Tsuba filling

[DCPan]

Question.

What is the reason for some antique tsuba to have those holes filled with material that doesn't match and is frankly kind of ugly?

Example:

http://www.aoi-art.com/fittings/tsuba/F08411.html

[rottunpunk]

Strangely i have never thought of this before
But your photo just shows the marks and not any filled bits
Though as your title suggests, i guess they are to allow easy filing or filling as needed to fit the sword.
As for the filled bits, that is to fit the sword, mine has them

I did find the name of them,
or at least i think the ones (dents) on the sides would have the same names as the ones at the corners
http://www.jssus.org/nkp/images/Tsuba-info.jpg
and now need to go for some more digging

whoops, edit: simple google search found it and confirms
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tag...ient=firefox-a

[Reiver]

That blue/black metal is called shakudo, and is an alloy of copper and gold (between 3-10%). It is often seen on sword fittings and is highly prized.

[Sheets]

The original question referred to the holes (hitsu-ana) for the kogai/kozuka[kogatana]/waribashi depending on which was used and on which side of the tsuba had a hole(s). If the current saya being used was not equipped with the corresponding implement, the hole in the tsuba was often filled with metal (shakudo (as in the pic), silver, copper (or alloys of those metals), etc. The effect (colour/texture) of the plug, for the Japanese, was quite pleasing. I'm sure also, that the choice of metal used (or the fact that the ana were plugged at all) was an indication of rank/status - it is unlikely that a lower ranking samurai would be able to afford the cost.

[Maro]

Samurai Bling pretty much

[jezah81]

That filling is called ategane/ume, in that photo it appears to match the tsuba, most likely shakudo. Mainly for cosmetic purposes.

Kind regards,

Jeremy

[rottunpunk]

mine is plain old copper, but then it is covered by the seppa et al, so lets just pretend i am posh and have gold tsubablobs to match the habaki

[DCPan]

mine is plain old copper, but then it is covered by the seppa et al, so lets just pretend i am posh and have gold tsubablobs to match the habaki

Hey Rottenpunk,

We're not talking about the copper stuff to fill the center of the tsuba so the tsuba won't rattle on the nakago.

I'm referring to the filling in those two side holes for the kogai/kozuka.

If the filling for the kogai/kozuka could be covered by the seppa, you either have a very small tsuba or a pretty big seppa!

Too bad I couldn't just punch out the shakudo and just sell that! Just kidding, I wouldn't buy a tsuba with those filling as it doesn't suit me anyhow.

Thanks!

[rottunpunk]

ah, ok, sorry i got the wrong end of the stick completely.

[KevinA]

The original question referred to the holes (hitsu-ana) for the kogai/kozuka[kogatana]/waribashi depending on which was used and on which side of the tsuba had a hole(s). If the current saya being used was not equipped with the corresponding implement, the hole in the tsuba was often filled with metal (shakudo (as in the pic), silver, copper (or alloys of those metals), etc. The effect (colour/texture) of the plug, for the Japanese, was quite pleasing. I'm sure also, that the choice of metal used (or the fact that the ana were plugged at all) was an indication of rank/status - it is unlikely that a lower ranking samurai would be able to afford the cost.

This is correct, and is common on antique tsuba. Think of it as a retrofit as a tsuba went from sword to sword (handed down through the family, sold off by poor samurai, etc).

The materials used for these plugs was also quite varied. In addition to the abovementioned shakudo, silver and copper, shibuichi, gold and even lead was used for this purpose.

To illustrate how widespread this practice was, even tsuba with hitsu-ana cunningly worked into the design sometimes were plugged as they were remounted or tastes changed. Some examples:

[UnimportantHero]

So is it fair to say, then, that the dark greyish blue color is due to oxidization rather than the original color of the metal used in the filling?

[KevinA]

So is it fair to say, then, that the dark greyish blue color is due to oxidization rather than the original color of the metal used in the filling?

This is partly true. Japanese craftsmen used an array of chemical means to apply patina to the metals they worked with, but extant examples have also oxidized to a degree over their lifespan. Shakudo and shibuichi start off as pinkish alloys initially (due to the high copper content) but patinate to ranges of black and ranges of gray, respectively (depending on the composition of the alloy).

Another interesting piece of trivia is that the plugs aren't necessarily one piece - I can't put my hands on a photo at the moment, but there are examples of the plug actually being two thin pieces that are held in place by either urushi (lacquer) or pine rosin adhesive. I'll post it if I can find it in my bookmarks.