katana;
blade;
habaki;
sword-sheath;
kojiri;
fuchi-kashira;
tsuba;
saya;
tsuka
- Museum number
- 1958,0730.184.a-d
- Description
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Katana (long sword blade); habaki 1958,0730.184.a. Blade: made of steel; signed, marked and inscribed. Habaki: in form of helmet crest; made of silver.
Saya (scabbard) with kojiri 1958,0730.184.b. Part of mounting for katana. Stylized cloud designs inlaid; kojiri in form of Wind God's bag. Made of black lacquered wood; also metal.
Tsuka (hilt) 1958,0730.184.c. Part of mounting for katana. Hilt: made of wood, ray skin, metal. Fuchi-kashira: dragons in high relief; made of iron; signed.
Tsuba (sword guard) 1958,0730.184.d. Part of mounting for katana. Dragon passing over Mount Fuji in high-relief sculpture and with gold inlay. Made of iron. Signed.
- Production date
- 18thC (early)
- Dimensions
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Length: 70 centimetres (cutting edge)
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Curvature: 1.80 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Harris 2005
This blade is 'shinogi zukuri' with a shallow curve and has a medium 'kissaki'. The unmodified tang has one hole and the file marks are shallow 'katte sagari'. The tang tip is 'kurijiri'. The grain is an attractive, closely packed 'koitame'. The 'hamon' is a standard 'suguha' with a fluffy 'nioiguchi'. The 'boshi' is a slightly pointed 'komaru'. This healthy blade looks like Rai or Enju work of the Kamakura period and may be in conscious imitation of such. It is fitted with a silver 'habaki' in the form of a 'kuwagata' (helmet crest).
The black lacquer scabbard (not illustrated) has inlaid stylized cloud designs. The 'fuchi' and 'kashira' are iron with dragons in high relief in Mito-school style, but inscribed with the spurious signature 'Yanagawa Naomasa'. The 'tsuba' is iron, decorated with a dragon passing over Mount Fuji in high-relief sculpture and with gold inlay, and signed 'Omi kuni Gessensai Minamoto Shigetsuyo' (Gessensai Shigetsuyo of the Minamoto clan in Omi Province). This mounting was assembled in the late Edo period.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1958
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1958,0730.184.a-d