kozuka (knife handle)

kozuka (knife handle) , after 1750, Edo period (1600–1868)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: iron; gold; copper

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 1928.2507

Not on display

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Label texts

Archive Label 2003 (version 1):
Carp are symbols of perseverance, as they annually struggle upstream to spawn. Images of carp and images of Shoki the Demon Queller were popular decorations for the annual Boy’s Day celebration held on the fifth day of the fifth month.

Archive Label 2003 (version 2):
In Japan, a kozuka can be either a small knife blade and handle as a unit or just the handle. Kozuka were used as utility knifes and were worn along with swords by Edo-period samurai. Here the knife handle is masterfully decorated in relief with a carp leaping a waterfall. Carp are symbols of perseverance because of their annual struggle to swim upstream to spawn. They are often depicted mounting a waterfall, an impossible water form to negotiate. Samurai aspired to the virtue of perseverance, thus the imagery presented on this kozuka is fitting.