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KOJIRI by MATSUO GASSAN 松尾月山
Matsuo Gassan (松尾月山) was born in September of 1815 and he passed away on March 18, 1875. He was the…
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KURIKATA by ISSHIN (Masatatsu) 一真 (政龍)
Isshin (一真 ) was born in Kyôto on November 11, 1814 and he died on December4, 1882. His father, Baba…
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FUCHI/KASHIRA by KAWARABASHI HIDEKUNI 川原林秀国
Hidekuni (秀国) was born on March 10, 1825 and he died on September 27, 1891. He was the son of…
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MENUKI by AOKI HARUTSURA 青木春貴
Harutsura (春貴) was born in Kyôto in 1805 and he died on February 14, 1858. He was the son of…
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TSUBA by SASAYAMA TOKUOKI 篠山篤興
Tokuoki (篤興) was born on November 17th of Bunka 10 (1813) and he passed away on December 10 of Meiji…
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KOZUKA by KANÔ NATSUO 加納夏雄
Kanô Natsuo (加納夏雄) was born on April 14th of the 11th year of Bunsei (1828) as the son of a…
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(NSFW) A very rare kozuka by Goto Eijô 後藤栄乗(1574-1617).
(NSFW) This is an exceedingly rare kozuka done with a shunga subject of a man and a woman in an…
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THREE KO-GATANA FOR Ô-KOZUKA 大小柄の小刀
As one would expect, oversized kozuka (ô-kozuka) require oversized blades (ko-gatana). The word, ko-gatana, literally means small sword. Whether…
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TWO SHIBUICHI Ô-KOZUKA 四分一大小柄
Below are two shibuichi (四分一)ô-kozuka. Shibuichi is a composite metal made of three parts copper to one part silver. The…
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THREE SHAKUDO Ô-KOZUKA 赤銅大小柄
Below are three shakudo (赤銅)ô-kozuka. The top ô-kozuka is from the kinko school. It is a deep and rich shakudo…
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THREE BRASS Ô-KOZUKA 真鍮大小柄
Below are three shinchû 真鍮 (brass) ô-kozuka. The top one is actually gilded in gold with silver inlay of what…
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TWO COPPER Ô-KOZUKA 素銅大小柄
Below are two suaka 素銅 (copper) ô-kozuka. The top one is copper with a large shakudo river boat floating amid…
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FOUR IRON Ô-KOZUKA 鉄大小柄
Below are four o-kozuka made of iron. The top o-kozuka is very interesting. The reverse is gilded in silver with…
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TWO KO-KINKO Ô-KOZUKA 古金工大小柄
The image below shows two Ko-Kinko ô-kozuka. The first one is large measuring 4 3/4 inches by 3/4 inches. It…
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TWO WAKI-GOTÔ Ô-KOZUKA 脇後藤
The top ô-kozuka depicts the battle of Dan-no-Ura which was the ultimate conflict between the Taira and the Minamoto in…
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THREE GOTÔ Ô-KOZUKA 後藤大小柄
The three kozuka below are of the Gotô school with the top one being attributed to Gotô Eijô also called…
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TWO Ô-KOZUKA 大小柄
This is an iron ô-kozuka measuring 4 3/8 inches by 7/8 inches. It has a crescent moon outlined in silver…
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TWO Ô-KOGAI 大笄
The image below shows three kogai. There top kogai is one of “normal” proportions to show the relative size of…
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SAMURAI “BOY SCOUT” KOZUKA
The Samurai who carried this kozuka believed in the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared”. No matter where he roamed,…
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KAGA GOTÔ Ô-KOZUKA 加賀後藤大小柄
Some years ago, I developed an interest in ô-kozuka. These are kozuka that are larger than the norm and were…
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JEWISH/BUDDHIST SAMURAI?
OY VEY!! What have we here? Little did I know that one of my ancestors was the one and only…
