EIGHT FUCHI-GASHIRA (HILT COLLARS AND POMMELS) Edo period (1615-1868), 18th to 19th century (16)EIGHT FUCHI-GASHIRA (HILT COLLARS AND POMMELS)Edo period (1615-1868), 18th to 19th centuryThe first shakudo, chiselled in katakiribori technique with shishi (Chinese mythical lions) and peonies, signed Sofu Kanenori no tanmen o narrate horare, Nishimura-shi no motome ni yotte nari Chishiki Kaneteru (Chishiki Kaneteru made this at the request of Mr Nishimura, carved in imitation of a tsuba by my great-grandfather Kanenori [Haynes 02523]); the second an unassociated set, copper, gold, and shakudo, the kashira with a spiny lobster, the fuchi with ho-o birds and dragon, signed Reibokudo Masaoki (Haynes 04423) with a kao; the third shibuichi, gold, and copper, with dragon, tiger, and bamboo, signed Tsuchiya Terufusa motomeni ojite utsusu [...] Kagemasa saku (Made by Kagemasa [...] copying from Tsuchiya Terufusa [Terutsugu, Haynes 09654]); the fourth shibuichi and silver, chiselled in katakiribori technique with tigers, bamboo, and rocks, signed Kano Nuinosuke ga Nagamine (Nagamine, [after a] painting by Kano Nuinosuke); the fifth shibuichi and flat inlay of silver and shakudo with crows, moon, and withered branch after the famous haiku by Basho Kare-eda ni karasu no tomaritaru, with signature and seal Rinsendo Mitsumasa; the sixth shakudo and gold, with geese descending at Katata, signed Hachijuo Arichika; the seventh copper, carved in high relief with dragons and waves, signed Tohi no ju Miyazaki Jitokusai with a kao (Miyazaki Jitokusai of eastern Hizen Province, probably Haynes 02077); the last copper and gold, carved in high relief with shishi and peonies, signed Yasui Takanaga with a kao. (16).None