Japanese

An Exceptionally Beautiful, Almost 500 Year Old Ancient Samurai Aikuchi Tanto, Signed Bizen Osafune Ju Sukesada

Aikuchi tanto are intentionally designed to have an uninterrupted profile, for ease of access, for the securing and withdrawing from an obi, and bear no tsuba sword guard. This is an absolute beauty, in fabulous condition.

It is from a museum grade small collection of remarkable and exceptional samurai tanto. Acquired by a discerning collector over many years seeking an example of all the varrying forms and styles of tanto and their blades, from the zenith of the samurai period of the Koto era and beyond.
Each one is a veritable work of art demonstrating the skill of craftsmen at the apex of their careers, as the very finest swordsmiths and koshirae fitting makers, that has been combined to create wonders of rare beauty. Not only to represent the acme of samurai art, but also functional and usable swords [in the culture of samurai, even small tanto are classified as swords] for the samurai of the highest rank and status, including daimyo and lords, from the Koto to Edo period.

It has a very fine signed Koto ancient blade, in superb Edo polish with a sophisticated, deep, straight hamon. The saya is an absolutely stunning, original Edo period beauty, of finest two colour urushi lacquer of cinnabar flecks red over deep lustrous black. The fabulous menuki are contrasting pure gold and copper gambolling ponies, and the kozuka is decorated a pair of mythical hooved beasts [similar to shishi lion dogs] on a nanako ground, and a small saya mount is Alison in gold and copper of two shishi puppies.

All the mounts are carved buffallo horn. The tsuka is bound with a very fine quality micro herringbone pattern ito, and intricate finely chiselled round, flowerhead form, gold mukugi rims.

Made and signed by one of the early Sukesada, from the Sukesada school of master swordsmiths, in around 1500, between around 500 and 530 years ago.

The highly regarded Sukesada line of swordsmiths descended in the Osafune school and are recorded as far back as the end of the Nambokucho period (around 1394). This blade here is placed it in the Sue-Koto Period (1469-1596).

The whole tanto is in very good condition with just a few natural aging small urushi lacquer surface nicks.

The original Edo period urushi lacquer on the stand is in simply excellent condition for age and shows most elegant intricacy, it reveals within that intricacy the finest craftsmanship and beauty worthy of a master of the art of urushi decor. 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.

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!  read more

Code: 24538

A Delightful Armour Piercing Sengoku Period Samurai’s Dagger. A Period That Commenced in 1468. A Samurai Tanto From The Koto Era, Made Around 500 Years Old. Fully Mounted And Fitted With Original Edo Period Mountings {Koshirae}

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'


With a most powerful armour piercing blade showing a very fine and most elaborate hamon in nice polish. The all Edo period mounts are decorated with a flock of geese flying in formation over high mounted fishing nets in a shower of rain of pure gold in shakudo and gold. The seppa are beautifully carved with deep crenellated edging in pure gold and shakudo. The tsuba is an oval plate in iron with a full relief edge decoration of prunus. Superb lobster scale pattern ribbed lacquer saya shown with a small kozuka pocket containing its sinchu kodzuka knife decorated with a takebori dragon on both sides. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga Shogunate. Various samurai warlords and clans fought for control over Japan in the power vacuum, while the Ikkō-ikki emerged to fight against samurai rule. The arrival of Europeans in 1543 introduced the arquebus into Japanese warfare, and Japan ended its status as a tributary state of China in 1549. Oda Nobunaga dissolved the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1573 and launched a war of political unification by force, including the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, until his death in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582. Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his campaign to unify Japan and consolidated his rule with numerous influential reforms. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592, but their eventual failure damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. Tokugawa Ieyasu displaced Hideyoshi's young son and successor Toyotomi Hideyori at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and re-established the feudal system under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Sengoku period ended when Toyotomi loyalists were defeated at the siege of Osaka in 1615.

The Sengoku period was named by Japanese historians after the similar but otherwise unrelated Warring States period of China.The tanto was designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well. Tanto are generally forged in hira-zukuri style (without ridgeline), meaning that their sides have no ridge line and are nearly flat, unlike the shinogi-zukuri structure of a katana. Some tanto have particularly thick cross-sections for armour-piercing duty, and are called yoroi toshi. The tantos primary use was a type of stabbing weapon, however, the blade could also be used for slashing as well. Some tanto were forged with a particularly thick cross section which was thought to aid in piercing the armour of enemies, this type of dagger would be called a yoroi toshi.

A tanto would most often be worn by Samurai, and it was very uncommon to come across a non samurai with a tanto. It was not only men who carried these daggers, women would on occasions carry a small tanto called a kaiken in their obi which would be used for self-defence. In feudal Japan a tanto would occasionally be worn by Samurai in place of the wakizashi in a combination called the daisho, which roughly translates as big-little, in reference to the big Samurai Sword (Katana) and the small dagger (tanto). Before the rise of the katana it was more common for a Samurai to carry a tachi and tanto combination as opposed to a katana and wakizashi. The blade is in super condition for it's age, with a small rice grain sized blemish to one side of the blade, the kashira has a small impact dent. Overall 14.25 inches long in saya  read more

Code: 23961

A Superb WW2 Imperial Japanese Naval Officer's Kai Gunto Sword Tachi. Signed Blade, with Unusual Brown Ishime Lacquer Saya, and Brown Silk Battle Wrapped Tsuka, Over Black Samegawa {Giant Rayskin}

In our opinion this is a "near impossible to better" original, WW2 Naval officer's kai gunto sword, used and carried by of an officer of the {formerly} divine Emperor Hirohito's Imperial Navy in WW2.

Upon Japan’s surrender the Emperor had to surrender his divine status.
Ideal for the collector of the very best surviving officer's swords of WW2.
A rare 1937 pattern Kai Gunto, with a fine signed blade. With all it's original gilded mounts and fittings, with near mint conserved dark brown ishime stone lacquer saya. Traditional pattern naval style flattened knot battle-wrap ito over black samegawa. The blade is absolutely near perfect and near flawless, with only a some very small surface stains, with all it's original finish, and fully signed tang {yet to be translated}. It has its original naval pattern ‘rising sun’ tachi tsuba with twin large seppa dai. This sword would, effectively, be near impossible to upgrade if you wanted the best possible available, regulation, deluxe grade tachi sword, as commissioned by a Japanese naval officer in WW2, in absolutely superb, conserved, condition. Only the tsuba has signs of old storage marks. Effectively, it is just like the day it was surrendered in 1945 apart from some very light natural service age wear.

Brown lacquer sayas are rare for naval swords, with black the most commonly found colour, although, a brown polished rayskin option was popular, but a very expensive option at the time, though a brown lacquer finish, with a single belt mount, finish is rarely seen.

The illustrative photo shows three Imperial Japanese Naval flying officers, the central figure carrying the same sword.

The air crewmen of a Ginga bomber that hit the allied aircraft carrier, Randolph. From left to right): Chief Flight Petty Officer Takeshi Igai (navigator), Lieutenant Koetsu Fukuda (pilot), and Chief Flight Petty Officer Kenji Ota (radioman).

The WW2 Japanese pilots, by tradition, carried their kai gunto swords aboard their planes, in a special metal almost cylindrical case affixed to the cockpit side, including the kamikaze pilots, which might be another reason that kai gunto swords are rare to find, as most pilots and their planes perished in combat, as did so many of the Imperial Japanese Naval combat vessals, that were sunk by the allied fleets. They carried their sword airborne in WW2 as part of their bushido tradition, in that, although they might never face hand to hand combat on land, unless if they landed in an emergency or survived a crash on land, but if they were to perish in their aircraft the sword would still be by their side.  read more

Code: 25395

A Great Opportunity To Acquire A Most Beautiful & Stunning 4th/9th Ghurkha, 16th Brigade, 'Chindit' Officer's Japanese Combat War Trophy. A Japanese Officer's Shingunto Sword, Signed by Kanenori, and Dated 1944.

Signed Kanenori dated 'a lucky day in the 18th Year of Showa {1944 }. Possibly the gendaito smith Noshu Seki Jyu Kanenori(濃州関住兼則)

Only the old worn shingunto leather covered wooden saya scabbard of the sword's original WW2 mounts now remain, and will accompany this fabulous sword blade. This is a Chindit officer's war trophy, and not a surrendered sword. Apparently the Japanese officer was not granted the opportunity in order to surrender his sword, it was taken from him.

Born in the 40th year of the Meiji era (1907) in Seki city, Gifu prefecture, Noshu Seki Jyu Kanenori(濃州関住兼則) was a younger brother of Kojima Kanemichi, one of the most famous swordsmiths in modern times.
Kanenori belonged to the company called Seki Kyoshinsha run by his brother Kanemichi during World War Ⅱ.

Well, this sword had without doubt seen considerable hand to hand jungle combat action. All of the wrap mounts and leather combat cover simply rotted away in the Jungle.

However, the very grey blade was sent by the previous owner to be completely cleaned and polished, and it had been returned to him looking in fabulous condition, then sold to us and now offered here for sale. It could be remounted in a bespoke hand made shirasaya {made by us} or refitted in mounts of choice. Type 98 shingunto possibly or even traditional style.

A problem faced by all the British and Ghurkha Chindits, and Japanese soldiers alike. Leather from uniforms and equipment covers could rot in a matter of months, uniforms would simply fall to pieces, and there are numerous photographs taken of jungle warfare soldiers mid campaign where their uniforms, boots and kit simply fell off their bones. Exactly as it was for Allied POWs in Japanese prison camps in Japanese occupied territories, eventually they were reduced to being naked, having no clothes at all but a simple loin cloth.

Ideal piece of combined Imperial Japanese and WW2 'Chindit', history, perfect to remount in a bespoke, handmade shira saya, or, traditionally as required. We do still have its near complete shingunto leather bound scabbard

Th 4th/9th Ghurkha Rifles were part of 16th Brigade in 1944. On 5 February 1944, Fergusson's 16th Brigade left Ledo for Burma. They avoided Japanese forces by traversing exceptionally difficult terrain. The rest of the Brigades were brought in by air to create fortified bases with airstrips.

600 sorties by Dakota transport aircraft transferred 9,000 men to the landing zones. Chowringhee was abandoned once the fly-in was completed, but Broadway was held with a garrison which included field artillery, anti-aircraft guns and even a detachment of six Mk.VIII Spitfires of No.81 Squadron RAF from 12 March to 17 March. On 17 March they were attacked during take-off by Japanese Ki-43 'Oscars'. S/L William 'Babe' Whitamore and F/O Alan M Peart managed to get airborne, with both shooting down one 'Oscar' each. Whitamore was shot down and killed but Peart survived for over half an hour, holding off over 20 enemy fighters. The remaining Spitfires were destroyed on the ground for the loss of another pilot, F/Lt Coulter. Peart flew back to Kangla the same day in his damaged Spitfire (FL-E JF818) and reported the action.28 The detachment was duly ended by AFC Stanley Vincent, the CO of No. 221 Group.27

Fergusson's brigade set up another base named Aberdeen north of Indaw, into which 14th Brigade was flown. Calvert's brigade established yet another, named White City at Mawlu, astride the main railway and road leading to the Japanese northern front. 111 Brigade set up ambushes and roadblocks south of Indaw (although part of the brigade which landed at Chowringhee was delayed in crossing the Irrawaddy River), before moving west to Pinlebu.

Ferocious jungle fighting ensued around Broadway and White City {all the Chindit bases had British city region names}. At times, British and Japanese troops were in close combat, bayonets and kukris against katanas. On 27 March, after days of aircraft attack, the Japanese attacked Broadway for several nights before the attack was repulsed with flown-in artillery and the aid of locally recruited Kachin irregulars.

The deprivations of the Burma campaign were horrifying for all sides. This is just one account in Burma. Several British soldiers said that the crocodiles preyed on the Japanese soldiers in the swamp. The most prominent firsthand retelling of what happened comes from naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright, who participated in the Battle of Ramree Island and gave this written account:

“That night of Feb. 19, 1945 was the most horrible that any member of the M.L. motor launch crews ever experienced. The crocodiles, alerted by the din of warfare and smell of blood, gathered among the mangroves, lying with their eyes above the water, watchfully alert for their next meal. With the ebb of the tide, the crocodiles moved in on the dead, wounded, and uninjured men who had become mired in the mud…

The scattered rifle shots in the pitch black swamp punctured by the screams of the wounded men crushed in the jaws of huge reptiles, and the blurred worrying sound of spinning crocodiles made a cacophony of hell that has rarely been duplicated on Earth. At dawn, the vultures arrived to clean up what the crocodiles had left.” — Bruce Stanley Wright

The giant lizards had a feast of their lives as nearly 1,000 terrified soldiers dripped blood and sweat into the crowded confines of the Ramree mangrove swamp.

Around 500 Japanese soldiers are believed to have fled the mangrove swamps, with 20 of them being recaptured by British forces who had set up a perimeter around the dense jungle. Around 500 of the fleeing men, however, never made it out of the swamp.

Survivors are said to have heard harrowing stories of hundreds of crocodiles assaulting the soldiers in a mass assault, as well as appalling tales of crocodiles attacking the soldiers individually.

Photo 6 in the gallery shows an example of one of our museum grade handmade & bespoke sword storage and display mounts, a shira saya. Every blade in traditional times, including those now in museums, would have such a set of mounts. This is what we could make for the blade if required, cost around £350.

One side of the blade three inches from the tip has a small area of tiny pin prick marks .


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 trading  read more

Code: 25390

A Most Impressive & Beautiful Antique Shinshinto Edo Era Samurai Horseman's Katana. This Is A Most Impressive Sword Of Commanding Presence. Likely of a Seieibushi {Elite Ranked Samurai}

We show in the gallery an antique woodblock print of a late Edo samurai general holding his identical liveried sword.

All original Edo period fittings. The fuchi kashira, tsuba, sayagaki kurigata, and sayajiri are matching brass decorated with fulsome designs and silver striping. Fully matching suite of sinchu and contrasting silver line mounts to the tsuka, tsuba and saya, of the fine Matsushiro Sinano school. The saya has all its original period Edo lacquer of gold flakes, covered in very fine, tinted, clear urushi lacquer, Byakudan nuri: Transparent lacquer of a golden yellow colour, with its original, Edo period, multi coloured sageo. The menuki are Kaga Gotō school dragon menuki of pure gold overlay, overlaid over copper. They are traditional hilt mountings of very fine quality.
We show these temporarily removed in one photograph before the finest original Japanese silk tsuka-ito was re-bound on the samegawa wrapped tsuka by our Japanese trained, medal winning, traditional artisan.

The blade has a superb and elaborate gunome hamon, that was in original old Edo polish, but with a few areas of aged finger print 'spider web' markings to the surface, but all are now beautifully removed.

This is a katana was likely made for a senior, high ranking samurai, a seieibushi. based upon horseback in combat, certainly not a light and deeply cursive katana, but a battle sword, made to complete an uncomprimising task of close combat and aggressive close quarter hand to hand swordmanship. Designed as much for cleaving through samurai armour and kabuto helmets in two, as much as defeating another samurai while on horseback. Although samurai would not, one would say, be a cavalry based warrior, all senior samurai would be mounted and thus travel on horseback, and some cavalry type samurai could be deployed in battle, but with differing combat styles depending on what part of Japan they came from. The cavalry troops, being Samurai, had personal retainers that stayed closer to them in the Sonae, carried their weaponry and worked as support units, much like an European squire. They also joined the fight whenever possible (especially in the mounted infantry scenario) and were often responsible of taking heads for their lords.
These foot Samurai were also used as heavy infantry or archers to support the ashigaru lines.

Tactics
Given the fact that the Samurai could directly dismount and operate as infantry, there were some specific tactics for horsemen.
Cavalry in general was only used after the battle was already started, either to deliver a decisive victory or to trying to save the day.

Norikiri
This is a classic charge, where several small groups of five to ten horseman ride consequently (possibly with a wedge formation) into a small area against the enemy lines, to maximize the shock. It was mainly used by heavy cavalry in the East, but given the fact that the ideal target where "weavering" units with low morale or disorganized, even medium cavalry could perform this charge.
The main role of this charge was to create confusion; if it didn't succeed, the cavalry regroups and either retreat or deliver another charge.

Norikuzushi
This is a combined infantry and cavalry charge. The horseman charged first, and after creating mayhem, a second charge is delivered by infantries armed with polearms, which could keep on fighting. The main target for this tactics were ranged units detached by the army. After a Norikuzushi usually follows a Norikiri by the cavalry group.

This striking and highly impressive katana has been re-bound in finest original, Japanese, green silk tsuka-ito by our artisans, and the koshirae have been in the workshop for two full weeks, while we undertake a museum grade conservation. The urushi lacquer had small age losses, which have been 'museum style' restored, in order to match closely the original urushi, but purposely not the intrude upon the original urushi lacquer finish. It also still has its original Edo period, antique, two colour sageo silk binding cord on the saya. Although it is a little frayed and worn we decided it is important to keep it just as original as historically possible.

Overall, after much expertise, time, effort and expense, we believe we have now returned this katana to just how it may have looked when last worn by a samurai of status at his daimyo's court, in the late Shinshinto period, before the upheaval of the Meiji reign, and the eventual banishment of bushido and the era of the samurai.

This sword was returned from superb no expense spared hand polishing, Edo style, to remove old finger marks and skuffs. It now looks absolutely beautiful.

Restoration, specialist conservation and preservation of original items is one of our fundamental tenets, it is not unusual for us to expend up to ten times the cost of an item in order to preserve a piece for the future, and to return it to how it once looked for posterity. Of course some restoration can be detrimental, and over restoration can be worse than no restoration at all, so every care is made to ensure exactly the right amount of conservation is undertaken by our specialist and highly trained world renown artisans. Thanks to the re-polishing 98% of all the pinprick surface marks were removed by hand.
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PAOB  read more

Code: 24339

A Simply Beautiful Ancient Koto Katana, Sengoku Era, Circa 1530, Signed Fuchi with Artisans Kakihan of a Cursive Monogram and Signed Tsuba, And the Matsudaira Tokugawa Clan Mon Gold Habaki

Beautiful Koto blade with wonderful quality signed fushi hilt mount of shakudo and pure gold, with a takebori samurai daimyo lord, in court dress, wearing his tachi.

Very good tsuba in iron, also signed. Menuki of cranes underneath the silk ito. Very beautiful blade with typical Koto period narrow straight hamon of fine simplicity. Engraved gilt habaki blade collar with Tokugawa clan mon of Aoi hollyhock leaves. Before the Edo period, there were 19 major branches of the Matsudaira clan: Takenoya (竹谷), Katanohara (形原),4 Ōgusa (大草), Nagasawa (長沢),5 Nōmi (能見),6 Goi (五井), Fukōzu (深溝), Ogyū (大給),7 Takiwaki (滝脇),8 Fukama (福釜), Sakurai (桜井), Tōjō (東条), Fujii (藤井),9 Mitsugi (三木), Iwatsu (岩津), Nishi-Fukama (西福釜), Yata (矢田), Udono (鵜殿), and Kaga (加賀). Each of these branches (with the exception of the Kaga-Matsudaira, which relocated to Kaga Province) took its name from the area in Mikawa where it resided. Also, many of the branches often fought with each other.

Matsudaira of Okazaki
It was the main Matsudaira line residing in Okazaki Castle which rose the highest during the Sengoku period. During the headship of Matsudaira Hirotada, it was threatened by the Oda and Imagawa clans, and for a time was forcibly brought into Imagawa service. After the death of Imagawa Yoshimoto and the fall from power of the Imagawa clan, Hirotada's son Matsudaira Motoyasu was successful in forming an alliance with Oda Nobunaga, the hegemon of Owari Province. Motoyasu is better known as Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became the first Tokugawa shōgun in 1603.
The Sengoku Period (Sengoku Jidai, 1467-1568 CE), also known as the Warring States Period, was a turbulent and violent period of Japanese history when rival warlords or daimyo fought bitterly for control of Japan. The period falls within the Muromachi period (Muromachi Jidai, 1333-1573 CE) of Japanese medieval history when the Ashikaga shogun capital was located in the Muromachi area of Heiankyo (Kyoto). The beginning of the Sengoku period witnessed the Onin War (1467-1477 CE) which destroyed Heiankyo. The fighting that followed over the next century would eventually reduce the warlords to only a few hundred in number as the country was effectively carved up into princedoms. Eventually, one warlord rose above all his rivals: Oda Nobunaga, who set Japan on the road to unification from 1568 CE.

To many of us in the West, the movie image of the samurai 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. Shakudo is a billon of gold and copper (typically 4-10% gold, 96-90% copper) which can be treated to form an indigo/black patina resembling lacquer. Unpatinated shakudo Visually resembles bronze; the dark colour is induced by applying and heating rokusho, a special patination formula.

Shakudo Was historically used in Japan to construct or decorate katana fittings such as tsuba, menuki, and kozuka; as well as other small ornaments. When it was introduced to the West in the mid-19th century, it was thought to be previously unknown outside Asia, but recent studies have suggested close similarities to certain decorative alloys used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome  read more

Code: 22207

A Very Attractive & Good Edo Period Antique Nanban Tsuba in Tetsu and Applied Gold

The style of decoration that involves a mass of tendrils occupied by dragons, with elongated oval seppa dai decorated with waves or bars and the like. Unusually the pierced design travels around the edge as well, a very nice sign of extra fine quality workmanship, and beautiful undercutting.

Nanban often regarded as meaning Southern Barbarian, are very much of the Chinese influence. The Chinese influence on this group of tsuba was of more import than the Western one, however, and resulted not merely in the utilisation of fresh images by the existing schools, but also in the introduction of a
completely fresh style of metalworking.
The term 'namban' was also used by the Japanese to describe an iron of foreign origin.
Neither can the Namban group be considered to represent 'native Japanese art'.
The required presence in the group, by definition, of 'foreign influence', together with the possibility of their being 'foreign made', was probably responsible for their great popularity at the time.

Tsuba are usually finely decorated, and are highly desirable collectors' items in their own right. Tsuba were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen whose only craft was making tsuba. They were usually lavishly decorated. In addition to being collectors items, they were often used as heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with samurai roots sometimes have their family crest (mon) crafted onto a tsuba. Tsuba can be found in a variety of metals and alloys, including iron, steel, brass, copper and shakudo. In a duel, two participants may lock their katana together at the point of the tsuba and push, trying to gain a better position from which to strike the other down.  read more

Code: 24581

A Stunning Quality Wakizashi Signed with Honorific Title Masatoshi, Lord of Etchu, Han Dachi Mounted, Gold Dragon Menuki, Mishina School Blade, Early 1600's, Wonderful Signed Tsuba and Matching Kozuka Depicting the Tiger in the Bamboo Grove

We now are delighted to show it with its fully rebound tsuka in gold silk. The tsuka has been rebound traditionally, in finest gold tsukaito by our medal winning Japanese koshirae artisan, and it looks amazing.

Mishina School, Etchu (no) Kami Masatoshi. The stunning blade shows a beautiful and complex hamon in super polish. All original Edo mounts, superb signed *tsuba and kozuka all decorated with the legendary ‘Tiger in the Bamboo Grove’ theme. The kozuka is signed, as is its kogatana blade

* Tsuba signed Taizan Mototaka of Mito/Hitachi. Mototaka, was the founder of the Sekijoken line, was a son of Taizan-Motonori, a pupil of the Yokoya school, who signed his work Sekijoken-Taizan-Mototaka. He worked during the last part of the eighteenth century and lived to a great age. He was most skillful in the style of the Nara artists, Joi, Shozui, Yasuchika, Toshinaga, etc., and a teacher of great ability, his most expert pupil was Takase-Yeiju (or Hisan- aga), who worked during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The artists of the Sekijoken school at first followed the style of Yokoya, but later they turned to the Nara school. Tigers were considered the strongest animals. They were often shown with bamboo to symbolize the hospitality of the weak for the strong. In Chinese art, the tiger was traditionally related to the four directions as the animal
of the West, and was often paired with the dragon, which represented the East. Kano artists frequently depicted tigers with holy men, abbots, or monks, reflecting their mystic presence and association with Zen Buddhism. A tiger is said to be the only animal capable of navigating through thick bamboo forests, and the pairing of the two symbols is said to represent a harmonious and peaceful society. The bamboo alone stands for resilience and integrity, admired virtues of noble men.

Incredible quality pure gold overlay dragon menuki, gold overlaid seppa. Fully matching suite of handachi iron fittings trimmed in gold with patterning silver overlay. The original Edo saya has superb antique *urushi lacquer with pure gold, under clear lacquer, called Byakudan nuri: Transparent lacquer of a golden yellow colour, beautifully decorated with amazingly intricate billowing flaming-feather like swirls

Kyo Go Kaji 京五鍜冶 is short for Kyoto Go Kaji 京都五鍜冶 which means five swordsmiths of Kyoto. The term was developed to describe a group of related smiths who worked prosperously in the Kyoto area during shinto times. They made good quality works with similar characteristics and each had many students for generations. They are Iga (no) Kami Kinmichi 伊賀守金道, Echigo (no) Kami Kinmichi 越後守金道, Tanba (no) Kami Yoshimichi 丹波守吉道, Etchu (no) Kami Masatoshi 越中守正俊 and Omi (no) Kami Hisamichi 近江守久道. These smiths all had Mishina 三品 as their last name. The first four were sons of Seki Kanemichi 兼道 and Hisamichi was a student of Kanemichi's grandson.

* 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 or boxes.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, 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

In photos 3 & 5 in the gallery we show the stunning pair of pure gold layered dragon menuki before they were mounted on the samegawa and then bound under the gold tsuka-ito.

* Notes from the Special exhibition
( 1907-1908 ) of Japanese sword guards, tsuba,
has been prepared by Mr. Okabe-Kakuya.  read more

Code: 25337

Koto Period Samurai Katana, Circa 1550 From The Muramachi Era, A Most Fine Blade with Midare and Large Waves Hamon, & Nioi & Nie Deki, a Masame & Itame Hada, in Very Good Polish, Shibuishi Dragon Fly Fuchi Kashira

Fine Edo saya in superb condition decorated under clear urushi lacquer with pine needles and entwined silver wire. Very good Edo tsuba of iron {tettsu} with mokume wood grain body and a bamboo mimi {rim} with bamboo leaves. Wonderful quality shibuishi fuchi -kashira of takebori dragonflies with a gold seal. Just returned from a interior decorators display in Grosvenor Sq. London.

Nie (沸) literally means "seethe" or "boil." In Japanese sword connoisseurship, it is the name of larger martensite crystals that appear on the polished surface of some traditionally made Japanese swords, which sometimes look like bubbles of boiling water rising to the surface. Nie mostly forms along the temperline, but on some swords is also seen on the blade's surfaces. Nie & nioi
When the crystals are so small that the naked eye cannot make them out individually, and they appear like a whitish mist, it is called nioi (匂), literally "fragrance". Nioi is present to some extent on all blades, but when no or very little nie is present, we speak of nioi-deki (匂出来). When the work shows nie throughout, we call it nie deki (沸出来) where deki means workmanship or interpretation.

Japan was once known as the “Land of the Dragonfly”, as the Emperor Jimmu is said to have once climbed a mountain in Nara, and looking out over the land, claimed that his country was shaped like two Akitsu, the ancient name for the winged insects, mating.

Dragonflies appeared in great numbers in 1274 and again in 1281, when Kublai Khan sent his Mongol forces to conquer Japan. Both times the samurai repelled the attackers, with the aid of huge typhoons, later titled Kamikaze (the Divine Winds), that welled up, destroying the Mongol ships, saving Japan from invasion. For that reason, dragonflies were seen as bringers of divine victory.

Dragonflies never retreat, they will stop, but will always advance, which was seen as an ideal of the samurai. Further, although the modern Japanese word for dragonfly is Tombo, the old (Pre Meiji era) word for dragonfly was Katchimushi. “Katchi” means “To win”, hence dragonflies were seen as auspicious by the samurai.

Insects in general have been celebrated in Japanese culture for centuries. The Lady Who Loved Insects is a classic story of a caterpillar-collecting lady of the 12th century court; the Tamamushi, or Jewel Beetle Shrine, is a seventh century miniature temple, once shingled with 9,000 iridescent beetle forewings. In old Japanese literature, poems upon insects are to be found by thousands, Daisaburo Okumoto is director of the Fabre Insect Museum. An avid insect collector and a scholar of French literature, he has translated many of Fabre's works. He ascribes the popularity of insects in Japan to national character. It seems like Japanese eyes are like macro lenses and Western eyes are wide-angle, he says. A garden in Versailles, it's very wide and symmetrical. But Japanese gardens are continuous from the room and also very small. We feel calm when we look at small things. The medieval Japanese monk Yoshida Kenko put it this way: “If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, how things would lose their power to move us!

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 or boxes.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, 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  read more

Code: 25334

A Very Beautiful & Incredibly Elegant Koto Katana Art Sword Circa 1500, With Very Fine All Original Edo Koshirae, of Finely Decorated Shakudo, Combined With Exceptional Urushi Lacquer Work.

Very fine original Edo period fittings, mokko gata tsuba and saya. Shakudo fuchi-kashira, decorated with a wonderfully defined little long armed monkey reaching for the moon's reflection in a stream. The long armed monkey is on the kashira, the stream and moon are on the fuchi. ‘The Monkey Reaching for the Moon’, fuchi-kashira, depicts a delightful little monkey hanging from a tree branch over the surface of water, reaching down to touch the reflection of the moon. This imagery is undoubtedly derived from a popular Buddhist story that warns how the spiritually unenlightened cannot distinguish between reality and illusion.

Shakudo and gold menuki of artistically bound reeds, with a fine mokko-shaped Higo school iron tsuba with a raised mimi {edge}, and a black beautiful ishime urushi lacquered saya with matching copper ishime koiguchi, kurikata and kojiri, {scabbard mountings}.

It has a very fine 25.25 inch blade, measured tsuba to tip. Typical Koto style and period, extremely elegant blade with fine graduation, beautiful curvature and iconic Koto form small kissaki. it has a superb complex hamon and grain {with just a few light surface fingerprint stains that we can have removed}.

Some provinces of Japan were famous for their contribution to the ishime style of urushi lacquer 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 or boxes, or as you see, samurai sword saya {scabbards}. 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, 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. It is extraordinary that a finest urushi lacquer saya would have taken up to, and over, a year to hand produce, by some of the most finely skilled artisans in the world.

Shakudo {that can be used to make samurai sword mounts and fittings} is a billon of gold and copper (typically 4-10% gold, 96-90% copper) which can be treated to form an indigo/black patina resembling lacquer. Unpatinated shakudo Visually resembles bronze; the dark colour is induced by applying and heating rokusho, a special patination formula.

Shakudo was historically used in Japan to construct or decorate the finest katana fittings such as fuchi-kashira, tsuba, menuki, and kozuka; as well as other small ornaments. When it was introduced to the West in the mid-19th century, it was thought to be previously unknown outside Asia, but recent studies have suggested close similarities to certain decorative alloys used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The above descriptions show just why the finest Japanese fully mounted swords can be referred to as ‘Art Swords’, not because they were made just to be items of incredible beauty, to admire and revere, but also as useable everyday swords to be worn by highest status samurai and clan lords, that are also statements of the status of the wearer, as well as of the finest beauty and artistic merit..  read more

Code: 25351