Kozuka thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Japan, Room 45, The Toshiba Gallery

Kozuka

ca. 1750-1800 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This handle for a scabbard knife is called a kozuka. It is made of shibuichi, an alloy of copper and silver which is normally patinated to give a wide variety of colours from silver to brown as well as a range of greys. This example is decorated with gold low relief and engraving which depicts the front view of a tiger.

It has been signed "Hamano Masayuki, aged 70".


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
copper-silver alloy (<i>shibuichi</i>) with gold low relief and engraving
Brief description
Handle (kozuka) for a scabbard-knife, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi) with gold low relief and engraving depicting front view of a tiger, signed Hamano Masayuki aged 70, Hamano school, Japan, ca. 1750-1800
Physical description
Handle (kozuka) for a scabbard-knife, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi) with gold low relief and engraving depicting front view of a tiger, signed Hamano Masayuki aged 70
Style
Marks and inscriptions
signed Hamano Masayuki aged 70
Gallery label
Skewers, utility knives and handles (kōgai, kogatana and kozuka) The scabbards of some swords had slots into which small skewers (kōgai) and knives (kogatana) fitted. The handles of the knives are called kozuka. Holes in the sword guard allowed the skewers and knives to slide in and out of the scabbard without the sword being drawn. The skewers were used by samurai to arrange their hair and clean their ears. Some were bifurcated and could be used as chopsticks. The skewers and knife handles were usually made from patinated copper alloy and often decorated with matching designs. (04/11/2015)
Subject depicted
Summary
This handle for a scabbard knife is called a kozuka. It is made of shibuichi, an alloy of copper and silver which is normally patinated to give a wide variety of colours from silver to brown as well as a range of greys. This example is decorated with gold low relief and engraving which depicts the front view of a tiger.

It has been signed "Hamano Masayuki, aged 70".
Collection
Accession number
M.118-1936

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Record createdMarch 2, 2009
Record URL
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