kagamishi tsuba vs. mirrors

[Marius]

Dear All,

 

I am looking for any sources on kagamishi tsuba and mirror makers. I would love to study the problem of a relation between the tsuba and the mirrors. Many scholars think that kagamishi tsuba have not necessarily been made by mirror makers... It is a valid point if you compare some high-end Momoyama mirrors with their rich, detailed and very crisp ornamentation with the simple (yet tasteful) ornaments on most kagamishi tsuba...

 

Quote from Boris Markhasin's intersting article:

 

"One aspect of the kagami-shi designation that continues to puzzle me, is the fact that the level of artistic detail and technical complexity represented in kagami-shi tsuba is consistently at a much lower level than that represented by contemporaneous bronze mirrors. Perhaps we have once again been led onto the wrong path by empirical observations? Perhaps the kagami-shi tsuba would be better classified as tachi kanagu- shi tsuba created utilizing techniques derived from the practice of mirror making. Thus leaving the designation of kagami-shi for the craftsmen that produced only mirrors such as the one pictured below."

 

Here is the link to the article (PDF file): http://www.shibuiswords.com/kokinko.pdf

 

BTW, if someone has the English language pamphlet to Sasano's booklet "Kagamishi tsuba", I would love to buy it. I have bought only the book, with no translation...

[Marius]

OK, to make a point: I believe that kagamishi tsuba were the work of mirror makers. There must have been several styles in mirrors, ranging from the austere and simple to the very ornate and precise.

 

I have attach three pictures:

two kagami and a kagamishi tsuba from Sasano's book.

 

Look at them and compare them.

[Henry Wilson]

I personally believe that mirror makers and kagamishi tsuba makers worked separately. There probably was an overlap in training at one point because there seems to be similarities in work techniques but the work of the tsuba smiths is usually of a higher level suggesting a split some where. I see the Kagamishi label a bit like the Tosho tsuba or the Katchushi tsuba labels.

 

Also concerning the Kagamishi book by Sasano, I don't have the translation but from what I can gather from the Japanese, Sasano does not say very much over and above a description of the piece and how nice it is. There is a point or two on the colours of the tsuba but as far as I can understand, there are no great revelations in it.

 

Just my two yen

[John A Stuart]

I don't know Henry. I have a couple of kagami that are wonderfully cast and chased, beyond the efforts seen usually on kagamishi tsuba. As well having seen kagami in museums that are stunning and obviously highly symbolic and sacred, I can understand Boris' point. I can see the kagamishi tsubako being bronze casters that diverted from mirror making [or in style of the trade] into tachikanagushi. I include a mirror I bought from Boris actually and if you magnify it a bit you can see just how detailed it is and the symbolism it contains. John

[Henry Wilson]

That is a nice mirror, but it is clearly a mirror and to me doesn't look much like a tsuba, especially the style of the chasing, so I personally don't think we can be compare your lovely example with a tsuba, only because they are so different.

 

Your mirror is clearly of a higher level of craftsmanship, but I have not seen a Kagamishi tsuba that looks like it and my previous observations are mainly based on the pics Mariuszk posted. Saying that, I don't know very much about this topic and would love to see some Kagamishi tsuba examples to compare if possible.

 

By the way what is being depicted on the mirror?

[John A Stuart]

Hi Henry, It has a turtle as a central boss, pierced for a cord, as well as chrysanthemums (chased), ducks, cranes and cultivated fields. Everything appears in pairs (other than the turtle) signifying reproduction, fecundity and longevity. Behind the two ducks is a lozenge that has the inscription 'Tenka Ichi", common on kagami. John