Japanese

An Absolute Beauty of a Fine, Koto Period Katana, Signed Bishu Osafune Kiyomitsu & Dated 1573

A very good Koto period sword, with a beautiful polished blade. Two stage black lacquer saya with two tone counter striping at the top section and ishime stone matt lacquer at the bottom, it has an iron Higo style kojiri [bottom chape] inlaid with gold. The fuchigashira are shakudo copper with a nanako ground decorated with takebori carved ponies in pure gold, with bocage of a Japanese white pine tree above the pony on the kashira. The tsuba is a Kinai school sukashi round tsuba, in the form of an aoi, or hollyhock plant heightened with gold inlays, including Arabesque scrolls, and leaves. the tsuba came from likely a branch of the Miochin (Group IV), this family was founded by Ishikawa Kinai, who moved from Kyoto to Echizen province and died in 1680. The succeeding masters, however, bore the surname of Takahashi. All sign only Kinai [Japanese text], with differences in the characters used and in the manner of writing them.

The Kinai made guards only, of hard and well forged iron usually coated with the black magnetic oxide. They confined themselves to pierced relief showing extraordinary cleanness both of design and execution. Any considerable heightening of gold is found as a rule only in later work. Dragons in the round appear first in guards by the third master, fishes, birds, etc., in those of the fifth; while designs of autumn flowers and the like come still later. There are examples of Kinai tsuba in the Ashmolean and the British Museum. Made around to decades before but certainly used in the time of the greatest battle in samurai history "The Battle of Sekigahara" [Sekigahara no Tatakai] was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Initially, Tokugawa's eastern army had 75,000 men, while Ishida's western army numbered 120,000. Tokugawa had also sneaked in a supply of arquebuses. Knowing that Tokugawa was heading towards Osaka, Ishida decided to abandon his positions and marched to Sekigahara. Even though the Western forces had tremendous tactical advantages, Tokugawa had already been in contact with many daimyo in the Western Army for months, promising them land and leniency after the battle should they switch sides.

Tokugawa's forces started the battle when Fukushima Masanori, the leader of the advance guard, charged north from Tokugawa's left flank along the Fuji River against the Western Army's right centre. The ground was still muddy from the previous day's rain, so the conflict there devolved into something more primal. Tokugawa then ordered attacks from his right and his centre against the Western Army's left in order to support Fukushima's attack.

This left the Western Army's centre unscathed, so Ishida ordered this unit under the command of Shimazu Yoshihiro to reinforce his right flank. Shimazu refused as daimyos of the day only listened to respected commanders, which Ishida was not.

Recent scholarship by Professor Yoshiji Yamasaki of Toho University has indicated that the Mori faction had reached a secret agreement with the Tokugawa two weeks earlier, pledging neutrality at the decisive battle in exchange for a guarantee of territorial preservation, and was a strategic decision on Mori Terumoto's part that later backfired.

Fukushima's attack was slowly gaining ground, but this came at the cost of exposing their flank to attack from across the Fuji River by Otani Yoshitsugu, who took advantage of this opportunity. Just past Otani's forces were those of Kobayakawa Hideaki on Mount Matsuo.

Kobayakawa was one of the daimyos that had been courted by Tokugawa. Even though he had agreed to defect to Tokugawa's side, in the actual battle he was hesitant and remained neutral. As the battle grew more intense, Tokugawa finally ordered arquebuses to fire at Kobayakawa's position on Mount Matsuo to force Kobayakawa to make his choice. At that point Kobayakawa joined the battle as a member of the Eastern Army. His forces charged Otani's position, which did not end well for Kobayakawa. Otani's forces had dry gunpowder, so they opened fire on the turncoats, making the charge of 16,000 men mostly ineffective. However, he was already engaging forces under the command of Todo Takatora, Kyogoku Takatsugu, and Oda Yuraku when Kobayakawa charged. At this point, the buffer Otani established was outnumbered. Seeing this, Western Army generals Wakisaka Yasuharu, Ogawa Suketada, Akaza Naoyasu, and Kutsuki Mototsuna switched sides. The blade is showing a very small, combat, sword to sword, thrust from a blade tip, or, possibly a deflected arrow impact, this tiny wound so to speak should never be polished away, this is known as a most honourable battle scar, and certainly no detriment to the blade, and that likely saved the owner of the swords life in a hand to hand combat situation. See close up photo 9 in the gallery, tiny impact of around 1mm with slight bruising below over a maximum total length 5mm, max impact depth around 1mm]  read more

Code: 23305

A Super Antique Ancestral Japanese Sword. Koto Blade, Around 500 Years Old. A WW2 Officers Katana, Antique, Edo Period, Traditional Tsuka {Hilt}. Unusual Short Size, For Tank Officer Service

With original wood and lacquer Edo period traditional samurai sword saya {scabbard}. Wrapped in its WW2 issue camouflage combat leather field service cover, and a traditional military single ring belt mount. Early, and rare, top quality type 94 pierced military tsuba. The blade is in beautiful polish still showing a fulsome and elaborate midare hamon that is most stunning, and it also shows a super grain in the hada. The nakago is mumei, with numerous mekugi-ana. It has a good cat scratch gilt copper habaki {blade collar} with engraved 'rain pattern' that is named neko-gaki. The size of this katana was ideal for officer's serving in the IJA tank service, bearing in mind the size of their small tank's turret and interior. Somewhat short for traditional urban or jungle combat katana that would be used by a regular infantry IJA officer.

The original antique Edo tsuka has original silk wrap over the pair of stylized dragon menuki {hilt mounts} in copper, laid upon the traditional giant rayskin {samegawa}. Plain, patinated, antique copper fuchigashira, and the fuchi has a circular press-button aperture for an optional military button catch, as a way to lock the blade into the saya. The regulation saya retaining press button in the fuchi was often removed by the Japanese officer, and in fact was very often the case. On this sword the button was removed. The button clip was designed to hold the blade within its saya {scabbard} while ‘on the run” so to speak. This was a technical safety advantage, however, officers trained in iaido {the traditional martial art of the drawing of the sword from its saya} had no such fitting on regular katana, and if it was the button could cause a millisecond or even more of delay in combat, which by traditional swordplay standards is not only unacceptable it was also, potentially, a fatal drawback and disadvantage to the swordsman. Thus, they often removed and discarded this feature from the sword entirely.

World War Two
The tank force was primarily under the command of the IJA, and not the navy. Also, due to the nature of the Pacific theater, were operations mostly involved small islands ill-suited for tanks, these were deployed only in several large scale operational areas, were they could be effective in blitzkrieg-style tactics. These include China, the Philippines, Burma, Indonesia (Java), while some were dispersed in support of infantry units on Okinawa, Iwo Jima and several other islands. On December 22, near Damortis, on Luzon island (Philippines) the first clash between Japanese and US tanks occurred. They were opposed to M3 and M2A4 light tanks of the American 192nd Tank Battalion. The 57 mm (2.24 in) gun of the Chi-Ha, then the best frontline IJA tank, proved useless against their armour. In Burma, engaging second and third rate light tanks, and a few Stuarts from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, the Japanese proved deadly. By 1943, the SNLF, or Navy Armored Force, received its first amphibious tanks, like the Ka-Mi. 223 units would be built until 1945.

The blade is most beautiful, with natural age surface wear and thinning in areas, but no combat damage at all, without any edge chips or cuts present. The chape area of the leather has separated and a very small area of leather cover lacking.

See photo 10 that shows a tank commander, sitting on his tank and leaning on what appears to be his sword.

Overall length in saya 36.5 inches, blade tsuba to tip 20.75 inches
The Hamon is the pattern we see on the edge of the blade of any Nihonto (日本刀) and it is not merely aesthetic, but is due to the differential tempering with clay applied to weapons in the forging process. Japanese katanas are unique in the way of the forging process, where apart from the materials the system is tremendously laborious. In short, before temper, the steel has different clays applied that when submerged in water causing the characteristic blade curvature and the pattern of the hamon. This also causes the katanas to be flexible and can be very sharp, since the hardening of the steels at different temperatures causes a part of the sword to be softer and more flexible called Mune or loin and the other harder and brittle, thus having a High quality cutting edge capable of making precise and lethal cuts.
There are various types and variants, some simple and others very complex. Depending on how the clay is applied, it can form numerous forms and types of hamon.

According to legend, Amakuni Yasutsuna developed the process of differential hardening of the blades around the 8th century. The emperor was returning from battle with his soldiers when Yasutsuna noticed that half of the swords were broken:
Amakuni and his son, Amakura, picked up the broken blades and examined them. They were determined to create a sword that will not break in combat and they were locked up in seclusion for 30 days. When they reappeared, they took the curved blade with them. The following spring there was another war. Again the soldiers returned, only this time all the swords were intact and the emperor smiled at Amakuni.
Although it is impossible to determine who invented the technique, surviving blades from Yasutsuna around AD 749–811 suggest that, at the very least, Yasutsuna helped establish the tradition of differentially hardening blades  read more

Code: 25426

A Superb Superior Gendaito Signed By Master Smith Ishido Teruhide. A Finest Grade Japanese Officer’s Katana, in Regulation Type 98 Koshirae.

This is 5 star grade sword by one of the highest regarded traditional sword smiths of WW2, In exceptional condition, with a beautiful, traditionally made gendai blade showing a remarkable hamon. Regulation 98 shingunto sword koshirae, in very good condition, The saya is traditional green lacquer painted with good brass type 98 fittings, single belt suspension ring and semegane; It has a tsuka of traditional wood, wrapped in brown silk Ito over white samegawa (ray skin), standard 38 pattern brass military mounts including, menuki, fuchi, tsuba with, kabutogane with sarute in brass with sakura, and menuki decorated with sakura and chrysanthemums.
The fuchi has a circular press-button aperture for an optional military button catch, as a way to lock the blade into the saya. The regulation saya retaining press button in the fuchi was often removed by the Japanese officer, and in fact was very often the case. On this sword the button was removed. The button clip was designed to hold the blade within its saya {scabbard} while ‘on the run” so to speak. This was a technical safety advantage, however, officers trained in iaido {the traditional martial art of the drawing of the sword from its saya} had no such fitting on regular katana, and if it was the button could cause a millisecond or even more of delay in combat, which by traditional swordplay standards is not only unacceptable it was also, potentially, a fatal drawback and disadvantage to the swordsman. Thus, they often removed and discarded this feature from the sword entirely.

The Ishido School has roots back to Osaka in the early Shinto Period. They made excellent swords in the Bizen Tradition. Tatara Nagayuki, the Ishido School’s most well regarded swordsmith, made swords that emulated, and sometimes rivaled those of the famous Ichimonji School of the Koto Period.

“Ishido Teruhide (b 1900; d 1982) was the 10th and last generation of the Ishido Korekazu line of swordsmiths in Tokyo (Toto). He was a descendant of very famous Musashi Daijo Fujiwara Korekazu.

During WW II, he made many swords for high ranking military officers, colonels and generals, and also made blades for civilians.
Ishido Teruhide was ranked betseki in the 1943 swordsmith rankings by the Nihon Token Tanrenjo and the Nihon Token Shinbunshi. “Ishido Teruhide (b 1900; d 1982) was the 10th and last generation of the Ishido Korekazu line of swordsmiths in Tokyo (Toto). He was a descendant of very famous Musashi Daijo Fujiwara Korekazu. During WW II, he made many swords for high ranking military officers and also made blades for civilians. Ishido Teruhide was ranked betseki in the 1943 swordsmith rankings by the Nihon Token Tanrenjo and the Nihon Token Shinbunshi.

Ishido Teruhide signed with both a long mei and a two character mei. Teruhide also signed simply Ishido saku kao. On some of his swords, Teruhide used a kao (carved personal seal) in addition to his signature (mei). Ishido Teruhide also signed as Ishido Mitsunobu also using the same kao as with his Teruhide mei. It is possible that the Mitsunobu signature is a dai mei signature (a signature where one smith signs for another). It could also be the case that both swordsmiths employed the same professional mei carver and that these signatures are examples of nakirishi mei. While these are possibilities, It is unlikely and that Teruhide and Mitsunobu are most probably the same smith. It is doubtful that a swordsmith would carve his personal seal (kao) if signing for another smith.

It has been suggested that he signed Teruhide when making blades by the traditional method but signed Mitsunobu on non-traditionally made (sunobe) blades. His signature (mei) is sometimes translated as Sekido Teruhide and Sekido Mitsunobu, although Ishido is the preferred reading.

An Ishido Teruhide blade was awarded HOZON origami in 1997 by the NBTHK and are judged as true gendaito (kindaito). His blades are found in standard shin-gunto mounts, Showa Era civilian buke’ zukuri style mounts, kai-gunto mounts and shirasaya. After the war Teruhide made wood cutting planes rather than swords in order to earn a living. The planes he produced cut well and sold for about 2,000,000 Japanese Yen.

The IJN launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans and crippling the US Pacific Fleet. During the first six months of the Pacific War, the IJN enjoyed spectacular success inflicting heavy defeats on Allied forces. Allied navies were devastated during the Japanese conquest of Southeast Asia. Japanese naval aircraft were also responsible for the sinkings of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse which was the first time that capital ships were sunk by aerial attack while underway. In April 1942, the Indian Ocean raid drove the Royal Navy from South East Asia.

In 1943, the Japanese also turned their attention to the defensive perimeters of their previous conquests. Forces on Japanese held islands in Micronesia were to absorb and wear down an expected American counteroffensive. However, American industrial power become apparent and the military forces that faced the Japanese in 1943 were overwhelming in firepower and equipment. From the end of 1943 to 1944 Japan's defensive perimeter failed to hold.

The defeat at the Philippine Sea was a disaster for Japanese naval air power with American pilots terming the slanted air/sea battle the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, mostly going in the favour of the US,126 while the battle of Leyte Gulf led to the destruction of a large part of the surface fleet. During the last phase of the war, the Imperial Japanese Navy resorted to a series of desperate measures, including a variety of Special Attack Units which were popularly called kamikaze. By May 1945, most of the Imperial Japanese Navy had been sunk and the remnants had taken refuge in Japan's harbours. By July 1945, Nagato was the only remaining ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy's capital ships that had not been sunk in raids by the United States Navy

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery
26.75 inch blade tsuba to tip, overall 39.5 inches long in saya  read more

Code: 25415

A Beautiful Edo Period, 18th century Hanbo, A Samurai’s Face Armour Mask

Black lacquer decor throughout, with vermillion lacquer interior. The expression is fierce/noble with protruding chin, the shape is elegant and very well refined. three lame yodarekake, with hooked standing cord pegs. Face armour, of this type is called hanbo. They were worn with the Samurai's armours to serve as a protection for the head and the face from sword cuts. There are 4 types of face armour mask designs that came into general use in Japan: happuri (which covers the forehead and cheeks), hanbō (covers the lower face, from below the nose all the way to the chin), sōmen (covers the entire face) and the me-no-shita-men (covers the face from nose to chin). We can also classify those mask depending on their facial expressions, most of which derive from the theatre masks. It has an asenagashino ana [a hole under the chin to drain off perspiration] and orikugi [two projecting studs above the chin to provide a secure fastening to the wearer]. In the 16th century Japan began trading with Europe during what would become known as the Nanban trade. Samurai acquired European armour including the cuirass and comb morion which they modified and combined with domestic armour as it provided better protection from the newly introduced matchlock muskets known as Tanegashima. The introduction of the tanegashima by the Portuguese in 1543 changed the nature of warfare in Japan causing the Japanese armour makers to change the design of their armours from the centuries old lamellar armours to plate armour constructed from iron and steel plates which was called tosei gusoku (new armours). Bullet resistant armours were developed called tameshi gusoku or (bullet tested) allowing samurai to continue wearing their armour despite the use of firearms.
The era of warfare called the Sengoku period ended around 1600, Japan was united and entered a relatively peaceful Edo period. However, the Shoguns of the Tokugawa period were most adept at encouraging clan rivalries and conflicts and battles were engaged throughout the empire. This of course suited the Shogun very well, while all his subordinate daimyo fought each other they were unlikely to conspire against him. Samurai use continued to use both plate and lamellar armour as a symbol of their status but traditional armours were no longer necessary for war, but still for battle. The face armour was not designed to have any nose protection fitted, the lacquer is original Edo period throughout with vermilion red lacquer in the interior face portion, the exterior lacquer has a fair amount of age flaking over around 6-8% of the neck defence lames.
 read more

Code: 23686

A Fine Shinto Samurai Katana Signed By Mino Swordsmith, Nodagoro Fujiwara Kanesada Circa 1720 Around 300 Years Old, With a Horai-zu Style Tsuba

He also signed Kinmichi. [ see Hawley’s Japanese Swordsmiths, ID KAN533] who was active in the Mino province between 1716-1736. A beautiful sword with a fabulous hamon mounted han dachi style. The photos shown at present are before returned from polishing, which is truly amazing, new photos will be shown in two days. It is an original edo period mounted han dachi [semi tachi form] katana with iron mounts of fine quality. The original Edo saya has a beautiful rich red lacquer with flecks of pure gold. The Edo tsuba is o-sukashi, in iron, a Horai-zu style tsuba that has a motif of crane, the symbol of long life. The crane and/or turtle and/or rocks and/or pine trees and/or bamboo are often referred to as a 蓬莱図 (Hōrai-zu) crane pattern design. The sword was being worn more and more edge up when on foot, but edge down on horseback as it had always been. The handachi is a response to the need to be worn in either style. The samurai were roughly the equivalent of feudal knights. Employed by the shogun or daimyo, they were members of hereditary warrior class that followed a strict "code" that defined their clothes, armour and behaviour on the battlefield. But unlike most medieval knights, samurai warriors could read and they were well versed in Japanese art, literature and poetry. Samurai were expected to be both fierce warriors and lovers of art, a dichotomy summed up by the Japanese concepts of bu [to stop the spear] exanding into bushido (the way of life of the warrior) and bun (the artistic, intellectual and spiritual side of the samurai). Originally conceived as away of dignifying raw military power, the two concepts were synthesized in feudal Japan and later became a key feature of Japanese culture and morality.The quintessential samurai was Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary early Edo-period swordsman who reportedly killed 60 men before his 30th birthday and was also a painting master. Members of a hierarchal class or caste, samurai were the sons of samurai and they were taught from an early age to unquestionably obey their mother, father and daimyo. When they grew older they could be trained by Zen Buddhist masters in meditation and the Zen concepts of impermanence and harmony with nature. The were also taught about painting, calligraphy, nature poetry, mythological literature, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony. The blade had been untouched for 150 years, shows a super hamon, and polish with a couple of very small edge pits near the habaki on just one side. New photos have been added of the blade now it has been stunningly conserved  read more

Code: 23998

Antique 'Ancestral' Blade of 400 to 500 Years Old Katana in WW2 Japanese Officer's Regulation Type 98 Mounting For WW2 Officers. With A Fine & Unusual Extra Light Weight Alloy Scabbard. Possibly For A Flying Officer.

This has lain in a family ownership since 1945/6 since its return as a surrendered sword from the Imperial Japanese officer to whom it formerly belonged, in the service of his emperor. Ideal, for a collector of such historic and desirable Japanese swords of WW2 but with an ancient ancestral blade of hundreds of years of age.

Shinogi zukuri with high ridge line and very narrow mitsu mune. The saya is traditional green lacquer painted very lightweight alloy with brass type 98 fittings, single belt suspension ring and semegane; It has a tsuka of traditional wood wrapped in beige silk cloth Ito over white samegawa (ray skin), standard 38 pattern brass military mounts including fuchi, tsuba with, kabutogane with sarute in metal with sakura and menuki decorated with sakura and chrysanthemums. The regulation saya retaining press button in the fuchi has been removed by the Japanese officer as is very often the case {see photo 7}. The button clip was designed to hold the blade within its saya {scabbard} while ‘on the run” so to speak. This was a technical safety advantage, however, officers trained in iaido {the traditional martial art of the drawing of the sword from its saya} had no such fitting on regular katana, and the button could cause a millisecond or even more of delay in combat, which by traditional swordplay standards is not only unacceptable it was also, potentially, a fatal drawback and disadvantage to the swordsman. Thus, they often removed and discarded this feature from the sword entirely.

The ancestral blade was made from around 1550 to 1620, and thus this sword would have seen service by up to 20 samurai, plus the WW2 officer within it's combat lifetime. Then, by its very last owner it was mounted and taken to war by likely the eldest son, likely a pilot, from a family with old samurai heritage.
This sword has pretty much remained untouched for 75 years, and looks just as it did when, for example it was removed from the standing plane's cockpit. The Japanese combat planes often had a metal container within the cockpit that would hold the pilot's combat katana or wakazashi. Although the pilot was never expected to likely need his sword while on a mission, he was expected to die with it if his plane should crash or explode, and if his plane was to crash land, and he survived, he would have his officer's sword to maintain his life in potential enemy territory.
The blade has a stunning hamon and in jolly nice polish, that is just being lightly cleaned at present, then it will be re-photographed. A likely Crew Gunto mounted sword, with an early Koto to Shinto period ancestral chisa katana blade in a slighty grubby polish {at present} showing a fine and active hamon. The whole sword is simply in super condition for it's age. The blade is set with its all traditional WW2 38 pattern Showa brass fittings, a fine tsuba with its green lacquered metal saya with all traditional brass mountings. It may well be known as a crew-gunto and carried by a Japanese fighter pilot from 1936 until 1945. The shorter military mounted swords, or those in very light weight saya, worn during WW2 for those that fought, during combat, such as a bomber or a Zero fighter plane.

Photo in the gallery shows Kamikaze pilots getting into their planes, and photos of the Kaiten ceremony. Another two photos of Japanese pilots with their crew gunto swords, for information only photos not included. Collectors frequently seek Shin Gunto swords that have an original handed down 'Ancestral' blade, as it is said less than one in a hundred Japanese swords, surrendered in WW2, were swords such as this. This form of sword was often the prerogative of an eldest born son, that went to fight for his Emperor in WW2, with his ancestor's blade set in traditional military mounts.
This sword is an exceptional piece of WW2 Japanese historical interest, very early ancestral swords are scarce in themselves, outnumbered at least 10 to 1 by gendaito swords, but the short 'crew gunto' are much rarer than even that, in our experience, so this makes it potentially, in theory, well over a 100 times scarcer than a regular Japanese WW2 officers sword in our opinion. Overall 38 inches long, blade 22.75 inches from tsuba to tip overall in super condition with overall finger staining, soon to be removed. The saya lacquer is around 85% intact but with small areas of loss.



Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery  read more

Code: 25339

An Opportunity to Acquire An Original Almost 700 Year Old, Ancient & Beautiful Samurai Dagger, A Signed, 14th Century Nambokochu Period Ancient Samurai Tanto

Now showing a beautiful blade polish, with all its original, Edo period, fine quality fittings. Including a pair of shakudo and gold fuchi kashira, a gold onlaid tetsu tsuba, a signed blade kozuka utility knife, and a menuki, under the original edo period tsuka ito, of a samurai's pony with its samurai saddle and abumi [stirrup], being attacked by a tiger. The saya is elaborately decorated with inlaid shell and horn type pieces on the black lacquer background. with polished buffalo horn carved fittings and a silver and soft metal saya mount of two seated figures. The scabbard surface has had a few contemporary Edo period surface repairs.

The blade is of typical ancient Nambokochu form and shape with a signed nakago, and shows stunning grain, and a solid silver overlaid two part habaki decorated with an embossed geometric patterning.

It is an ancient samurai tanto, in incredible condition for its great age, it obviously shows signs of use fro the past 600 odd years, but what an amazing piece.

The tanto was invented partway through the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon. With the beginning of the Kamakura period, tanto were forged to be more aesthetically pleasing, and hira and uchi-sori tanto were the most popular styles for wars in the kamakura period. Near the middle of the Kamakura period, more tanto artisans were seen, increasing the abundance of the weapon, and the kanmuri-otoshi style became prevalent in the cities of Kyoto and Yamato. Because of the style introduced by the tachi in the late Kamakura period, tanto began to be forged longer and wider. The introduction of the Hachiman faith became visible in the carvings in the tanto hilts around this time. The hamon (line of temper) is similar to that of the tachi, except for the absence of choji-midare, which is nioi and utsuri. Gunomi-midare and suguha are found to have taken its place. In Nambokucho, the tanto were forged to be up to forty centimetres as opposed to the normal one shaku (about thirty centimetres) length. The tanto blades became thinner between the uri and the omote, and wider between the ha and mune. At this point in time, two styles of hamon were prevalent: the older style, which was subtle and artistic, and the newer, more popular style. Blades could be of exceptional quality. As the end of the period neared, the average blade narrowed and the sori became shallow

Overall 20.5 inches long, with a 10.5 inch long blade from tsuba to tip.

As with all our original items, it will be accompanied with a bespoke and unique Certificate of Authenticity.  read more

Code: 24407

A Beautiful Edo Period Batojingasa Samurai Horserider's War Hat

Black urushi lacquer with superb kiri mon, red lacquer interior with pad and cords but the cords outer silk has seperated. With five leaf pawlonia kiri mon. Paulownia is a deciduous tree that is widely cultivated in Japan. It belongs to the figwort family Paulowniaceae and it is also known as the “princess tree “ “emperor tree”. This tree was adopted as a crest motif because it symbolizes good fortune. In China, people consider it a lucky tree where phoenixes reside. It was also believed that these phoenixes sing “long live the king!” in the high, blooming branches of the tree. Because of this belief, the paulownia tree became a pattern used in the emperor’s clothes and then later became a crest during the end of the Kamakura period. This crest is awarded by the imperial court to retainers. The retainers also awarded the crest to vassals who had performed exemplary deeds. Apart from protection (the main function), a jingasa carried out the functions essential to caps: sunshade and rainshelter. It played too the role of a marker indicating the status of the wearer?s family in society. They were used as a container or weapon too. Jingasa developed both in shape and decoration during the Edo era (1603-1867) and were a symbol of samurai culture. The Jingasa was a conical helmet most commonly worn with Ashigaru Armour. It was typically made of hardened lacquered leather, but also sometimes with iron. The jingasa would also commonly be marked with the mon of the lord or clan to help identify the warrior's side on a battlefield.

Cherished for its infinite versatility, urushi lacquer is a distinctive art form that has spread across all facets of Japanese culture from the tea ceremony to the saya scabbards of samurai swords

Japanese artists created their own style and perfected the art of decorated lacquerware during the 8th century. Japanese lacquer skills reached its peak as early as the twelfth century, at the end of the Heian period (794-1185). This skill was passed on from father to son and from master to apprentice.

The varnish used in Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree, also known as the lacquer tree or the Japanese varnish tree (Rhus vernacifera), which mainly grows in Japan and China, as well as Southeast Asia. Japanese lacquer, 漆 urushi, is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The tree must be tapped carefully, as in its raw form the liquid is poisonous to the touch, and even breathing in the fumes can be dangerous. But people in Japan have been working with this material for many millennia, so there has been time to refine the technique!

Overall in very nice condition for age with small lacquer wear marks.  read more

Code: 21723

A Fabulous Shinto Katana Circa 1620 With Fine Edo Koshirae

The gently undulating yet exceptionaly deep hamon is very fine quality and this is a most beautiful an impressive katana. A very fine Shinto blade set in very fine quality shakudo, Edo period mounts, of multi coloured patination and pour gold onlaid d?cor. The saya has it's original Edo red lacquer, and the sword is mounted with it's koto period o-sukashi iron tsuba carved with profiles of flying geese. The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods: jokoto (Ancient swords, until around 900 A.D.), koto (old swords from around 900?1596), shinto (new swords 1596?1780), shinshinto (new new swords 1781?1876), traditional gendaito (modern swords 1876?1945).

The first use of "katana" as a word to describe a long sword that was different from a tachi is found in the 12th century. These references to "uchigatana" and "tsubagatana" seem to indicate a different style of sword, possibly a less costly sword for lower ranking warriors. The evolution of the tachi into the katana seems to have started during the early Muromachi period (1337 to 1573). Starting around the year 1400, long swords signed with the "katana" signature were made. This was in response to samurai wearing their tachi in what is now called "katana style" (cutting edge up). Japanese swords are traditionally worn with the signature facing away from the wearer. When a tachi was worn in the style of a katana, with the cutting edge up, the tachi's signature would be facing the wrong way. The fact that swordsmiths started signing swords with a katana signature shows that some samurai of that time period had started wearing their swords in a different manner. However, it is thought by many, that as many as 70% of katana made were never signed at all.

The rise in popularity of katana by samurai is believed to have been due to the changing nature of close-combat warfare. The quicker draw of the sword was well suited to combat where victory depended heavily on fast response times. The katana further facilitated this by being worn thrust through a belt-like sash (obi) with the sharpened edge facing up. Ideally, samurai could draw the sword and strike the enemy in a single motion. Previously, the curved tachi had been worn with the edge of the blade facing down and suspended from a belt

The length of the katana blade varied considerably during the course of its history. In the late 14th and early 15th centuries, katana blades tended to be between 68 to 73 cm (26 to 28 in) in length. During the early 16th century, the average length was closer to 60 cm (23.5 in). By the late 16th century, the average length returned to greater lengths. However, with every new owner [and early blades may have had 20 owners] the blade could be reduced if required to fit, and the shorter samurai would need shorter swords however long the considered norm may have been. Overall 40 inches long in saya  read more

Code: 22659

A Stunning Shinto Period O-Tanto Signed Sukemune, Around 400 Years old. Now Fully Museum Grade Restored By Our World Class Artisans Shown For Sale Now As A Representation of the Skill of Our Artisans.

A super Japanese o-tanto with a most impressive blade and fine fittings of gold and shakudo on a nanako ground. Fine, deep horizontally ribbed lacquer saya with fabulous patina. It also has a beautiful pair of silver menuki of small animals that are wrapped under the new, traditional, Japanese gold silk Ito. The fittings are decorated in gold depicting a cat with two tails, called Nekomata , and a pair of leaping hares. One of the most famous accounts of nekomata is the 1708 Yamato Kaiiki (大和怪異記; Mysterious Stories from Japan) story The Nekomata Fire (猫股の火) which tells the tale of a samurai whose house is taken over by a poltergeist-like haunting that is only ended when the family cat is killed and revealed to have two tails. This story was later adapted by Mizuki Shigeru for his comic Nekomata.

This version of the nekomata has completely taken over the Kamakura period beliefs, and it is almost impossible to find a modern depiction of nekomata that does not show the split-tailed monster.

Signed, early Shinto Japanese tanto with a most impressive blade and fine fittings of gold and shakudo on a nanako ground.

Signed zenkoji ju ani sukemune ‘Kiku. Student of Tsuda Sukehiro (SUK130). AKA "Kojuro Sukemune".
It has a very beautiful blade now traditionally stone re-polished, that now looks as stunning as it once was. The blade had been left unattended without care for over a century and looked absolutely appalling, as you can see in the ‘before restoration’ photos. But now it looks as good as it did when it was new.

The blade is engraved with a carved horimono of a Buddhist ancient ken straight sword with the vajra, still bearing traces of the original blood red lacquer. A vajra is a ritual weapon symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. ... According to the Indian mythology, vajra is considered as one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.
We show some photos of it as it was prior to restoration, so our online viewers can see just how skilled our professional museum grade artisans abilities are, to restore a fabulous, early samurai sword, back to how it once looked several hundred years ago. The original Edo period saya and ribbed lacquer is totally original and its fine condition needed no attention or restoration, it just has a very few light natural age marks.  read more

Code: 23681