New Year has come -
Carefree faces of passers-by
Flickering around …
Shigyoku
I would not say that the carelessness on the faces of our people has increased this new year. But … their curiosity remains inescapable, and this is especially pleasant. Many readers of "VO" liked the previous materials "about tsubu" and they want to know more and more. It's also nice that no one else calls me a Japanese spy and propagandist of Japanese culture, and a guardian for the transfer of the Kuriles to the Japanese. So with a light heart we continue to delve into the culture of the Yamato country, but the topic of our today's story will be the materials from which tsuba were made.
Last time we learned that there were even tsubas made of stone, but it is clear that even jadeite is inferior in strength to copper and iron. So the main material for tsuba in Japan has always been iron, as well as copper, bronze, gold, silver and various alloys of these metals.
Tsuba * made of iron, depicting the magic peach of immortality. Production time: XVIII century. Material: iron, copper. Length 7.5 cm; width 7, 3 cm; thickness 0.6 cm; weight 147, 4 g.
The same tsuba - reverse.
Let's start with iron (tetsu in Japanese), because iron tsuba are the most common. They were made by two technologies - from wrought iron and cast iron. Welding was forged, but cast was poured into a mold. The technologies, as you can see, are the simplest.
Forged iron tsuba with the image of a folded fan. Production time: XVII - XIX centuries. Material: iron, gold. Diameter 7, 9 cm.
The Japanese liked to work with wrought iron, because from repeated forgings, an oxide film was formed on it, which was resistant to corrosion. The hammer marks on the surface of the tsuba also mattered, since the Japanese artistic taste did not recognize any shiny, let alone polished iron. The ideal was not considered rusty "rusty iron", iron looking old or bearing traces of blacksmith work. That is, everything that a European would consider a disadvantage, a Japanese, on the contrary, would perceive it as a great advantage!
Tsuba "Karp". Outwardly it looks very simple. The Japanese carp itself is a symbol of longevity. "Colored", that is, made of different metals, he could only have one eye! Production time: 1615-1868 Material: iron, shakudo, gold, copper. Length 7.9 cm; width 7.5 cm; thickness 1 cm; weight 136, 1 g.
Cast iron was fragile, but it was annealed, after which the product was covered with various types of decorative patina.
The Dutch imported into Japan the solid iron namban-tetsu - "the iron of the southern barbarians." Because of its hardness, it was not easy to work with, but Japanese craftsmen learned to anneal it, thus lowering the carbon content, and then widely used it. Including for the manufacture of tsub. Tsuba are also known, called namban-tsuba. However, this did not mean at all that they were made of this iron, but only that this tsuba was made in the “style of southern barbarians”.
Tsuba "Heron". A very popular tsubako motive. But the material is pure copper, only the eye is most likely made of gold. The blade was adjusted in an original way: the hole of the nakago-ana itself was stamped. Production time: XVI - XVII centuries. Material: copper. Length: 7.8 cm; width 7, 3 cm; thickness 0.5 cm; weight 119, 1 g.
The second most popular metal for tsuba was copper, "red metal", in Japanese - akagane. It was ordinary red copper, which was hardened by cold forging. But of course, copper was also used in alloys as the alloys had different colors. So, the so-called "black copper" or yamagane was used. Impurities in this alloy were accidental and often unidentified.
Three Hats. Tsuba is made entirely of copper! Production time: XVIII century. Diameter 7, 9 cm; thickness 0.8 cm; weight 150, 3 g.
Then an alloy of copper and gold was used - shakudo. The percentage of copper and gold could be different: from 97 to 75% copper, and, accordingly, gold from 3 to 25%. This alloy was loved by Tsubako masters, tsuba makers, because it was well processed. It could also be easily applied with a long-lasting patina of various colors and shades.
The third alloy in terms of popularity was called "one quarter" - shibuichi. It was also based on copper (about 75%), but 25%, that is, "one quarter" of it accounted for silver. However, this was only one, albeit the most popular option, because there was a mass of alloys where there was either more silver (up to 50% - hoji gin) or less (13% - ansei gin). Sambo-gin, in which there was 32% silver, was considered the most preferable for processing. Moreover, all these alloys were well processed mechanically, but colors interesting for the Japanese were obtained only after chemical processing. But on the other hand, this alloy gave the most different colors - from pure gray to gray-olive.
After copper-silver alloys, classical bronze was very popular in Japan. It is interesting that bronze came here from China, it is not an original alloy for Japan. Therefore, it is called that - karagane, that is, "Chinese metal". Bells are usually cast from bronze because of its sonority. However, its good fluidity and the fact that it easily fills even very small forms have always been used by master casters, who had nothing to do with bells. Usually bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. However, the Japanese tsubako used the following original alloys: the same karagane, which consisted of 60% copper, 30% copper and 10% zinc additive. Then the sentoku alloy was used: 48% zinc, 35% copper and 17% tin, and an alloy of saccharine, which was also called "white bronze". It contained 74-69% copper, 29-24% tin and 2% lead. It was a very hard but free flowing alloy. Therefore, they could easily inlay the surface of the tsuba, simply filling its recesses with melt, or melting right on it so that it fills the necessary recesses. After that, it can be easily polished flush with the base metal. A variety of bronze was brass (or sinchu), known in Japan since the 7th century), an alloy of copper and zinc. The Japanese liked it because, when polished, it looked like gold. A very rare sentoku alloy was also used, which included copper, zinc and lead.
"Junkuy under an umbrella." An original tsuba made of bronze, with a cutout made on the umbrella so that you can see the face of its owner. Slanting streams of rain are deliberately casually shown. Well, the demon on the reverse is happy that Junkui can't see him from under the umbrella! The tradition of tsubako was to make bracelets on the hands of demons from gold. Production time: XVIII century. Material: bronze, shakudo, gold, silver, copper. Length 7, 3 cm; width 6, 7 cm.
The same tsuba - reverse.
Silver has been used by the Japanese for a very long time. But because of its softness, it was considered impractical to apply it in its pure form. The working material was silver-copper alloys. Of these, for example, were usually made claws and teeth of demons, tigers and dragons. However, pure silver cast tsubas are also known.
"Moon rabbit over the waves". Cast silver tsuba. Copper is used only to fit the blade. Production time: 1615-1868 Length 5, 7 cm; width 4, 8 cm; thickness 0.8 cm; weight 68 g.
The same tsuba - reverse.
Gold is a “magic metal”. This has always been considered, paying attention primarily to its chemical resistance and excellent malleability. But it is too soft in its pure form, so the Japanese used it in the form of alloys, and in its pure form only in the form of the smallest details, for example, bracelets on the paws of demons were made from it! Usually, pure gold or kin was used for such parts. Used alloys of gold with copper - aka-kin or "red gold" and silver - ao-kin or "dull gold". Finally, for the manufacture of gold coins, called koban, gold alloys of different composition were also taken, and the tsubako master, in principle, could take such a coin, melt it and use it in his work.
For this tsuba, the name could have come up only that the Japanese himself, and then … medieval. It seems to be a simple product, but look how much there is in it. And how many different methods of working with metal have been used. The master seemed to want to show everyone that "everything is very simple here, but I can work." Production time: XIX century. Material: copper, gold, shakudo, shibuichi, silver. Length: 5.6 cm; width 4, 3 cm; thickness 0.5 cm; weight 65, 2.
"Caught a hedgehog fish." A very beautiful tsuba, in the shape of a samurai helmet, inlaid with dyed mother-of-pearl and corals in the Chinese technique. Production time: XVIII century. Material: varnish (maki-yo), wood, mother-of-pearl, coral, ivory, tortoise shell, tin, copper. Length 9.8 cm; width 8, 9 cm; thickness 1 cm; weight 79, 4 g.
The same tsuba - reverse.
Well, and as already noted, sometimes unusual materials such as varnished wood, patent leather, ivory and even porcelain were used. There are known tsubas decorated with cloisonné enamel, as well as inlaid with mother-of-pearl, corals and even a "tortoise shell". Although, yes, such tsubas were rare and only in the peaceful Edo era.
Tsuba inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Production time: 1615-1868 Material: copper, gold, mother of pearl. Length 7.6 cm; width 7 cm; thickness 0.5 cm; weight 136, 1 g.
* All tsubas from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
