JAPANESE SWORD
The word koshirae is derived from the verb koshiraeru (拵える), which is no longer used in current speech. More commonly "tsukuru" is used in its place with both words meaning to "make, create, manufacture." A more accurate word is tōsō (刀装), meaning sword-furniture, where tōsōgu (刀装具) are the parts of the mounting in general, and "kanagu" stands for those made of metal. Gaisō (外装) are the "outer" mountings, as opposed to tōshin (刀身), the "body" of the sword.
A koshirae should be presented with the tsuka (hilt) to the left, particularly in times of peace with the reason being that you cannot unsheathe the sword easily this way. During the Edo period, many formalized rules were put into place: in times of war the hilt should be presented to the right allowing the sword to be readily unsheathed.
Koshirae were meant not only for functional but also for aesthetic purposes, often using a family mon (crest) for identification.
The tachi style koshirae is the primary style of mounting used for the tachi, where the sword is suspended edge-down from two hangers (ashi) attached to the obi.The hilt often had a slightly stronger curvature than the blade, continuing the classic tachi increase in curvature going from the tip to the hilt. The hilt was usually secured with two pegs (mekugi), as compared to one peg for shorter blades including uchigatana and katana. The tachi style koshirae preceded the uchigatana (katana) style koshirae.
Uchigatana (katana) The uchigatana style koshirae is the most commonly known koshirae and it is what is most associated with a samurai sword. Swords mounted in this manner are worn with the cutting edge up as opposed to the tachi mounting, in which the sword is worn with the cutting edge down.
The kaiken is an 8–10 inch long, single- or double-edged daggerwithout ornamental fittings housed in a plain mount, formerly carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense indoors where the long katana and intermediate wakizashi were inconvenient. Women carried them in their kimono either in a pocket like fold or in the sleeve for self-defense or for suicide by means of slashing the jugular veins and carotid artery in the left side of the neck.
The aikuchi (合口 or 匕首) is a form of koshirae for small swords in which the hilt and the scabbard meet without a crossguard between them. The word literally means ai ("meeting") + kuchi ("mouth; opening"), in reference to the way the hilt fits directly against the scabbard Originally used on the koshigatana (a precursor to the wakizashi) to facilitate close wearing with armour, it became a fashionable upper-class mounting style for a tantō (literally, "small sword", nowadays regarded as a dagger) from the Kamakura period onwards
With the arts of Japan, We will offer you different objects, inrô, netsuke and other bokuto, kiseruzutsu, tonkotsu, yatate, furniture and objects in lacquer cabinets, Nanban chests, kogo, kobako, fubako, tebako, natsume, kodansu, kagamibako, suzuribako , bunko, prints in sheet or in album, makemono, okimono, armor and elements of armor, Japanese Sword , tachi , katana, wakizashi, tanto, naginata and mounts tsuba, fuchi-kashira, menuki, Kakiemon ceramics, Nabeshima, Kutani, masks noh theater, kyogen, gigaku,
A koshirae should be presented with the tsuka (hilt) to the left, particularly in times of peace with the reason being that you cannot unsheathe the sword easily this way. During the Edo period, many formalized rules were put into place: in times of war the hilt should be presented to the right allowing the sword to be readily unsheathed.
Koshirae were meant not only for functional but also for aesthetic purposes, often using a family mon (crest) for identification.
The tachi style koshirae is the primary style of mounting used for the tachi, where the sword is suspended edge-down from two hangers (ashi) attached to the obi.The hilt often had a slightly stronger curvature than the blade, continuing the classic tachi increase in curvature going from the tip to the hilt. The hilt was usually secured with two pegs (mekugi), as compared to one peg for shorter blades including uchigatana and katana. The tachi style koshirae preceded the uchigatana (katana) style koshirae.
Uchigatana (katana) The uchigatana style koshirae is the most commonly known koshirae and it is what is most associated with a samurai sword. Swords mounted in this manner are worn with the cutting edge up as opposed to the tachi mounting, in which the sword is worn with the cutting edge down.
The kaiken is an 8–10 inch long, single- or double-edged daggerwithout ornamental fittings housed in a plain mount, formerly carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense indoors where the long katana and intermediate wakizashi were inconvenient. Women carried them in their kimono either in a pocket like fold or in the sleeve for self-defense or for suicide by means of slashing the jugular veins and carotid artery in the left side of the neck.
The aikuchi (合口 or 匕首) is a form of koshirae for small swords in which the hilt and the scabbard meet without a crossguard between them. The word literally means ai ("meeting") + kuchi ("mouth; opening"), in reference to the way the hilt fits directly against the scabbard Originally used on the koshigatana (a precursor to the wakizashi) to facilitate close wearing with armour, it became a fashionable upper-class mounting style for a tantō (literally, "small sword", nowadays regarded as a dagger) from the Kamakura period onwards
With the arts of Japan, We will offer you different objects, inrô, netsuke and other bokuto, kiseruzutsu, tonkotsu, yatate, furniture and objects in lacquer cabinets, Nanban chests, kogo, kobako, fubako, tebako, natsume, kodansu, kagamibako, suzuribako , bunko, prints in sheet or in album, makemono, okimono, armor and elements of armor, Japanese Sword , tachi , katana, wakizashi, tanto, naginata and mounts tsuba, fuchi-kashira, menuki, Kakiemon ceramics, Nabeshima, Kutani, masks noh theater, kyogen, gigaku,
|
|
