GreyVR Posted June 19 Report Posted June 19 Hello all. A few weeks ago I was in Kyoto and I bought a sword in koshirae that I really like. Attributed to Chikugo no Kami Kanenori in it's papers, 2 shaku, 2 sun, 5.5 bu. It's beautiful to me, though I suspect it might be considered a less than ideal example to most. It feels wonderful in the hand, being light, fast, and agile. It's from the later period of these swords, late 1860s. The sort that might have made to take part in the troubles of the Bakumatsu period.... (it might never have come out of it's scabbard in anger.... but someone certainly made it for someone to wear at that time.) I bought the sword for it's hand feel, but the koshirae wasn't in ideal condition, so I was going to have the tsuka ito changed before shipping. (It's quite dirty and a bit frayed near the mekugi.) I'm pretty sure the previous owners used it for iaito practice from the grime and replacement bits of the koshirae. Today the company wrote to me and said they cannot match the tsuka ito, and as I do not wish to change it's hand feeling, I'm writing here for advice. They said that the current wrap is an thinner ito they have a lot of trouble sourcing these days, and (as I've said I don't want to change the hand feeling) they wrote that the thicker ito they can source might be better in a different wrap style. Also... they said my tsuka (shown next to navy blue ito) is Tsumami Maki style, (And as that usually uses a thinner ito they can't source, they are recommending hineri maki style...) but... the photo they sent of those styles and my tsuka... well... my tsuka doesn't look like it's in the style they identify it as. Perhaps I'm blind? The example style seems to be doubled over in ways I do not see in the photo. Mine looks to me like it's already in the simpler (bottom) style.... so um... HELP? So, can anyone help me understand how my tsuka.... can be the top style but look not like the top style? I'm clearly missing something. And can you help me identify the color/material currently on there, and tell me if you know any good matches? I thought it was tetsukon (iron blue) but perhaps it isn't? This sword is so lively, I do not want alter it's feeling in the hand or how the hand grips the tsuka, so finding out they can't match the ito was a bit disheartening. Anyone have advice? Quote
John C Posted June 19 Report Posted June 19 George: It looks the same to me; even the securing knot. I think the difference may be the twist of the ito in the hineri style as it goes over the top. Yours is twisted on the bottom but flat (edges tucked under) on top, whereas the hineri looks twisted on the top as well. That's what I'm seeing, anyway. John C. 1 Quote
Sergio M Posted June 19 Report Posted June 19 The name kata tsumami maki. It is a mixture of both examples (the bottom ito is "folded" and the top ito is pinched. 2 Quote
John C Posted June 21 Report Posted June 21 On 6/19/2026 at 8:42 AM, GreyVR said: HELP? George: Not sure if this helps, however here is an example of somne of the different styles. John C. 1 Quote
John C Posted June 21 Report Posted June 21 On 6/19/2026 at 8:42 AM, GreyVR said: Anyone have advice? Here is an article of the different types of tsukamaki and how they are done. Might be interesting if you haven't seen it already. John C. www.tsukamaki.net:PDF:ArtTsukamaki.pdf 2 Quote
GreyVR Posted June 21 Author Report Posted June 21 This information is great! Thank you all. Does anyone have a video they recommend showing the different methods that can illustrate the differences between the very similar ones? Quote
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