A Beautiful, Shinto Period, Handachi Mounted Samurai Katana. Fitted With All Original Edo Mounts. Showing Great Quality, Shibui {Quietly Reserved} And Without Undue Extravagance. An Impressive Sword With Incredible & Elegant Lines & Curvature

Worthy of any museum grade collection.

All original, fabulous, Edo period koshirae sword fittings and mounts, a fully matching suite of han dachi mounts semi tachi form inlaid in pure gold arabesques on iron, Higo style. The blade is in beautiful polish showing a spectacularly undulating regular gunome hamon. The tsuka is bound in blue silk and the saya has its original old Edo ishime lacquer, the tsuba is a mokko form iron plate inlaid with a stylized dragon in gold to match the fittings.

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."

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 may 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.

As part of their military training, apparently, samurai were taught to sleep with their right arm underneath them so if they were attacked in the middle of the night and their the left arm was cut off the could still fight with their right arm. Samurai that tossed and turned at night may be cured of the habit by having two knives placed on either side of their pillow.

Samurai have been describes as "the most strictly trained human instruments of war to have existed."
They were expected to be proficient in the martial arts of aikido and kendo as well as swordsmanship and archery---the traditional methods of samurai warfare---which were viewed not so much as skills but as art forms that flowed from natural forces that harmonized with nature.

It can also be said an individual didn't become a full-fledged samurai until he wandered around the countryside as begging pilgrim for a couple of years to learn humility. How accurate this was is dependant on the urgencies of war.

When this was completed they achieved samurai status and receives a salary from his daimyo paid from taxes (usually rice) raised from the local populace.

Swords in Japan have long been symbols of power and honour and seen as works of art. Often times swordsmiths were more famous than the people who used them.

As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity. Blade tsuba to tip 27.5 inches, overall in saya 38.5

Code: 23038