12 fuchi-gashira (matching hilt collars and pommels)

Edo period (1615-1868), late 18th/19th century

Edo period (1615-1868), late 18th/19th century
The first shibuichi, with horses chased in katagiribori technique, signed Kiyoyasu with a kao; the second sentoku, chiseled and inlaid with a rooster perched on a mortar, and baskets, unsigned; the third shakudo inlaid in mixed metals with the Chinese poet Ri Haku (Li Bo) seated by a waterfall, the fuchi with a servant boy leading a buffalo, signed Inase Tomohide; the fourth shakudo nanako inlaid in silver and gold with horses, obscurely signed, perhaps Ipposai Masamitsu; the fifth shibuichi chased and inlaid with masked Manzai dancers and bamboo, unsigned; the sixth shibuichi chiseled to simulate wood grain and inlaid with gold insects, unsigned; the seventh shibuichi with Komei and Chohi from the Sangokushi (Records of the Three Kingdoms), unsigned; the eighth shibuichi, decorated in mixed-metal relief with a Noh actor in the role of Okina, the Old Man, the fuchi with a pine tree, signed Katsuryushi Masayoshi; the ninth shakudo nanako inlaid in mixed metals with spiny lobsters, unsigned; the tenth iron, chased in relief with dragons (gilt details), signed Hitotsuyanagi Tomoyoshi with a kao; the eleventh shibuichi ishime-ji chased in relief with an eagle in a pine tree (gold details), signed Hidekazu kore o tsukuru (Hidekazu made this); the twelfth shibuichi, the kashira modelled in mixed metals with a cicada, the fuchi with a stag beetle in relief, unsigned. (24).