Media Utsushi - In Search of Katsuhira's Tiger

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Chifunda

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Bulldogbacchus' post of Randall Rosenthal's amazing craftsmanship reminded me of this one. It's in two parts and in total runs almost half an hour, so get yourself a cold one or two and give it a look. Recommend you watch it in HD.

[video=youtube;wGMj7o6AwnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wGMj7o6AwnM[/video]

[video=youtube;pM0VnL30rDc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pM0VnL30rDc[/video]
 
I watched both parts. When he discovers the face is inlayed is pretty amazing.
 
A pleasure to watch such an amazing craftsman.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Can't believe I didn't comment. This was incredible.

Though it may be just me, there is something about the older, smaller one, that the big one doesn't have. The big one is a mind blowing work of craftsmanship, don't get me wrong. I'm talking aesthetics here. There is something about it I can't put my finger on that makes it look magical and organic.
 
That was some amazing craftsmanship. I can't imagine the time and patience he put in to that piece, but the end results speak for themselves.
 
My first question was why is the tiger upside down? Then I remembered that it is made to be seen with the sword worn edge up in a waist sash.
 
I think he said he worked on it over a period of 4 months. Just awesome dedication. I can assume the original looks more alive because it simply is the original. Anytime a facsimile is created you are always going to lose some fidelity. The name of this style of work is something like "imitation" right? And that's what it is. I can make an Eric Ripert dish but it's not going to be an Eric Ripert dish merely my interpretation of the dish. It's the soul of the artist which you can not capture, the essence.
 
To me, the new one obviously looks "cleaner" because the old one has clearly seen a lot of miles. The difference I notice is that the tiger on the waki tsuba is in represented in a more aggressive pose which kind of gives it a more realistic look, whereas on the katana tsuba, it seems a more stylized and "cartoonish" (not necessarily in a bad way) representation. The way that the details, particularly the stripes, popped when he patinated the piece was amazing. Incredible work. When he said "4 months" my jaw dropped and the Pink Floyd cash register sound effects went off in my head. I did chuckle a bit at the thought something along the lines of "gigantic white boy from Cape Town" chiseled into the back in Japanese. :D
Can't believe I didn't comment. This was incredible.

Though it may be just me, there is something about the older, smaller one, that the big one doesn't have. The big one is a mind blowing work of craftsmanship, don't get me wrong. I'm talking aesthetics here. There is something about it I can't put my finger on that makes it look magical and organic.
 
the one he made looks exactly like the black and white photo of the original. I think what gives the smaller one that fluid look is the open mouth and tongue. the face has more action thus more character. The original large one in the photo looks very cartoon like also.
 
I think it is also the natural wear.

This was mind blowing. I'd love to know how much this costs.

Imma watch it again.
 
Ive already seen this a few times before, but evey time I come across this I have to watch it again. Just absolutely mind blowing artistry and great documentary film making.

Thanks for posting.
 
Thanks Chifunda, for posting that. That is incredible. The patience required for such work is unfathomable to me.
 
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