katana;
fuchi-kashira;
tsuba;
saya;
tsuka
- Museum number
- 1958,0730.136.a-d
- Description
-
a: Long sword blade (katana). Made of steel. Marked and signed. Stored in wooden sheath. With mounting.
b: Scabbard (saya). Seven Gods of Good Fortune depicted in high-relief coloured metal inlay on shakudo. Made of ribbed, black-lacquered wood, and textile.
c: Hilt (tsuka). Seven Gods of Good Fortune depicted in high-relief coloured metal inlay on shakudo. Made of wood, rayskin and lacquered and braided baleen. Signed.
d: Sword guard (tsuba). Mokko-shaped. Seven Gods of Good Fortune depicted in high-relief coloured metal inlay. Made of gold, nigurome and overlaid shakudo. Signed.
- Production date
-
17thC (mid)
-
18thC late
-
19thC (tsuba)
- Dimensions
-
Length: 74.30 centimetres (cutting edge)
-
Curvature: 1.30 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Harris 2005
This blade is 'shinogi zukuri', with the shape and shallow curve typical of Kambun-era (1661-73) 'shinto', and a medium 'kissaki'. The unmodified tang has one hole and the file marks are 'katte sagari'. The tang tip is 'iriyamagata'. The grain is closely packed 'itame' with much 'jinie', blending into 'masame' on the 'shinogi ji' region. The 'hamon' is a particularly well-contrived bright 'suguha' with much 'nie'. The 'boshi' is 'komaru' with a deep and broad return.
This is a healthy blade, which remains much in its original condition. The inscription tells that the blade was made in Edo by the smith Yasutsugu using 'namban tetsu' (literally 'barbarian iron', imported steel). It was made by the third generation of the Yasutsugu family.
The 'uchigatana' mounting has a black-lacquered ribbed scabbard with the Seven Lucky Gods depicted in high-relief coloured metal inlay on 'shakudo'. The 'fuchi' and 'kashira' are signed 'Kikuchi Noritaka' and the 'tsuba' is signed 'Kankyu'. The 'fuchi' and 'kashira' are by Naotaka, who established a branch of the Yokoya school in Edo, and was active during the second half of the eighteenth century. The tsuba maker Tani Kankyu, later called Yokoya and probably related to the Yokoya school of Naotaka, took to painting with the fall in demand for sword fittings after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He lived in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, until his death in 1915 at the age of eighty-two.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1958
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1958,0730.136.a-d
