Existing comment:
Sword Fittings: Tokens of Power and Luck:
Themes taken from nature may help the samurai prepare his mind for death (see the far panel). Those who carried a sword could also choose fittings decorated with a deity thought to bestow strength or good fortune. Many of these talismanic figures are Chinese in origin -- some long known in Japan, others not popular until the 18th and 19th centuries, when printed editions of the Chinese military novel Romance of Three Kingdoms became widely available and when schooling included the Chinese Confucian classics.
For ferocity of behavior and adeptness at the martial arts, no hero surpassed Shoki the Demon Quelier (1-2), originally the Chinese Chung K'uei, who appeared to a T'ang emperor in a dream and promised the expulsion of all the devils in the empire. Other models of fierceness include the thunder gods (5), a traditional guardian at the gate of a Buddhist temple (6), a tiger (7), and a hawk (7). Loyalty is exemplified by the three warrior heroes of Han China (4), characters in the Romance of Three Kingdoms.
Taoist immortals (8-12) were legendary figures who had discovered the secrets of longevity and possessed various other powers. In China, a cure group of eight was frequently depicted flying over the sea to a western paradise, and this theme sometimes appears on sword fittings (12). More frequently, they were shown singly.
Certain animals -- notably the crane (13-14) -- have strong associations with the longevity of the Taoist immortals. The rabbit that dwells in the moon (15, 17) pounds out an elixir of immortality, and the divine tortoise (16) lives a thousand years.
The Seven Gods of Good Fortune(18-20) were brought together as a group of popular deities in the 17th century. Sometimes either they or their attributes are all shown aboard a treasure-laden ship (20), Hosei (18) is god of contentment. Ultimately Indian in origin, Daikoku (with his rice bale and jewels), stands for wealth in minerals and cereals (19). A purely Japanese deity, Ebisu, lord of daily food, holds a fish basket (18). |