Japanese

A Most Attractive Koto Wakizashi Attributed to Kanemune of Etchu, 1532 WIth Japanese Attribution Papers

Uda school blade with bo hi to both sides. Fine sugaha hamon with mokume hada. Edo period Goto school mounts in shakudo patinated copper and gold depicting carved shi shi lion dogs. Menuki of shakudo and gold dragons. Iron Edo tsuba of fan formed windows, with Amidayasuri. NTHK certificated in 2003 as attributed to Kanemune of Etchu by a previous owner. The founder of the Uda School is considered to have been Kunimitsu. He was originally from the Uda district of Yamato Province. He worked around the Bunpo Era or 1317 at the end of the Kamakura Era. All of the succeeding smiths of this school used the kanji character â"Kuni", in their signatures. At some point he moved to Etchu Province so even though the Uda School had its foundation in the Yamato tradition, it is considered to be one of the wakimono schools from this region together with such schools as he Fujishima and Chiyozuru. Together these three schools are often referred to as the kita kuni mono.


Since remaining works by Kunimitsu are non-existent, his students, Kunifusa and Kunimune, are generally thought to be the true founders of this school. Both of these smiths studied under Norishige of the Etchu Province and they were active around the Koan Era (1361). The works of these early Uda smiths followed the style of the Yamato Den particularly in the areas of sugata and hamon. We rarely have swords with papers for our swords mostly came to England in the 1870's long before 'papers' were invented, and they have never returned to Japan for inspection and papers to be issued. However, on occasion we acquire swords from latter day collectors that have had swords papered in the past 30 years or so. this is one of those. It is important to bear in mind, that due to the revered status that Japanese swords achieve for most of their working lives in Japan, that the condition they survive in can be simply remarkable. One can see just how remarkable it can be, by comparing the condition of this fine sword that was made around the same time as the early Tudor period of King Henry the VIIIth to any equivalent aged, surviving, early Tudor period sword, from any country outside of Japan, and that comparison will show just how fine any Japanese sword’s state of preservation, from the same era, truly can be.  read more

Code: 23596

A Simply Stunning Museum Quality Shinto Period Samurai Wakizashi of the Kobayakawa Clan, In Superb Han-dachi Fittings

Fully bound in fine Han-dachi form, with its tsuka with iron Higo fuchi and kabuto-gane decorated in pure gold with scrolls and tendrils, shakudo and gilt Tomoe mon, of the Kobayakawa clan, and the mon of Kobayakawa Takakage, iron sukashi tsuba chiselled and pierced with gilded and silvered dragons, contained in its fabulous textured red lacquer saya with Higo iron and pure gold inlaid mounts matching ensuite with the tsuka. Kobayakawa Takakage (小早川 隆景, 1533 – July 26, 1597) was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Kobayakawa, the Takehara-Kobayakawa clan (竹原小早川氏) and Numata-Kobayakawa clan (沼田小早川氏). He became an active commander of the Mōri army and he with his brother Kikkawa Motoharu became known as the “Mōri Ryōkawa", or “Mōri's Two Rivers" (毛利両川). As head of the Kobayakawa clan, he expanded the clan's territory in the Chūgoku region (western Honshū), and fought for the Mōri clan in all their campaigns

At first he opposed Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi but later swore loyalty and became a retainer of Hideyoshi who awarded him domains in Iyo Province on Shikoku and Chikuzen Province on Kyūshū, totalling 350,000 koku. Hideyoshi gave him the title Chûnagon also appointed him to the Council of Five Elders but died before Hideyoshi himself. Han-dachi originally appeared during the Muromachi period when there was a transition taking place from Tachi to katana. 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 endured for almost 700 years, from 1185 to 1867. Samurai families were considered the elite. They made up only about six percent of the population and included daimyo and the loyal soldiers who fought under them. Samurai means one who serves." Approx 26 inches long overall in saya, blade 17 inches  read more

Code: 23560

An Edo Period Iron Mokko Form Tsuba Engraved with Geometric Manji Design

The tsuba, is a fundamental element in the mounting of the Japanese sword, it is the guard, the most important element of the fittings, and has two main functions: the first to protect the hand against the slashes and lunges of an opposing sword; the second is to prevent that the hand ends up directly on the cutting edge of the blade. Over the course of more than ten centuries of history, the tsuba has undergone a number of important changes, as regards the materials used for its manufacture and its appearance.

During the centuries of wars that characterised Japan until the advent of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the first half of the 17th century, the tsuba was essentially made of iron or steel. From the mid-17th century onwards the tsuba became a real work of art, with the use of soft metals used in various ways, with engravings, incrustations; well made tsuba were the pride of hundreds of craftsmen’s schools whose value sometimes exceeded that of the same blades of the mounting where tsuba was part of.
72 mm. height  read more

Code: 25117

Ashigaru Samurai Foot Soldier's Conical Jingasa Helmet Edo Period With the Ando Clan’s, Agari-Fuji Mon Motif of Wisteria

Toppai jingasa with agari-fuji mon. The clan claims descent from Abe Hirafu and Abe Nakamaro. The clan served the Tokugawa clan during Edo Period. Their first recorded family head, Andō Naotsugu was eldest son of Andō Haruyoshi and grandson of Ando Ieshige, retainer of Matsudaira Hirotada (father of Tokugawa Ieyasu). Ashigaru were foot-soldiers employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi period, that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions. shigaru were commonly armed with naginata, yari, yumi and swords. Ashigaru armour varied depending on the period, from no armour to heavily armored and could consist of conical hats called jingasa made of lacquered hardened leather or iron, cuirasses (do), helmets (kabuto), armoured hoods (tatami zukin), armored sleeves (kote), greaves (suneate), and cuisses (haidate).

The warfare of the Sengoku period (15th and 16th centuries) required large quantities of armour to be produced for the ever-growing armies of ashigaru. Simple munition quality cuirasses and helmets were produced including tatami armour which could be folded or were collapsible. Tatami armour was made from small rectangular or hexagonal iron plates that were usually connected to each other by chainmail and sewn to a cloth backing. In the 16th century the ashigaru were also armed with matchlocks of the type known as tanegashima. Small banners called sashimono could be worn on their backs during battle for identification. In the Sengoku period the aspect of the battle changed from single combat to massed formations. Therefore, ashigaru became the backbone of many feudal armies and some of them rose to greater prominence.

Those who were given control of ashigaru were called ashigarugashira. The most famous of them was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who also raised many of his warrior followers to samurai status. Yamauchi Kazutoyo was one of such samurai and later daimyo who rose from ashigaru. Ashigaru were considered to be of the samurai class in some han (domains), but not in others  read more

Code: 21731

A Beautiful Shinto Period, 1600's, Tanto Samurai Dagger Mounted With Fine Shibuishi Mounts Engraved with Ando Clan Mon of Agari-Fuji Mon Motif of Wisteria

The clan claims descent from Abe Hirafu and Abe Nakamaro. The clan served the Tokugawa clan during Edo Period. Their first recorded family head, Andō Naotsugu was eldest son of Andō Haruyoshi and grandson of Ando Ieshige, retainer of Matsudaira Hirotada (father of Tokugawa Ieyasu)
Decorated saya, with kozuka utility knife within a side pocket, overlaid with original 16th century Portuguese or Dutch embossed leather. The leather was brought to Japan in around 1547 with the very first European traders that arrived in their Black Ships at Tanegashima in Japan. The embossed leather was so highly prized it was first made into fabulous screens, but as the screens became damaged over the passing decades, the leather was saved, as a very precious commodity, and applied to other decorative items, such a samurai sword fittings as this one. The whole sword has been completely untouched for the past two hundred years. The blade is overall very nice indeed with a narrow gunome hamon, just a few old fingerprint marks. The superb original Edo period shibuishi mounts, made from an amalgam of patinated copper and silver are superbly engraved throughout with samurai clan mon crests including the mon of the Ando clan. Under the original blue silk tsuka-Ito are pure gold decorated ponies. The saya has a very charming applied shibuishi oni demon mask. The origin of clan mon goes far back to the latter part of Heian Period 749 to 1191 Since the Nara Period 710 to 784, when Shotokutaishi (Prince Shotoku) lived, various designs had decorated furniture and dishes which later were not only for artistic quality, but also to distinguish the property of the Kuge aristocratic class who served the Imperial court. Around the end of Heian Period, Kuge such as; Sanesue Saionji (西園寺実季) and Saneyoshi Tokudai, began placing their own Mon on their oxcarts and walked the length of Miyako-oji Street (都大路), the Main Street of the capital, showing off their Mon. This theory on the origin of Kamon is considered to be the most prevalent. Hakuseki Arai wrote in his book that the Mon used in 'Kinugasa (蓋)' was the origin of Kamon, however, others claim that this was just hearsay and the true origin remains inconclusive.

Afterwards, mon became popular among Kuge and various mon were created. For example, Sanesue Saionji used 'Saya-e,' Saneyoshi Tokudaiji used 'Mokko-mon' and the Sugawara and other clans used glitzy Kamon like Ume-mon. There was a strong sense of colour in the design, but by the Kamakura period the mon had gradually developed and evolved to take on the more traditional role and connotations of Kamon and served as proof of ownership. During the Kamakura Period, when there were many wars raging, like the Jokyu no ran and Bunei-Koan no eki, they provide many opportunities for samurai to prove themselves in battle. To identify themselves, confirm their achievements and distinguish friend from foe, samurai decorated all manner of things with Kamon, including Manmaku, flags, Umajirushi and sword scabbards. Kamon were a kind of alternate identity so, it was increasingly used among samurai to show who they were. In addition, the increased use of mon was also motivated by recognising achievements that contributed to clans they belonged to in the ancient samurai society.  read more

Code: 24176

A Very Good Shinto Period, Circa Later 1600's, Samurai Spear, A Ryo-Shinogi Yari Pole Arm. Signed Hisatoshi, & Magari-Yari Saya

The magari-yari saya would indicate it would be used on a triple bladed magari-yari pole arm.

An Edo Period Samurai Horseman Ryo-Shinogi Yari Polearm on original haft, circa 1670. For use on or off horseback.
Beautiful bright polish with suguha straight hamon to both edges.

With original pole and iron foot mount ishizuki. Four sided double edged head. The mochi-yari, or "held spear", is a rather generic term for the shorter Japanese spear. It was especially useful to mounted Samurai. In mounted use, the spear was generally held with the right hand and the spear was pointed across the saddle to the soldiers left front corner.
The warrior's saddle was often specially designed with a hinged spear rest (yari-hasami) to help steady and control the spear's motion.

The mochi-yari could also easily be used on foot and is known to have been used in castle defense. The martial art of wielding the yari is called sojutsu. A yari on it's pole can range in length from one metre to upwards of six metres (3.3 to 20 feet). The longer hafted versions were called omi no yari while shorter ones were known as mochi yari or tae yari. The longest hafted versions were carried by foot troops (ashigaru), while samurai usually carried a shorter hafted yari.

Ryō-shinogi yari, a blade with a diamond shaped cross section

Honda Tadakatsu was famous as a master of one of The Three Great Spears of Japan, the Tonbokiri (蜻蛉切). One of The Three Great Spears of Japan, the Nihongō (ja:日本号) was treasured as a gift, and its ownership changed to Emperor Ogimachi, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Fukushima Masanori, and so on, and has been handed down to the present day.

Yari are believed to have been derived from Chinese spears, and while they were present in early Japan's history they did not become popular until the thirteenth century.The original warfare of the bushi was not a thing for "commoners"; it was a ritualized combat usually between two warriors who may challenge each other via horseback archery and sword duels. However, the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 changed Japanese weaponry and warfare. The Mongol-employed Chinese and Korean footmen wielded long pikes, fought in tight formation, and moved in large units to stave off cavalry. Polearms (including naginata and yari) were of much greater military use than swords, due to their much greater range, their lesser weight per unit length (though overall a polearm would be fairly hefty), and their great piercing ability. Swords in a full battle situation were therefore relegated to emergency sidearm status from the Heian through the Muromachi periods.

The shaft (nagaye or ebu) came in many different lengths, widths, and shapes; made of hardwood and covered in lacquered bamboo strips, these came in oval, round, or polygonal cross section. These in turn were often wrapped in metal rings or wire (dogane), and affixed with a metal pommel (ishizuki; 石突) on the butt end. Yari shafts were often decorated with inlays of metal or semiprecious materials such as brass pins, lacquer, or flakes of pearl. A sheath (saya; 鞘) was also part of a complete yari.

The Three Great Spears of Japan are three individual spears (yari) that were made and crafted by the greatest historical blacksmiths of Japan:1

Tonbokiri (蜻蛉切): This spear once wielded by Honda Tadakatsu, one of the great generals of Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was forged by Masazane, a disciple of Muramasa. It is now owned by a private individual and lent to the Sano Art Museum for its collection. The type of blade shape is sasaho yari.2
Nihongo, or Nippongo (日本号): A famous spear that was once used in the Imperial Palace. Nihongo later found its way into the possession of Fukushima Masanori, and then Tahei Mori. It is now at Fukuoka City Museum. The type of blade shape is omi yari.2
Otegine (御手杵): It was a spear that Yuki Harutomo, a daimyo, ordered Shimada Gisuke, a swordsmith, to make. It was lost in the Bombing of Tokyo in 1945. The type of blade shape was omi yari.

this yari's blade is 17.5 inches including tang, blade 5 inches long, overall in pole 78 inches {not including saya}  read more

Code: 24041

A Simply Magnificent, Huge, Ozutso Samurai Hand Cannon Teppo Matchlock Gun, of Negishi Sukenobu, Inlaid With Silver and Gold Dragon With Both the Amago Clan of Kamei Kenenori and Tokugawa Clan Mons.

Signed Japanese red oak stock. The huge uncompromising barrel is inlaid with twin, large silver Amago clan mon and and gold-copper triple leaf Aoi, clan mon of the Tokugawa at the breech, it has a pinhole block site, extravagant gold and silver scrolling dragon inlay, up through the length of the barrel, terminating in a multi sided and stunning tulip form muzzle. Within the channel of the stock is a beautiful hand scripted signature of the samurai owner, Negishi Sukenobu no Tutu. Translation; Negishi Sukenobu's gun tutu is an old Japanese name for a matchlock gun

It has a sinchu matchlock mechanism with a long engraved match arm, inlaid with speckles of silver, traditional spring release utilising the ball trigger. the stock has engraved, silver cherry blossom form inlaid, barrel retaining mekugi-ana apertures, for the long copper mekugi to retain the barrel..

Part of a huge collection that just arrived after a long and patient wait a sensational O-Zutsu hand cannon tanegashima, it is huge and incredibly heavy, of around 10 monme, 18mm bore

It is often the case were early samurai weaponry bear twin mon decoration, often demonstrating a co-joining or allegiance between two samurai clans.

Resembling the Portuguese arquebus, the first matchlock gun to be seen in Japan, this massive and handsome weapon expresses the Japanese desire for powerful, finely made firearms.

A 17th century Japanese tradition relates that after the accidental arrival of three Portuguese mariners on Tanegashima Island in 1543, the sword-smith Kiyosada gave his daughter to their captain in order to learn the secrets of musket manufacture.

The actual guns were snap matchlocks made in Malacca, a Portuguese colony, and by 1550 were in production on a large scale. Known as ‘Tanegashima’ or ‘Teppō’ they were used by the Samurai and their foot soldiers and changed the way war was fought in Japan forever.

Large carbines such as this example were known as ‘ozutsu’ or cannon and were mounted on castle walls, used on merchant ships to repel pirates, on horseback in war or as assault weapons to blast through door hinges.

They could also launch incendiary or explosive arrows known as ‘Hiya’ to set fires during sieges. When fired these powerful weapons had a large recoil, and bales of rice were used to support the gunners back from injury.

Ammunition consisted of heavy round lead balls with differing sizes described as ‘Monme’. Made to take between 10 to 30 ‘Monme’ shots, this carbine is one of the largest examples of Japanese Edo Period handheld firearm

One woodblock in the gallery of a samurai holding an ozutso, and another of the great Takeda Shingen contemplating a small teppo matchlock gun, and it’s dramatic effect on the future of samurai warfare. The shape and form of ours is the same as the one contemplated by Takeda Shingen in the print, but ours is around four times the size, not a long gun but of incredible mass, beauty and presence. Somewhat like a dragon, a beast to admire for its breathtaking beauty, but to fear and respect for its power and presence.
The Amago clan, descended from the Emperor Uda (868–897) by the Kyogoku clan, descending from the Sasaki clan (Uda Genji).

Kyogoku Takahisa in the 14th century, lived in Amako-go (Omi Province), and took the name 'Amago'. The family crest, is also the one of the Kyogoku clan.

They were Shugodai (vice-Governors) of Izumo and Oki provinces for generations, for the Kyogoku Shugo branch , and their seat was Gassan Toda castle.

In 1484, Amago Tsunehisa (1458–1541), was deprived of the position of Shugodai by Kyogoku Masatsune, who was the Shugo, because he did not obey the request of tax from the Muromachi bakufu, and was expelled from Gassan Toda castle. Although Enya Kamonnosuke was dispatched to Gassan Toda castle as the new Shugodai, Tsunehisa recaptured Gassan Toda castle by a surprise attack in 1486, took control of Izumo, and developed the Amago clan into a Sengoku Daimyo clan.

The Amago fought the Ouchi clan or the Mori clan (who had been among their vassals), during Japan's Sengoku period.

For much of the next hundred years, the clan battled with the Ouchi and Mori, who controlled neighbouring provinces, and fell into decline when Gassantoda Castle fell to the Mori in 1566.

Amago Katsuhisa tried to regain prestige for the clan by joining the forces of Oda Nobunaga, invaded Tajima and Inaba provinces, but was defeated and died in the siege of Kozuki by the Mori in 1578.
Kamei Korenori (亀井 茲矩, 1557 – February 27, 1612) was a Japanese daimyō who lived through the early Edo period. He was first a retainer under the Amago clan of Izumo Province, but eventually became a daimyō in his own right. Receiving Shikano castle in Inaba Province as a reward for his notable service in 1578, Korenori ascended to higher rank as he assisted in Hideyoshi's 1587 invasion of Kyūshū. Following Hideyoshi's death in 1598, entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following the Sekigahara Campaign of 1600, his income was raised from 13,000 to 43,000 koku as a reward for his service to the Tokugawa clan. Korenori died of natural causes in 1612.

Korenori's descendants were eventually made daimyō (lords) of the Tsuwano Domain, which they ruled until the Meiji Resoration.

Weight an impressive and formidable 6.6 kilos, length overall, 42 inches, barrel 30.5 inches  read more

Code: 24307

The Incredible Story of Japanese Urushi Lacquer on Our Original Ancient and Antique Samurai Swords, Tachi, Katana, Wakazashi and Tanto’s Saya and Fittings

Japanese lacquer, or urushi, is a transformative and highly prized material that has been refined for over 7000 years.

Cherished for its infinite versatility, urushi 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.

Some provinces of Japan were famous for their contribution to this art: the province of Edo (later Tokyo), for example, produced the most beautiful lacquered pieces from the 17th to the 18th centuries. Lords and shoguns privately employed lacquerers to produce ceremonial and decorative objects for their homes and palaces.

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!

Flowing from incisions made in the bark, the sap, or raw lacquer is a viscous greyish-white juice. The harvesting of the resin can only be done in very small quantities.
Three to five years after being harvested, the resin is treated to make an extremely resistant, honey-textured lacquer. After filtering, homogenization and dehydration, the sap becomes transparent and can be tinted in black, red, yellow, green or brown.

Once applied on an object, lacquer is dried under very precise conditions: a temperature between 25 and 30°C and a humidity level between 75 and 80%. Its harvesting and highly technical processing make urushi an expensive raw material applied in exceptionally fine successive layers, on objects such as bowls, boxes, samurai sword saya and fittings. After heating and filtering, urushi can be applied directly to a solid, usually wooden, base. Pure urushi dries into a transparent film, while the more familiar black and red colours are created by adding minerals to the material. Each layer is left to dry and polished before the next layer is added. This process can be very time-consuming and labour-intensive, taking up to a year for each item, which contributes to the desirability, and high costs, of traditionally made lacquer goods. The skills and techniques of Japanese lacquer have been passed down through the generations for many centuries. For four hundred years, the master artisans of Zohiko’s Kyoto workshop have provided refined lacquer articles for the imperial household.

Photo in the gallery of several examples of exceptionally beautiful urushi lacquer on our currently available antique samurai swords.

We pride ourselves on trying our utmost to provide the largest and most varied selection of original, ancient and antique samurai swords for sale in the world, from which our clients can choose, outside of Japan.  read more

Code: 24325

An Ancient Koto Period Samurai Sword, Almost 600 Years old, From The Sengoku Jidai. A Handachi Mounted Katana, With Beautiful Deep Red Ishime Urushi Lacquer Saya, & Hammered Silver Onlaid Mounts

From the Muramachi and Sengoku period. The blade was made almost 600 years ago, in or around 1450, and it is fully mounted in a fine suite of Edo period, all matching handachi koshirae sword mounts, fitted upon the saya and tsuka, with a very scarce highly decorative hand finish, of hammered silver over copper, to represent reflections of moonlight in silvery puddles of water. A most impressive, beautiful and statuesque sword. The blade shows a most stunning and active hamon. The tsuka has its traditional Edo period battle wrap, over black samegawa {giant ray-skin}, of yellow silk-cotton ito, with two takebori iron dragon menuki.

One picture in the gallery is an antique Meiji period photograph of a seated daimyo clan lord, holding his very same, identically coloured and mounted han dachi katana.

Han-dachi mounted samurai swords originally appeared during the Muromachi period when there was a transition taking place from tachi to katana. The sword was being worn more and more edge up when on foot, but edge down on horseback as it had always been.

The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga Shogunate. The Sengoku period was named by Japanese historians after the similar but otherwise unrelated Warring States period of China. The era is beautifully depicted in Akira Kurowsawa’s films called Jidaigeki. The Sengoku Period (1467-1568 CE) was a lawless century-long era characterized by rising political instability, turmoil, and warlordism in Japan. During this period, field armies and soldiers rapidly rose in number, reaching tens of thousands of warriors. Many castles in Japan were built during the Sengoku Period as regional leaders and aristocrats alike competed for power and strong regional influence to win the favours of the higher-class Japanese at the time. Kurosawa’s film depiction of Macbeth, Throne of Blood, is set in this era of Japan’s feudal period. Original title 蜘蛛巣城, Kumonosu-jō, lit. 'The Castle of Spider's Web'

This then led to the creation of a more complex system within the military, the armoured infantry known as the ashigaru. Initiated by the collapse of the country’s feudal system during the 1467 Onin War, rival warlords or daimyō, continued to struggle to gain control of Japan until its reunification under Japan’s three “Great Unifiers” –– Nagoya Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa –– thus, bringing the war-stricken era to an end in the siege of Osaka
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 endured for almost 700 years, from 1185 to 1867. Samurai families were considered the elite. They made up only about six percent of the population and included daimyo and the loyal soldiers who fought under them. Samurai means one who serves."

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, expanding 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.

We could have the tsuka rebound in suitable Japanese silk tsuka ito if required. Although, we would recommend it is left just as is, as it is a most fine ancient samurai sword and its slightly and lightly discoloured cotton-silk binding is part of its amazing character and representing its great age

40.5 inches long overall, blade 24.25 inches long  read more

Code: 23673

A Fabulous Museum Quality Sword, Chokuto, 8th Century Nara Style, A Wonderful & Powerful Shinto Period Katana, Circa 1600's, Samurai Katana Statement Piece With Exceptional Fittings & A Long .31 inch Blade

A four hundred year old original samurai sword that is honorifically designed in the ancient 1300 year old samurai sword style. All original, fantastic original Edo period mounts, fittings and saya. A fabulous and spectacular Shinto period bladed katana, with a stunning and rare blade form, of a near straight blade in the ancient chokuto style from the ancient 700's Nara period.

Possibly made as a prized presentation piece or a sword to represent a famous sword from ancient samurai history.

The nakago has one mekugi-ana, and the blade displays a beautiful undulating midare hamon, and a simply stunning itame grain hada. The sword is mounted with a long, beautifully bound tsuka, with pure a gold arabesque patterning design onlaid onto an iron Higo style ground decorated fuchi, and a pierced iron kashira, decorated with inlaid cherry blossom and a pair of very fine shakudo and gold floral pattern menuki over same-gawa giant rayskin and under fine brown silk tsukaito. It has a superb circular iron tsuba decorated with kinko leaves, and a kinko mimi rim, in sinchu-gold-alloy on iron, and it is presented in its original brown Edo lacquer, with black contrast, saya, decorated within the lacquer with complex cloud forms with abilone shell inlaid, It has an iron pierced sukashi kajiri at the base of the saya, in a crashing waves design.

The sword has an optical impression of being more curved than it actually is due to the angle of its tsuka, and the additional slight curvature of the saya.

Of all the weapons that man has developed since our earliest days, few evoke such fascination as the samurai sword of Japan. To many of us in the movie image of the samurai, adorned in his fantastic armour, galloping into battle on his horse, his colourful personal flag, or sashimono, whipping in the wind on his back, has become the very symbol of Japan, the Empire of the Rising Sun. And, truly, to the samurai of real life, nothing embodied his warrior's code of Bushido more than his sword, considered inseparable from his soul.

Indeed, a sword was considered such a crucial part of a samurai's life that when a young samurai was about to be born, a sword was brought into the bedchamber during the delivery. When the time came for an old samurai to die and cross over into the 'White Jade Pavilion of the Afterlife' his honoured sword was placed by his side. Even after death, a daimyo, or nobleman, believed he could count on his samurai who had followed him into the next world to use their keen blades to guard him against any demons, just as they had wielded their trusty weapons to defend him against flesh-and-blood enemies in this life. In a samurai family the swords were so revered that they were passed down from generation to generation, from father to son. If the hilt or scabbard wore out or broke, new ones would be fashioned for the all-important blade. The hilt, the tsuba (hand guard), and the scabbard themselves were often great art objects, with fittings sometimes of gold or silver. The hilt and scabbard were created from the finest hand crafted materials by the greatest artisans that have ever lived. Often, too, they told a story from Japanese myths. Magnificent specimens of Japanese swords can be seen today in the Tokugawa Art Museum's collection in Nagoya, Japan.

The chokuto (直刀, "straight sword") is a straight, one-edged Japanese sword that was produced prior to the 10th century. Its basic style is likely derived from similar swords of ancient China. Chokuto were used on foot for stabbing or slashing and were worn hung from the waist. Until the Heian period such swords were called tachi (大刀), which should not be confused with tachi written as 太刀 referring to curved swords.

In the MET, The Metropolitan Museum in New York, there is an incredibly similar blade, Title: Blade for a Straight Single-Edged Sword (Chokutō)

Date: 7th century or earlier exhibit number 06.310.6, We show our 17th century chokuto blade next to the 7th century samurai chokuto blade in the MET in New York, as photo 10 in the gallery.

Blade, measured from tsuba to tip of the kissaki, almost 31 inches long, and over 41.5 inches long in the saya.  read more

Code: 24177