katana;
blade;
fuchi-kashira;
menuki;
tsuba;
tsuka;
saya;
shirazaya
- Museum number
- 1958,0730.123.a
- Description
-
a) Katana (long sword blade). Made of gold inlaid steel. Signed. Stored in wooden storage sheath.
b) Saya (scabbard). Fudo's sword and dragon in high-relief gold makie and gold leaf on obverse; seven crests (mon) of five different types on reverse; metal collar at mouth with deity Marishi-ten standing on a boar in high-relief coloured metal inlay on shibuichi. Inscribed. Made of lacquered wood; textile.
c) Tsuka (hilt). Hilt: made of wood, ray skin, metal, braided textile. Menuki: Buddhist gongs in coloured metals. Fuchi-kashira: priest's fly whisk, Buddhist sutra scroll and incense burner in coloured metals; signed.
d) Tsuba (sword guard). Scenes from Chinese story 'Saiyuki' in high-relief coloured metal intay: Monkey kneeling by waterfall, with cloud. Made of overlaid sentoku. Signed.
- Production date
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16thC
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19thC
-
1868-1912
- Dimensions
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Length: 65.20 centimetres (cutting edge)
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Curvature: 1.60 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Harris 2005
This blade is 'shinogi zukuri', has undergone 'osuriage', and has a medium 'kissaki'. The tang has two holes and the file marks are 'kiri'. The tang tip is 'kiri'. The grain is flowing 'itame' mixed with 'mokume' with much 'jinie' and 'chikei'. The 'hamon' is a deep valleyed 'gunome' with 'togariba' in 'nie', and there are many 'ashi' and 'yo'. The 'nioiguchi' is tight. The 'boshi' is 'komaru' on the 'omote', and 'notare' with 'komaru' on the 'ura'.
The tang has a gold inlay attribution reading 'Kanesada ake' (cut-down Kanesada), implying that the original signature was of the early sixteenth-century smith Kanesada, known as 'Nosada'. Although the blade might not be the work of Kanesada, it is a fine quality piece of the same Seki school in Mino Province.
The 'uchigatana'-style mounting has a scabbard of gold 'ikakeji' with a 'kurikara' in high-relief gold 'makie' and gold leaf on the 'omote' and seven 'mon' of five different types on the 'ura'. The metal collar at the mouth of the scabbard has the deity Marishi-ten in high-relief coloured metal inlay on 'shibuichi' on the 'omote', and an inscription in Chinese meaning 'If you persevere, you will always accomplish' on the 'ura'. The 'fuchi' and 'kashira' have a priest's fly whisk, a Buddhist sutra scroll and an incense burner, with 'menuki' in the form of Buddhist gongs, all in coloured metals. The 'fuchi' is signed 'Yumeiken Masahiro', a metalworker of Kai Province. The 'tsuba' has scenes from the Chinese story 'Saiyuki' (The Water Margin) in high-relief coloured metal intay. It bears the spurious signature of the important eighteenth-century maker Shojuken Nobuyuki, but is actually export work of the Meiji era, albeit of outstandingly high quality.
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated titles
Associated Title: Saiyuki
- Acquisition date
- 1958
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1958,0730.123.a
