Page 277 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

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and wrapped with black silk cord. The 188 Set of daisho mountings 189 Katana mounting
kashira are made of horn and coated with wood, rayskin, lacquer, silk, shakudo, wood, lacquer, rayskin, sharkskin,
black lacquer, while the fuchi (metal col- gold, horn leather, gold, iron, copper, silk, horn
lars at the blade end of the hilts) are deco- length top, 89 (35); bottom, 63 (243/4) length 88 (34 5/g)
rated with auspicious designs in gold and Edo period, i8th century Momoyama period, loth century
silver on a shakudd ground. The menuki Sword Museum, Tokyo Eisei Bunko, Tokyo
(hilt ornaments) are modeled with a phoe-
nix design. The sheaths are coated with This set of black-lacquered daisho goshirae This mounting, made for a sword that was
black lacquer and, typically, the tip of the (cat. 187), made according to the estab- forged by Seki no Kanesada (fl. late six-
long one is cut straight across while the lished conventions, was owned by the Na- teenth century) and owned by Hosokawa
short one is rounded. A kozuka (small beshima family, rulers of the Saga domain Sansai (Tadaoki, 1563-1646), came to be
knife) and a kdgai (skewerlike implement) in northern Kyushu. The hilts of both treasured as the Kasen Goshirae, or "Im-
are attached to the longer sword, while the swords are covered with white rayskin and mortal Poets Mounting." The reason for
shorter one has only the kozuka. These ac- wound with black silk cord. The kashira the name, some say, is that Sansai struck
cessories are decorated with the stylized (pommels) are made of horn covered with down some traitorous thirty-six retainers,
plum blossom crest of the Maeda family, black lacquer, and the fuchi (metal collars the same number as the Thirty-six Immor-
in high-relief gold on a nanako (raised-dot) at the blade end of the hilts) are inset with tal Poets, so designated in the eleventh
shakudd ground; the reverse is inscribed high-relief gold mon of contraposed mydga century. The name of the mounting may
with the name and kad of the maker of sprouts on a nanako (raised-dot) shakudd simply reflect Sansai's love of poetry. The
these fittings, Goto Kôrei (fl. late eigh- ground. Typical of daisho sets, the tip of hilt is covered with black-lacquered ray-
teenth century), a metalworker who served the longer sword is cut straight across, skin and wound with brown leather over
the Maeda family. The round tsuba, or while that of the shorter sword is rounded. gold bean-shaped hilt ornaments (menuki);
sword guards, are decorated with conven- The longer sword is fit with a kozuka the kashira (pommel) is made of blackened
tional symbols of good fortune, such as a (knife) and a kdgai (skewer) with the same copper. The sheath is decorated by a tech-
mallet, symbol of the god of wealth, a mydga crest, gold on a nanako shakudo nique in which sharkskin is covered with
money pouch, jewels, and scrolls in gold ground. The round tsuba, or sword guards, black lacquer and polished so that the
on a shakudd ground. HY are made of undecorated shakudd. HY

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