Slipping into the attic, The stray cat disappeared.
Winter moon …
Joseo
We are all already convinced that the world of Japanese tsuba is really a real world, in which, as if in a mirror, the life of the Japanese, their religion, their aesthetic views, in a word, everything that is called one capacious word culture is reflected.
We looked at technologies, styles, schools … Now it's time to get acquainted with the most, if I can say, the main thing - the plot. Because it is possible not to understand the technique, not to know the names of certain parts of the tsuba and the methods of its production, and not everyone can remember and pronounce the names of styles and schools, but here is to make up their own idea of what this or that picture depicts ", Maybe everyone and everyone, not even an expert, can say" like it or not like it. " Although a person who knows the nuances, looking at the tsubas, of course, will say more about them, since they will see more! *
But in order to understand what we saw, we must also understand that what we saw on tsubah is a kind of cipher, behind which there are traditions, legends, myths and much more. In addition, each artist sees in his own way. And in addition, it is not at all easy to "stuff" everything that you see into the small space of a tsuba 7-8 centimeters in diameter.
"Tsuba with Monks", XVI century. Materials: iron, brass, copper. Diameter: 8.3 cm, thickness 0.3 cm. Weight: 10, 2 g.
Tsuba with the Monas, circa 1615-1868 Materials: shakudo, sentoku, copper, mother of pearl, lacquer. Diameter 7, 3 cm, thickness 0, 5 cm. Weight 141.7 g.
Another difficulty is to understand what exactly the artist encrypted, and not just how he did it. Here, a very important role was also played by traditions that have developed in the samurai environment over many centuries of Japanese history. For example, a samurai could come to the master tsubako, who worked for his prince, and purchase from him a ready-made tsuba with the image of his master's mona, and then add his own, but smaller, to it. Show, so to speak, his devotion and respect to him.
Tsuba with the image of one of the gods of happiness - Dzyurodzin, accompanied by a crane.
He could also buy a tsuba with the image of the Shichifukujin - the seven gods of happiness, and why he needed such an image could not have been asked. Is the tsuba wearing a bow and arrow? Well - this warrior emphasizes that he is a noble bushi, a "warrior" who follows the path of "bow and arrow".
But what would that mean? "Tsuba na tsuba" … XIX century. Materials: copper, bronze, shakudo, gold, silver. Diameter 6, 8 - 6, 7 cm, thickness 0.5 cm. Weight: 116, 2 g.
Reverse.
It will be more difficult to understand what's what if the tsuba depicts just a large bag, a hammer, and next to them a rat. What is it for? And everything is simple: the sack and the hammer are the belongings of one of the gods of happiness - Daikoku, and the rat is his companion. That is, a direct allusion to the god of happiness, but he himself just … went somewhere! The tsuba depicts a fishing rod and a beating fish - believe me, this is not at all about the hobby of this samurai, but a direct allusion again to the god of happiness Ebisu, one of the seven, who was portrayed with a rod in his right hand, while in his left he was holding a fish Tai - sea carp. Is an old man depicted with an unnaturally elongated skull? It is he who is unnatural for us, and the Japanese immediately recognizes in him the last of the gods of happiness Fukuroju. But many deer on the tsuba mean … the wish for prosperity, since "deer" and "prosperity" in Chinese mean the same thing, and the Japanese for a long time borrowed almost everything from China and believed that all the best came from there …
Tsuba "Ebisu Fishing" is a very unusual tsuba. On the obverse, as we can see, the god of happiness Ebisu is depicted, dressed in a court costume, which was customary to wear for hunting, and in a golden hat, utterly satisfied. On the reverse is the fish Ty caught by him. XIX century. Materials: iron, gold, silver. Length 8, 3 cm, width 7, 6 cm.
The same tsuba is a reverse.
Tsuba "The Traveler and Emma-O" (Emma-O is the lord of hell). Obverse.
The same tsuba is a reverse.
All these figures (and many more) belong to the Shinto religion. But Taoism was also widespread in Japan, even if it did not have a serious independent meaning, but existed in combination with Buddhism and Shintoism. Nevertheless, in Japan during the Tokugawa era, images of the sennin became popular - immortals who, in the most natural way, immediately fell on the tsuba. Moreover, Gama-sennin received the secret of immortality from … a toad, so he always went with her.
This tsuba depicts a warrior in full gear with a large bow in his hands, thinking about something under a tree. By the way, in this photo you can clearly see the "hitsu-ume" - special seals with which the holes of the kogai-hitsu-ana and kozuka-hitsu-ana are sealed. This suggests that the tsuba was originally made for tachi, and later rewired for katana. The katana scabbard was equipped with a claw very rarely and never had a claw. Tin-lead seals for these holes were called "savari", copper - "suaka". Obverse. XVIII century Materials: iron, gold, silver, shakudo, brass, copper. Length 7, 9 cm, width 7, 3 cm.
The same tsuba is a reverse.
But the immortal Chokaru had a magic mule that could shrink and looked like a paper cut. When Chokar needed a real mule, he rolled the "paper mule" into a tube, stuffed it into a pumpkin, poured water into it and … a mule of a normal size appeared from the pumpkin. On tsubas, he was depicted with a pumpkin in his hands and a mule jumping out of it, or just a pumpkin and a mule, because everyone in Japan knew what that meant. The Taoist monks were depicted along with a tiger, riding on a carp, in the form of a bearded old man with a peach in his hands, and each such image had its own legend and its own history.
Sometimes the images on tsubah were the real manuals on samurai martial arts, or at least reminded of them. For example, one of these martial arts that a samurai should have mastered was riding a horse, and the rider also had to shoot at the enemy with a bow. This very scene is depicted on this tsuba. Tsuba signed by Omori Teruhide (1730-1798). Obverse. Materials: shakudo, shibuichi, gold, copper. Length 7.3 cm, width 7 cm, thickness 0.8 cm. Weight 161.6 g.
The same tsuba is a reverse.
In addition to hermit monks, who managed to gain immortality, the tsubah depicted heroes … of Chinese novels popular in Japan and their own outstanding samurai heroes, worthy of memory and imitation. For example, there is a legend that the art of fencing, known for his samurai prowess, Minamoto Yoshitsune, was taught by the tengu demons on Mount Kuramayama, and of course this story was embodied in tsubah. Almost as popular was the Yamabushi monk Benkei, who was a master of nagitata. Well, how could you not portray such a master on a tsuba?
Tsuba "Benkei and Yoshitsune", 1805 Obverse. Materials: shibuichi, gold, silver, copper, shakudo. Length 7.6 cm, width 7 cm, thickness 0.8 cm. Weight: 192.8 g.
Well, what if you needed a very simple and cheap tsuba "with meaning"? Then there is nothing easier - order yourself to carve an image of an anchor on it and everyone and everyone will understand that this is an allusion to the battle on April 25, 1185 in Dannora Bay between the samurai of the Taira and Minamoto clans. Seeing that the battle was lost, naval commander Taira Tomomori and several of his companions tied themselves to the anchors and … fulfilled their duty to the end, throwing themselves with them into the abyss. Well, why don't you make yourself such a simple tsuba? And cheap and cheerful!
And the samurai also loved poems and their texts, inlaid with golden hieroglyphs on a black background are also known. And not only hieroglyphs! It was customary to portray famous poets in different life situations. For example, with a scroll in hand, or admiring Mount Fuji, the Moon or a tree twisted by the wind in anticipation of the inspiration sent down by the gods.
The heroes of folk legends and fairy tales were popular, for example, the same Junkui - the tamer of demons, tsuba with the image of which had already been demonstrated in the previous materials of the cycle. Moreover, very often Junkuy and the demon he is chasing were depicted similarly to the cat Tom and the mouse Jerry - Junkuy and would like to deal with the demon, but then his sword bent and he straightens it with his foot, then the cunning demon hides behind him on a tree and at the same time laughs maliciously.
The simplest and most uncomplicated tsuba made by the master Ishigoro Masayoshi is actually not as simple as it seems. The surface alone is worth nothing! But the plot itself is the most mundane. On the obverse we see objects that usually hung on a samurai's belt: a netsuke figurine, a purse and an inro - a lacquered box for small things, for example, a personal seal and various potions. (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)
On the reverse side there is a folded fan.
Another popular couple were the mountain witch Yama-Uba and her pupil Sakato Kintoki, who performed many feats and was usually depicted as a large-bodied boy with a huge ax. But Yama-Uba could have the appearance of a vile old woman and a beautiful woman. Even the "nosed barbarians" - Europeans and they were honored to be depicted on tsubas, although this plot is very rare. However, they look ridiculous, so there is clearly a disdainful attitude towards the "overseas barbarians"!
