O-Wakasashi (fss-605)
Mei: mumei
Date: 1500's-1600's
Nagasa : 23 1/2 "
Sori: 12.0mm
Width at the ha-machi: 29.7mm
Width at the yokote: 18.0mm
Thickness at the mune-machi: 6.9mm
Construction: shinogi zukuri
Mune: iori
Nakago: suriage
Kitae: mokume/itame
Hamon: suguba
Boshi: maru
Condition: good polish
This is a beautifully made o-wakazashi in beautiful mounts. The mounts are very well made. The koshirae is not fancy but are more of a true samurai style and very utilitarian. They are plush looking without a flashy appearance.
The blade itself is a masterful in sugu-ha just peppered with ara-nie and small activities throughout emulating the great old mino blades of past. The hada is so fine and well worked of ko-itame with mokume. It is covered in ji-nie and has an oily appearance that is found in the best of blades. A rare package!! At 23 � it was most probably used as an uchigatana.
According to legend (mostly from China), the Hō-ō appears very rarely, and only to mark the beginning of a new era -- the birth of a virtuous ruler, for example. In other traditions, the Hō-ō appears only in peaceful and prosperous times (nesting, it is said, in paulownia trees), and hides itself when there is trouble. As the herald of a new age, the Hō-ō decends from heaven to earth to do good deeds, and then it returns to its celestial abode to await a new era. It is both a symbol of peace (when the bird appears) and a symbol of disharmony (when the bird disappears). In China, early artifacts show the Phoenix (female) as intimately associated with the dragon (male) -- the two are portrayed either as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers. When shown together, the two symbolize both conflict and wedded bliss, and are a common design motif even today in many parts of Asia. Gold sageo and ito with dragon menuki finish off these mounts with a wonderful black lacquered saya.
During the twelfth century Uchigatana started to be used and by the
MuromachiHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muromachi_Period" Period approximately 1336 to 1573 the uchigatana began to rival the tachi as the sword of choice by warriors. Unlike the tachi, the uchigatana was worn edge-up in the belt, this and usually being slightly smaller than the tachi was the main difference between the tachi and the uchigatana. Since it is worn differently, the engraved words on the sword are also opposite to the tachi, making the words still upright instead of upside-down like when one wears the tachi like an uchigatana. This sword became popular for several reasons, the uchigatana was more convenient to wear and did not get in the way of using a polearm as much as a tachi, also the frequency of battles fought on foot and the need for speed on the battlefield, were major reasons for the uchigatana being rapidly accepted and indicated that battlefield combat had grown in intensity. Since it was shorter, it could be used in more confined quarters, such as inside a building.Unlike the tachi, with which the acts of drawing and striking with the sword were two separate actions, unsheathing the uchigatana and cutting the enemy down with it became one smooth, lightning-fast action (this technique was called
battojutsu otherwise known as Battokiri). The curvature on the blade of the uchigatana differs from the tachi in that the blade has curvature near the sword�s point (sakizori), as opposed to curvature near the sword�s hilt (koshizori) like the tachi. Because the sword is being drawn from below, the act of unsheathing became the act of striking. For a soldier on horseback, the sakizori curve of the uchigatana was essential in such a blade, since it allows the sword to come out of the saya (sheath) at the most convenient angle for executing an immediate cut.The word uchigatana can be found in literary works as early as the
Kamakura Period, but during that time the uchigatana was used only by individuals of low status and privates in the ranks. Most uchigatana made during the early Kamakura Period were not of the highest standard, and because they were considered disposable, virtually no examples from these early times exist today. It wasn�t until the Muromachi Period (considered by some to be a kind of Dark Age in the history of the Japanese Sword), when the samurai began to use them to supplement the longer tachi, that uchigatana of high quality began to be made. In the Momoyama and Edo Periods, the tachi was almost totally abandoned and the custom of wearing a pair of long and short uchigatana together, the daisho (literally �big-little�) became the dominant sign of the Samurai class.The tsuba depicts a phoenix. An uncommon and exceptional depiction of a phoenix with floral motif in lacquer is found on this era koshirae. The condition is exceptional and rarely found in as good as a condition as this. The Phoenix in Japanese art follows many traditions and mythologies and an example follows:
In Japan, as earlier in China, the mythical Phoenix was adopted as a symbol of the imperial household, particularly the empress. This mythical bird represents fire, the sun, justice, obedience, fidelity, and the southern star constellations .
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KOSHIRAI
This sword is on consignment.
~SOLD~
Order number for this item is : fss-605
Email us if your interested in this item at info@nihontoantiques.com
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