Rotten Gourd Bokuto

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Product Description for Rotten Gourd Bokuto

Maker: Tom Sterling (click to see more by this maker)
Item num: 86691
*** This is handmade and one-of-a-kind ***
Total length: 9.00 in.
Item weight: 19.45 oz.
Shipment weight: 28.5 oz.
Description: Bokuto are small "swords" worn by Japanese physicians, actors and artists who were prohibited from wearing katana and other knives, though their status in Japanese society required them to travel in the wilds. They are thought to have been a small martial arts weapon, usually lavishly carved from wood, and worn suspended from the kimono obi (cord used to hold the kimono closed), much like netsuke.
Tom Sterling's interpretation of a bokuto would indeed make a formidable weapon, but it is also a dramatic art work. He began by hand forging an 1800s era wrought iron anchor chain into a rough gourd shape. This was then meticulously hand carved. A carved wasp rests in a hollow. Tunnels, as though eaten by other insects, travel throughout the gourd. An earwig scuttles along the surface, partially covered by the gourd's stem and leaves.
The Rotten Gourd Bokuto is accompanied by a hand-carved driftwood base. Exceptional work throughout on a fantastically original piece!


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