chōzamegawa (蝶鮫皮) – sturgeon skin has some peculiar: there are butterfly (chō, 蝶) shaped scales along certain areas, which has earned the fish the name chōzame. These scales were also used for saya decoration and due to the rarity of sturgeon skin, chōzamegawa koshirae were quite a luxury product. On the photo: Edo period chōzame blue lacquered daishō koshirae. The blue lacquered scabbard with butterfly scales applied with a mother-of-pearl was made by Gotō Mitsuaki (後藤光晃). The mitokoromono is signed Gotō Teijō (後藤程乗); fuchigashira is signed Nomura Masayoshi (野村正芳). Provenance: Hitotsubashi Tokugawa (一橋徳川) family. See Less