Welcome to my Nihonto related collection
(Under development)
I have for a couple of years been interested in the art of the Japanese sword but just recently become serious and started to take time to investigate. My knowledge is very limited and are under need of help regarding information about my modest collection. I'm going to post images of parts of my collection and hopefully some people would like to share their thoughts and knowledge, I'm looking for all types of information regarding my pieces, it could be for example design, style, age, artist or just a simple note if you liked it or not. Everything is welcomed.
This page will contain pictures of some of my pieces, in addition to my pictures ill write down all information or thoughts and guesses I have regarding my objects (which probably wont be much :). Important to understand that this page is mainly used for me to collect my thoughts and information, much of what's written here are probably questionable and even wrong. Please correct any information here and guide me to the correct path.
Press images for detailed photos.
Will ad some information soon.
Signature: Sukesada (祐定)
Blade length: 19.5cm (7.68inch)
Sori: 0.1cm (0.04inch)
Moto-haba: 2.0cm (0.79inch)
Kasane: 0.7cm (0.28inch)
Era: Muromachi period, Eisho (1504-1521)
This is a typical Sukesada tanto from the Bizen tradition during the Eisho period, sunzumari (short tanto, under 20 cm in length). This type of tanto is called Yoroi-doshi which means it's made as an armour-piercing tanto. The style Yoroi-doshi is adapted from the Yamashiro tradition. There are a great number of listed Sukesada from this period, it's difficult to know which one has made this blade, but judging from appearance I would guess it's probably not made by one of the most skilled ones. These blades were made in great number as they were mass produced for the wars.
The blade is in poor condition and I can't make out the hamon, the blade is bent which makes me believe it has been used as it was intended for which is piercing armour. There are strange markings on the edge of the nakago, which looks to be added intentional, the markings appear to be related to the habaki where similar markings can be found. A previous owner has tried to polish the blade leaving it with a scratched surface. Despite the scratches I find it strange that I cant see any hamon, makes me think that it may be fire damaged. It has a nice silver foiled two piece habaki which appears to have been gold foiled previously.
Mumei tsuba, possibly Akasaka, late edo period
7.0 cm H x 6.8 cm W x 0.6 cm mimi and seppa dai
This tsuba was fitted on a mumei wakizashi, which has not yet been attributed. It is an Iron Sukashi tsuba with a classic design. The doubled elements at 12:00 and 6:00 are ginger shoots (myoga). At 3:00 and 9:00 are tea whisks. On the diagonals are folding fans and linking them all are birds. The inside of the rim is a very loose kiri. Given the design, it is expected that the tsuba would have some light carvings (kebori) defining the ginger shoots and tea whisks. However the are no carvings present. The surface of the tsuba is pitted and the walls of the sukashi is dry.
It has been mentioned that the tsuba probably has been cleaned with some sort of aggressive chemical for some unknown reason which has left it, with the pitted surface and the dry walls. The surface has then been treated with wax which is making the surface somewhat normal looking.
Given the present condition it's very hard to say what group could have made it. Given the thickness, Akasaka is a possibility.
This is a pair of menukis that are fitted on a wakazashi blade signed Bizen no Kami Sukekuni. I dont know if they are signed since I haven't dismounted them from the tsuka. The design of the menukis probably are related to bugaku. Bugaku is traditional dances performed during ceremonies and sacral feasts. Significant to the Bugaku is the facial masks and that they play unique instruments, also the performers are all male.
One of the menukis is one of those instruments called sho with a side-blown flute depicted behind it. Sho is a mouth-blown reed instrument.
The other menuki is a facial mask with a exaggerated nose. The long nose is significant for the mythical creature Tengu, however several books mention that the bugaku mask depicting the shinto god Sarutahiko no Mikoto is frequently confused with a tengu.
The menukis are probably from late Edo-period. Made from a copper alloy that has been gold washed. Much of the gold has been worn of.
This is a set of unsigned tosogu fitted on a wakizashi signed Bizen no Kami Sukekuni.
The design for the tsuba is shishi and peonies around rocks. The fushi/kashira are in the same design with peonies, however likely made from a different hand. Shishi is a Chinese lion and peonies are a type of flower. The work is high-relief carving called takabori with gold inlays, and granulated surface called nanako. The design and work is very popular in the Mino/Goto-styled fittings.
This set of fittings is however not from Goto-school, they are made in the late Edo period made as copies of the high quality Goto-works. These fittings are not bad, however it clearly lacks the fine touch that are significant to Goto work and in places it feels sloppy. These type of fittings are often referred to as Nagoya-mono. It's a kind of shiiremono that copied Mino/Goto style. These fittings are often marketed as "Mino Goto," but the quality of the materials and workmanship is not at that level of work.
The material is not shakudo, this type of fittings is often coated with a thin black wash but that is often worn away from the seppa dai, resulting in a much brighter finish than intended.
This is a wakizashi signed Izumi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisada however its a gimei.
Approximately 90% of all blades signed with top smiths signatures are gimei, and this one falls under that group. I believe that this blade was made intentionally as a forgery, and not a mumei blade signed afterwards. This because the hamon is similar to the works of the master artist. It has on each side the combination of what i believe is maru kashira (round heads) in groups first 3 then 5 and then 3 again.
Front side has Futasuji-bi that reaches to the middle of the blade. On the back side a Koshi-bi with the same length. The blade also has Horimono, one on the front and two on the back, unsure about the design but they look like clouds. I'm not impressed by the carving and one of them is masking an ugly fukure.
The blade is in poor condition, hamon is hard to se due to scratches. It has a ware on the nakago and a masked fukure on the middle of the back side, also the nakago has been cleaned removing much of it's original patina.
This is an mumei tsuba. The style or school is not identified.
The design shows a group of red faced small people, breaking a large wine jug. The wine pours to their delight. This is an allusion to Sojo. Sojo are mythical creatures in Chinese mythology who like to drink wine and represent good fortune.
Sojo often appear in the Japanese Noh drama, "Sojo" for one, and in the Kabuki. In Japanese theatre, they are depicted as small, red-faced children - not really quite human, who break open the large wine jug to get at the delicious wine. These activities represent celebration and good fortune when they appear.
Traditionally, when you see a large jar of wine being broken open by imp like children or red faced small people, this is an allusion to Sojo. Sometimes, as in Shoami tsuba, the design is only of the large jar of wine with wine flowing out of its broken side with no sojo at all. This is also the same allusion. Without the presence of the sojo, the technique is called "rusu moyo" where the main design element is only "implied' in the design and not present. This is a common design technique in tsuba design
Trying to translate the mei of a Kogatana which was mounted on a aikuchi mounted blade signed Sukesada.
I belive the mei to be 彳成信行, however very unsure about the first kanji. last 2 kanji is Nobuyuki
Signed iron tsuba.
This tsuba is signed Shoami Shigenobu (正阿弥重信) and its a Aizu Shoami tsuba made by Shigenobu.
Aizu is in the south of Japan, famous for their Aizu lacquer work and the Byakko-tai - a brave band of teenage warriors who fought in the last part of the Edo Period. When they returned from battle and saw their castle burning, they all committed seppuku, The average age of this group of about 24 warriors was 14-15 years old.
This tsuba was mounted on a unidentified mumei wakazashi. The design is open-work cloud design in three places and with more engraved clouds on the surface. This design is the "signature design" of Shigenobu and he made many tsubas in this design. Occasionally there is a example which is of superior quality but generally, many are of "mass-produced" quality
This is a very solid tsuba that appears to be well suited as a guard. I truly like the dimensions and the overall feeling of this tsuba. However the tsuba is affected by red rust in particular on the front side which indicates poor quality of the iron. Even though I really like this tsuba and the overall design and workmanship. Its clearly a piece of "mass-produced" quality.
7.2 cm H x 7.1 cm W x 0.5 cm T
Unsigned iron tsuba.
This is a tsuba i don't think very highly of. Even though it feels genuine it is not very strong and is pretty simple.
It probably is a late 19th century copy of an earlier design in a poor condition. It could even be a new reproduction that has been intentionally rusted. However it would be surprising if it would be a 20th century tsuba in regards of provenance.
An example of a wonderful early tsuba in this design is found at the bottom of this link. Jim Gilbert's tsuba page
8.0 cm H x 8.0 cm W x 0.4 cm T
Sugata: Hira-zukuri. Iori-mune. No Zori. Jitetsu: Unknown. Hamon: Gunome. Nakago: Ubu, Futsu. Nakago-Jiri: Haagari. Yasurime: Kesho.
Nagasa: 29.2 cm, Motohaba 2.9 cm, Kasane 0.7 cm
This tanto blade is made by the third generation Setsu Hirotaka. He has signed this blade with 新泉子廣高 "Shinsenshi Hirotaka" written in Sosho kanji (cursive style). Shinsenshi is a Art title given by himself, and Hirotaka is the Art name (working name) of the smith. A translation for Shinsenshi would be "Son of the new spring" or "New son of the spring" probably the former, and spring would be as spring water. He is the third generation Setsu Hirotaka, a line that originally came from Mino (Seki). He worked around the Anei period (1772-1781) in Osaka, Settsu. He also signed Inazu Ryusenshi Hirotaka. This blade is need of a reshape, the tip of kissaki is broken, but repairable. The rest of the kissaki appears to have slightly different shapes on each side. A number of small chips, scratches and rust are present but no other kizu is visible.
The smith is listed in Toko Taikan on page 529, and listed in Hawley's as HIR 429. Oshigata of his signatures can be seen on page 5 and 8 in "Shinto Bengi Oshigata" by Hawley, however they are there listed as Hiroshige which is wrong.
This is a pair of menuki. In form of lizards. They are made from different artists. Its easy to see the difference, The first is to me a more delicate work, where the artist has managed to give the lizard life and a personality, in some sense reflecting human features. The next menuki is a lesser work in my opinion. It lacks the delicate workmanship and have not managed to capture the human features in the art. It has more of the animal features, and as a result lacks a soul and appears lifeless. However this could of course be intentional given that the artist has added a fang to the lizard. Both is made of a copper alloy but second menuki is gold washed whereas the first only has traces of gold left. Judging by the amount of removed gold, and the odd colour change on the head of the lizard, it probably been cleaned with a chemical. I believe the first is an older piece and its twin has been lost and a new was made. They are both signed, haven't figured out the first mei yet. But the newer menuki is signed 政明 "Mesaaki".
Thank you for your interest.
Please contact me on fredmans@bredband.net
Latest update 2005-06-15