DOI Heft:
No. 35 (February, 1896)
DOI Artikel:Gilbertson, Edward: Japanese chasing and chasers
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17296#0028
FIG. 3.— WATERWHEEL UNSIGNED
ntaglios of dragons or deities as early as the
middle of the thirteenth century, it is not until
more than two centuries later that sword guards
were so decorated, and even then they are rather
the work of the armourer or sword-smith than of
the chaser. The heads in relief by Nobuiye, and
the landscapes by Kaneiye, are rude compared
with later work, and the more, prominent parts
were, in some cases at least, produced by inserting
a piece of iron of the required form in the face of
the tsuba and chasing it.
Saw work was likewise introduced, in the form
of very conventional silhouettes of animals, &c,
16
and of designs executed in saw-cut lines. This,
however, was carried to the greatest perfection in
the seventeenth century, the lines being so fine and
so perfectly true, that one wonders what kind of
drill they could have used to pierce the first hole
for the saw without leaving a trace of it. On one
guard, about an eighth of an inch thick, the saw
line was found to be only eight hundredths of an
incli in width. Fig. r is a guard of the seventeenth
century by Kaneyuki, having saw-cut silhouettes of
Kiri and Kiku crests, very accurately formed, the
ground being chased with conventional waves.
Fig. 2, a guard of the same period by Yeiju has a
dragon in saw-cut lines. Fig. 3 has a water wheel
in waves ; in this, the ground is cut away, leaving
the object solid, and a fine saw line indicates the
mouth of each bucket. Fig. 4 is in similar style,
being a horse in outline, and in both these instances
the surface is left quite plain. But in Fig. 5, a
circle of conventional birds, they arc slightly lined.
There was an exceedingly elegant class of guards
introduced during the sixteenth century, probably
derived from the guards of the weapons worn by
Fernando Mendez Pinto and his companions, the
style being quite European. They were of tendril
or scroll work, pierced and undercut, as shown in
Figs. 6 and 6a, very perfect pieces of workmanship.
What were called Akasaka guards, in which the metal
left bore a very small proportion to that cut away,
were much used during the seventeenth century, as
were pierced guards of an intermediate style, the
finest examples of which are the work of Kinai."
Fig 7 is a guard by him, representing " Karakusa '
ntaglios of dragons or deities as early as the
middle of the thirteenth century, it is not until
more than two centuries later that sword guards
were so decorated, and even then they are rather
the work of the armourer or sword-smith than of
the chaser. The heads in relief by Nobuiye, and
the landscapes by Kaneiye, are rude compared
with later work, and the more, prominent parts
were, in some cases at least, produced by inserting
a piece of iron of the required form in the face of
the tsuba and chasing it.
Saw work was likewise introduced, in the form
of very conventional silhouettes of animals, &c,
16
and of designs executed in saw-cut lines. This,
however, was carried to the greatest perfection in
the seventeenth century, the lines being so fine and
so perfectly true, that one wonders what kind of
drill they could have used to pierce the first hole
for the saw without leaving a trace of it. On one
guard, about an eighth of an inch thick, the saw
line was found to be only eight hundredths of an
incli in width. Fig. r is a guard of the seventeenth
century by Kaneyuki, having saw-cut silhouettes of
Kiri and Kiku crests, very accurately formed, the
ground being chased with conventional waves.
Fig. 2, a guard of the same period by Yeiju has a
dragon in saw-cut lines. Fig. 3 has a water wheel
in waves ; in this, the ground is cut away, leaving
the object solid, and a fine saw line indicates the
mouth of each bucket. Fig. 4 is in similar style,
being a horse in outline, and in both these instances
the surface is left quite plain. But in Fig. 5, a
circle of conventional birds, they arc slightly lined.
There was an exceedingly elegant class of guards
introduced during the sixteenth century, probably
derived from the guards of the weapons worn by
Fernando Mendez Pinto and his companions, the
style being quite European. They were of tendril
or scroll work, pierced and undercut, as shown in
Figs. 6 and 6a, very perfect pieces of workmanship.
What were called Akasaka guards, in which the metal
left bore a very small proportion to that cut away,
were much used during the seventeenth century, as
were pierced guards of an intermediate style, the
finest examples of which are the work of Kinai."
Fig 7 is a guard by him, representing " Karakusa '