A Stunning Kunitake Early Shinto Katana With All Original Very Fine Edo Period Koshirae & A Finest Quality Kagonami, Nanban, Kirin, Phoenix & Dragons Kiyou-Tojin Tsuba, Inlaid with Solid Silver and Gold, Nagasaki-he Gairaishita Chukokujin no Saku

Just one of the beautiful aspects of the Kunitake 国武 katana is its beautiful blade with a captivating hamon, in beautiful polish. All its stunning fittings are original early Edo including the original urushi lacquer saya with an irridescent twin panels of green ground of crushed abilone shell decor, bordered by black lacquer. Kabuto gane kashira in shakudo with matching shakudo fuchi, patinated copper menuki under original Edo tsuka-Ito of green silk to compliment the green urushi saya, and a wonderful Kiyou-Tojin Nanban Tsuba, a large rectangular sword guard. It has a stunning and very scarce form of habaki in silver with charming, engraved decor of various forms of raindrops, of a particular style that is very rare. The hamon shown on this beauty is absolutely beautiful and most complex.
The Swordsmith; signed Kunitake (国武), from the reign of Kan ́ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Yamashiro – “Heianjō-jū Fujiwara Kunitake” (平安城住藤原国武), “Kunitake” (国武), “Sanjō Kunitake” (三条国武), student of Horikawa Kunihiro (堀川国広), a later smith from the line of Sanjō Yoshinori (三条吉則), and tradition says that he was the father of Izumo no Daijō Yoshitake (出雲大掾吉武), often his blade forms are itame-nagare with ji-nie, suguha, notare mixed with gunome-ashi in ko-nie-deki, sugu-bōshi with a ko-maru-kaeri, wazamono, Rated as jō-saku {superior smith}

The magnificent tsuba is a tettsu {iron} plate with pure gold and silver wire inlay throughout. With twin carved takebori dragon to one side and the kirin and phoenix, to the opposite side, also takebori carved.

Japanese art often depicts the Kirin as deer-like, with an ox tail and a single horn, sometimes with a backwards-curving horn.
Significance:
The Kirin is believed to appear during periods of good governance and when a wise sage or ruler is present
Extremely similar in style and workmanship to a guard signed Zhūjiàn (珠見) or Shubai in Japanese.
Listed in Haynes H.08805.0 as an “artist from China” ca. 1650-1700.

Yoshimura Shigeta illustrates a similar piece in his book Nanban Tsuba, page 10.
The caption reads, Nagasaki-he gairaishita Chukokujin no saku or
"Said to be made by a Chinaman who came to Nagasaki"
The manner of execution of the tsuba represents a very high degree of artistic hybridity, suggesting that the tsuba was made along maritime trade-routes, where artisans had access to decorative arts from around the globe. The indented corners, pointed Shitogi-gata seppa-dai, smooth-skinned dragons and phoenix in takebori style and almost caricature drawing- style, points to Indochina, perhaps Tonkin. There is a similar piece in the 1973 W.M. Hawley book Tsubas (sic) in Southern California. One can see a number of similar pieces with NBTHK attribution to "Nagasaki". Although some believe it more likely is that these were imported to Japan through the VOC factory in Deshima.

Cultural exchanges between China and Nagasaki became quite frequent after the Kangxi emperor reopened Qing seaports to foreign trade in 1684, and issued trading licenses to private concerns.In the 1640s a number of refugees from the collapse of the Ming Dynasty emigrated to Nagasaki. One of them—Shoyu Itsunen became the abbot of Kofukuji temple in Nagasaki. Itsunen is also known to have taught painting to Kawamura Fukuyoshi, a samurai and customs official who is better known as Jakushi I. Another Chinese priest, Yinyuan Lonqi, was the abbot of Wanfu temple on Mount Huangbo in Fujian. He came to Nagasaki at the invitation of Itsunen. Lonqi, known in Japan as Ingen Ryuki, became the founder of Obaku Zen Buddhism. The Nagasaki school of painting was deeply influenced by the Chinese painter Shen Nanpin, who lived and taught painting in Nagasaki for several years. Nanpin’s work was heavily influenced by European scientific and botanical painting, which resonated with the intellectual community at Nagasaki, which in Japan was the centre of Chinese medical studies, and Rangaku (the study of European science).


Nanban-style tsubas (Japanese sword guards) often feature intricate designs incorporating dragons and phoenixes. These designs, commonly found in Hizen ware during the Edo period, represent the harmonious union of opposites – the masculine dragon and the feminine phoenix. This symbolic representation reflects the balance between power and grace, often associated with the Emperor and Empress in Japanese culture.
Key aspects of Nanban tsubas with dragon and phoenix:
Symbolism:
The dragon represents strength and power, while the phoenix embodies grace and beauty. Together, they symbolize the harmonious union of opposites.
Design:
Nanban tsubas often feature intricate designs with dragons, phoenixes, and other floral motifs, sometimes incorporating techniques like pierced work, inlays, and gilding. This is a sublime example of just such workmanship
Influence:
Nanban style was influenced by foreign art and culture, particularly Chinese designs, which contributed to the prevalence of dragons and phoenixes in these tsubas.
Examples:
The Ashmolean Museum has examples of Nanban tsubas with these designs.
Nanban tsubas are typically made of iron and often feature intricate details in gold or silver as does this example.

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As once told to us by an esteemed regular visitor to us here in our gallery, in order to view and study our Japanese edged weapons and armour gallery, and the same words that are repeated in his book;

“In these textures lies an extraordinary and unique feature of the sword - the steel itself possesses an intrinsic beauty. The Japanese sword has been appreciated as an art object since its perfection some time during the tenth century AD. Fine swords have been more highly prized than lands or riches, those of superior quality being handed down from generation to generation. In fact, many well-documented swords, whose blades are signed by their makers, survive from nearly a thousand years ago. Recognizable features of the blades of hundreds of schools of sword-making have been punctiliously recorded, and the study of the sword is a guide to the flow of Japanese history.”
Victor Harris
Curator, Assistant Keeper and then Keeper (1998-2003) of the Department of Japanese Antiquities at the British Museum. He studied from 1968-71 under Sato Kenzan, Tokyo National Museum and Society for the Preservation of Japanese Swords

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