy of Bob Haynes Fittings Index (3 vol).. maybe Electronic is available if hardcopy to expensive or undesirable

(3) Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study (paperback photocopy that was available fro the Norther California Sword Club for a while).

 

Haynes Index might be getting ahead of things... so try and track down #1 and #3 first as initial primers.

Others may recommend better ones off the top of their heads.

[Ludolf Richter]

Hi,there is a fine book in Japanese,English and German by Guenther Heckmann

"Kodogo",264 pages,ISBN 3-931150-01-1

Ludolf

[Ludolf Richter]

It must read "Kodogu".Sorry!Ludolf

[bridgeofdreams]

I'll second Curran's recommendations, with the same caveat about the Haynes Index. It's much harder to come up with a clear cut progressive reading list for fittings than it is for swords.

 

I think the Kodogu volume of Nihonto Koza is one that Harry still has available and is a great overview.

 

The Haynes "Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study" is available in a new reprint from the Northern California Japanese Sword Club.

 

In fact, anyone with an interest in kodogu ought to be a member of the NCJSC just to get the newsletter. It has some of the best ongoing articles in English on fittings - and swords, and everything else, of course.

 

The Haynes Index I think is for a more advanced collector. It has a ton of information that is useful if you have some of the other books that illustrate signatures. The "online" version is a cd with a pdf version of the text as originally published, and is not for sale from the publisher as a separate item, but they are out there for sale where I suppose they have been separated from the books. I have a couple of copies that were extras from when I had a stock of books.

 

I also have one last copy of Kodogu by Heckmann in stock, ask me about the special NBM deal if anyone is interested.

 

Craig

[Pete Klein]

http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/tsuba.htm

 

Good site and the bibliography is listed in order of relative importance.