In this volume are presented 122 National Treasures of decorative arts,composing swords and sword mountings.
Sword mounting with ring pommel and chokutb blade
Komura-jinja, Kochi. Protohistoric period. Mounting: length of scabbard 92.1 cm., length of hilt 19.39 cm. Blade: length
68.32 cm., width at butt 2.9 cm.
Chokutb blade known as Heishi Shorin Ken Shitenno-ji,
Osaka. Asuka period. Length 65.8 cm., width at butt 2.6 cm.
Inlaid in gold on one side of the blade near the hilt are four characters reading Heishi Shorin.
Chokuto blade known as Shichisei Ken Shitennd-ji,
Osaka. Asuka period. Length 62.4 cm., width at butt 2.4 cm.
Inlaid in gold on the blade are seven stars in the form of the Plough (shichisei) and three other stars.
Chokutb blade and sword mounting Kashima-jingu, Ibaraki. Nara to Heian period. Blade: length 224.0 cm. Mounting: length of hilt 40.3 cm., length of scabbard 228.0 cm.,
curvature 0.4 cm., width at butt 4.2 cm. The mounting of black-lacquered wood was formerly decorated with a design of lions in the hyomon technique but the metal decorative motifs have long since been lost. The gilt-bronze fittings remaining on the scabbard and hilt are ornamented with a design of floral scrolls in openwork.
Double edged ken blade, with mounting Kongo-ji, Osaka.
length of tang 12.1 cm. Mounting: overall length 80.6 cm. Ken is more or less a symmetrical blade. The mounting now belonging to this blade was made during the Kamakura period.
Tachi blade signed Sanjo, known as Meibutsu Mikazuki Munechika, with mounting Mr. Seiichird Watanabe,
Tokyo. 12th century, Heian period. Length 80.0 cm., curvature 2.7 cm., width at butt 2.9 cm. Tachi is a blade over 60 cm. in length (tang not included), intended to be worn slung with cords or chains from the girdle (cutting edge
downwards). The term meibutsu is an epithet for certain swords of high fame listed as such in the book Kyoho Meibutsu-cho (edited during the Kyoho era, 1716-1735, by the sword appraiser Hon'ami Koetsu). Munechika is the name of the maker of the blade, and the name Sanjo signed on the tang is the place in Kyoto where he lived.
Toshiro Tokugawa Reimei-kai Foundation, Tokyo. Mid-Kamakura period. Length 27.7 cm., width at butt 2.3 cm.
Tanto blade signed Yoshimitsu, known as Meibutsu Atsushi Toshiro Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo. Kamakura
period. Length 21.8 cm., width at butt 1.8 cm.
Double edged ken blade signed Yoshimitsu Shirayama-hime-jinja, Ishikawa.
Mid-Kamakura period. Length 22.9 cm.,width at butt 2.2 cm.
Kodachi blade signed Rai Kunitoshi, with mount Futarasan-jinja, Tochigi. 13th century, Kamakura period.
Blade: length 54.3 cm., curvature 1.7 cm., width at blade 2.4 cm., width near kissaki 1.3 cm. Mounting: overall lens 81.6 cm. Kodachi is a small tachi, a blade similar in form a tachi shorter in length. Both the hilt and the scabbard wrapped spirally (hirumaki) with leather bands and lacqued black.
Tanto blade signed Rai Kunitoshi Kurokawa Kenkyo-sho, Hyogo. 13th century, Kamakura period.
24.5 cm., width at butt 2.24 cm.
Tachi blade signed Sadatoshi Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo. Early Kamakura period. Length 78.7 cm., curvature 3.0 cm., width at butt 2.8 cm., width near kissaki 2.0 cm
Kissaki is the triangular part at the farther end of the blade
Tachi blade signed Kuniyuki Mr. Otoyasu Fujisawa
Tokyo. 13th century, Kamakura period. Length 76.5 cm.
curvature 3.03 cm., width at butt 2.9 cm., width near kissaki
2.0 cm. Kuniyuki was the founder of the Rai school of sword
makers in Yamashiro Province (the modern Kyoto Prefecture) and has left a considerable number of tachi blades.
Tachi blade signed Rai Kunitoshi Mr. Kunio Watanabe Tokyo. 13th century, Kamakura period. Length 72.2 cm.
curvature 2.2 cm., width at butt 2.7 cm., width near kissaki 1.8 cm.
Tanto blade signed Rai Kunitoshi Atsuta-jingu, At1316 A.D., Kamakura period. Length 25.1 cm., width at....