Kogatana and Kogai
ca. 1800-1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A kogatana is a small knife and a kogai is a small bodkin-like implement, both carried in a pocket in the scabbard. These two have been made from shakudo, an alloy of copper and gold which is generally patinated to a rich black colour, and are decorated with gold and silver relief depicting lions, and signed Kikuoka Mitsutoshi.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | copper-gold alloy (<i>shakudo</i>) with gold and silver |
| Brief description | Scabbard-knife (kogatana) and skewer (kogai), copper-gold alloy (shakudo) with gold and silver relief depicting lions, both signed Kikuoka Mitsutoshi, Japan, ca.1800-1850 |
| Physical description | Scabbard-knife (kogatana) and skewer (kogai), copper-gold alloy (shakudo) with gold and silver relief depicting lions, both signed Kikuoka Mitsutoshi |
| 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) |
| Summary | A kogatana is a small knife and a kogai is a small bodkin-like implement, both carried in a pocket in the scabbard. These two have been made from shakudo, an alloy of copper and gold which is generally patinated to a rich black colour, and are decorated with gold and silver relief depicting lions, and signed Kikuoka Mitsutoshi. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.1402-1931 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 2, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
