The Japanese sword and its decoration

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no

THE JAPANESE SWORD

AND
ITS DECORATION

BY

HELEN C. GUNSAULUS
Assistant Curator ok Japanksr Ethnology

ILLINOIS

Anthropology
Leaflet 20

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

CHICAGO

1924

The Anthropological Leaflets of Field Museum are designed to
give brief, non-technical accounts of some of the more interesting
beliefs, habits and customs of the races whose life is illustrated
in the Museum's exhibits.

LIST OF ANTHROPOLOGY LEAFLETS ISSUED TO DATE

1. The Chinese Gateway $ .10

2. The Philippine Forge Group 10

3. The Japanese Collections 25

4. New Guinea Masks 25

5. The Thunder Ceremony of the Pawnee 25

6. The Sacrifice to the Morning Star by the

Skidi Pawnee 10

7. Purification of the Sacred Bundles, a Ceremony

of the Pawnee • 10

8. Annual Ceremony of the Pawnee Medicine Men . .10

9. The Use of Sago in New Guinea 10

10. Use of Human Skulls and Bones in Tibet ... .10

11. The Japanese New Year's Festival, Games

and Pastimes 25

12. Japanese Costume 25

13. Gods and Heroes of Japan 25

14. Japanese Temples and Houses 25

15. Use of Tobacco among North American Indians . .25
*16. Use of Tobacco in Mexico and South America . . .25
*17. Use of Tobacco in New Guinea 10

18. Tobacco and Its Use in Asia 25

19. Introduction of Tobacco into Europe 25

20. The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 25

D. C. DA VIES

DIRECTOR
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CHICAGO, U. S. A.

"In preparation— November 1924

itfNlVfcKSllY Of ILLINOIS

Field Museum of Natural History

Department of Anthropology

Chicago, 1924
Leaflet Number 20

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration

The sword of Japan may be called a key to the
study of the history, folk-lore, and customs of the
country. In its changing form there can be traced the
influences of important military events and certain
characteristics due to contact with the outside world,
while on the carefully wrought fittings have been pic-
tured the heroes, gods, mythological beings, symbols,
and articles of daily use, each full of interest and
worthy of study. For centuries the art and skill of
many generations of craftsmen have been lavished
upon its decoration. Up to 1876 all samurai or mili-
tary men were privileged to carry two swords, the
katana and the wakizashi. The first was the weapon
with which they fought, settling personal quarrels and
clan feuds, or defending their feudal lord, for whose
sake each one was proud and ready to die at any
moment. The other, the wakizashi, was a shorter
weapon generally uniform in decoration with the
katana, for these two were worn together thrust
through the belt, and were spoken of as dai-sho, mean-
ing "large and small."

The wakizashi was always worn indoors. The kata-
na, however, was removed on entering a private house
and, as proof of trust in one's host, it was laid upon the
katana-kake, a rack placed near the entrance. The

[113]

2 Field Museum of Natural History

wakizashi was especially dear to the samurai, for with
it he could follow his feudal chief in death, or, rather
than be taken prisoner by the enemy, he could perform
the "happy dispatch." If condemned to death, he was
privileged to take his own life rather than suffer the
disgrace of public execution. This form of suicide is
known as harakiri and consists of a fatal crosscut over
the abdomen, practically amounting to disembowel-
ment. Through generations of fighting, the samurai
had developed an unsurpassed bravery and a spirit of
self-abnegation, which it is difficult to understand with-
out studying the philosophy and history of the Jap-
anese warrior. When Japan opened her gates to the
world in 1868, after two centuries of isolation, she was
living under a feudal organization of great intricacy,
so powerful that many have been confused into think-
ing that the shogun was a ruler in the same sense as
the emperor. He was merely the generalissimo, the
military commander of the feudal lords, but he had
so usurped the power of administration that the
emperor was removed from the vision of his people,
occupying more the place of a deity rather than that
of a ruler. However, never in the history of Japan
through all her years of civil strife, has the supreme
right to rule been denied to the "Heavenly born"
emperor. No matter how bitter his enemies nor how
domineering the military authority, in the last analysis
none of them ever denied the divine right of the
Mikado, the descendant of the Sun Goddess.

Through centuries of feudalism, Japan had become
divided into many provinces, each one presided over
by a feudal lord or daimyo who was supported by many
armed retainers. From 1636 to 1853 the nation dwelt
in complete isolation and peace. This fact tended to
make that period known as the Tokugawa period, one
in which luxury and refinement is reflected in all the

[114]

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration

belongings of the military class. The armour and
swords of this day were made for adornment rather
than for fighting. The yearly processions of the
daimyo to Yedo, whither they were required to come
under the shogun's order, have been depicted on many
a print and were occasions on which the armed re-
tainers, in full regalia, reflected the elegance of their
chief's domain. To these days of luxury belonged
most of the swords and fittings which appeared in the
European market a few years following the Restora-
tion of 1868 when Japan renounced the old military
domination and determined to become one of the na-
tions of the world.

The sword, however, had had a most grim part to
play in the centuries preceding the rule of the Toku-
gawa shoguns. From the time of the introduction of
Buddhism from China through Korea in A.D. 552,
there are records of wars religious, foreign, and civil,
up until the seventeenth century. There was de-
veloped along with the military organization which
evolved through centuries of warfare, a reverence for
the sword which made it the warrior's most cherished
possession. It was in very truth "the soul of the
samurai." The story of the blade cannot be entered
into here save to say that it rivaled in keenness that of
Damascus, and sword-blade making in Japan was con-
sidered from early times a sacred craft, only entered
upon after purification and fasting. Blades were
handed down from generation to generation as the es-
teemed protectors of families. Loving the sword as
the samurai did, beauty was added to strength and
from the sixteenth century on, artists of great rank
applied their skill and taste to the adorning of the
mounts both of hilt and scabbard. A samurai might
possess only one trusted blade, but more than likely he
would have four or five sets of fittings which he could

[115]

4 Field Museum of Natural History

adjust for different occasions. In 1876 when the edict
was issued prohibiting the samurai wearing two
swords, it is estimated that there were two million of
this calling who laid down their precious weapons.
Many had to sell their swords on account of the dis-
continuance of their hereditary incomes, and hundreds
of others disposed of them because the cherished dis-
tinction which was the samurai's had become a thing
of the past.

The fittings of the katana and the wakizashi have
been decorated for centuries by artists who literally
painted in metal some of the choicest examples of pic-
torial art and chiselled designs which have charmed
many a collector and gained the admiration of metal-
craftsmen everywhere. All of the mounts offer a very
limited field for expression. Of these, the tsuba or
sword-guard, the largest of the mounts, received the
attention of many of the best artists. It is that placque
of metal which fits between the hilt and the blade, thus
affording a guard for the hand. It is securely fastened
to the tang by a collar of metal, called fuchi. This
mount almost always supplements in decoration the
cap or pommel (kashira) terminating the hilt. On
either side of the kashira are openings through which
passes the wrapping of the hilt, thus securing this
fitting tightly. Immediately below the kashira are two
ornaments known as menuki. They cover the rivets,
which fasten the tang, and aid in giving a firmer
grip upon the weapon. Occasionally there are other
menuki which decorate the scabbard. When of a larger
size than the ordinary, they are called kanamono,
(literally, "hardware"), a most misleading term, for
they are of a purely artistic nature and quality.

The tsuba has the triangular opening in the center
through which the tang passes, and often one or two
holes on either side of the central opening which are

[116]

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 5

called riohitsu. Through these apertures pass two of
the most decorative fittings : the kozuka and the kogai.
Each of them slips into a groove on either side of the
scabbard, which is sometimes finished with an orna-
mental band, called the uragawara. The kozuka
is the small knife with a single edge which probably
served much the same purposes that a pocket knife
serves. The kogai does not possess a blade but it is
in the form of a skewer, sometimes of one piece and
again divided lengthwise through the center into two
pieces. In the latter form it was used as a pair of
chop-sticks or as hairpins to rearrange the hair which
had become dishevelled beneath the helmet. This
object is decorated as is the kozuka on the handle.
Together with the menuki, these three fittings are
called mitokoromono ("objects of the three pieces").
They were generally made by one artist. On the scab-
bard is a cleat, called the kurigata, through which a
cord was threaded. This cleat held the scabbard more
securely in the belt when the sword was drawn. The
cord (sageo), when not attached to the belt, was often
used to tie back the sleeves to give freer action for
fighting. The lower end of the scabbard is finished
with a cap sometimes similar to the kashira or occas-
ionally much deeper in form. It is called the kojiri.
As will be seen in the following pages, bronze,
iron, and steel were the metals employed exclusively
in making the earlier tsuba, and many of the artists
of later days preferred to work in these harder and
sterner mediums. However, they sought variety of
effect through acid baths from which the iron obtained
rare patinas and rich colors of chocolate brown and
velvety black. The recipes for the production of
patinas on iron as well as on the alloys are among the
hidden treasures of the Japanese artist. It is almost
impossible to reproduce a rare patina once it has be-
come scratched or rubbed.

[117]

6 Field Museum of Natural History

The principal alloys used are those known as
shakudo and shibuichi. Shakudo is composed of 95
per cent copper, 1%*44 per cent gold, 1-1 Vk Per cent
silver with traces of lead, iron, and arsenic, according
to analyses made by Roberts- Austen and W. Gowland.
It is subjected to an acid treatment which brings forth
a patina of dark blue or purplish hue. Shibuichi, com-
posed of 50-67 per cent copper, 30-50 per cent silver
with traces of gold and iron, assumes through the
pickling solution soft tones shading from greens to
grays. Copper and brass are also treated with great
effectiveness, and used both for the fields and the
motives adorning the mounts.

The surface decorations are quite as remarkable
in variety and quality as the metals used. Those most
frequently met with are mokume, guri-bori, nanako,
ishime, and jimigakii or polished surface. The first
(mokume, meaning "the grain of wood") is used to
describe the remarkable welding together of separate
layers of iron, or the fusing of a pure metal with an
alloy such as copper and shakudo. In the case of iron,
the surface is pounded, molded, bent and punched until
the layers when filed give the effect of worn wood.
Acid is often resorted to also, which corrodes the sheets
of varying hardness. In the case of the alloy in com-
bination with another metal, the same process is em-
ployed, that of folding and molding and filing. The
object is then pickled in a solution which brings forth
the different colors desired.

Guri-bori is a surface imitating carved lacquer.
The metals generally employed to produce this effect
are also copper and shakudo of alternate layers some-
times up to the number of seventeen. They are most
skillfully welded together and then carved, in scroll-
like curves with slanting sides, with such accuracy
that half of the layers are exposed on either side of the

[118]

THc liBHABY

01 TIE

USEVEB3HY OF SJJWKS

LEAFLET 20.

PLATE I.

1-3, MOUNTS BY KANEIYE (p. n), GOTO" YUJO (p. 12) AND JAKUSHI (p. 13).

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 7

tsuba, the alternating colors producing a striped effect ;
only the central layer is left untouched.

Nanako, though not a purely Japanese process,
has been brought to a wonderful degree of perfection
by the metal-craftsmen of that country. The literal
meaning of nanako is fish-roe. It consists of regular
impressions made with a small hollow punch arranged
in lines, either straight or concentric, and is sometimes
made to alternate with diamond forms of plain surface.
It was the ground preferred by the early Goto masters
and was used exclusively on court swords during a
certain period. It varies in size and exactness of execu-
tion ; that of the Goto and Sano Schools being unusually
perfect in form (Plate I, Fig. 2).

Ishime ("stone-surface") is a broad term which
describes any irregular surface decoration other than
nanako, mokume, or yasurime (lines representing
rain). It includes leather-grain, pear-skin, silk tex-
ture, and many other effects, such as, tree-bark and
stone markings.

The two main processes of inlaying are known as
honzozan ("true inlay") and nunome-zogan ("cloth
inlay"). In the case of honzogan, the metal is ham-
mered securely into grooves which are cut wider at
the bottom than at the top. It is finished either as flat
inlay (hirazogan) or as raised inlay (takazogan).
Nunome-zogan is produced by hammering the inlay
upon a surface which has been cross-hatched and
scratched to a texture-like appearance, in the little
threads of which the inlay gains a hold. This process
may often be discovered upon pieces that are worn.
Sumi-zogan (literally, "ink-inlay") is used with great
effect by the artists of the Tsuji school. The object
to be inlaid is fully chiselled out with slanting sides.
It is then hammered into the space which has been
channeled in the field, of the exact dimensions of the

[119]

8 Field Museum of Natural History

inlay. With grinding and polishing the inlay becomes
so united with the field that the effect is that of paint-
ing in ink, under the surface.

The most common form of chiselling is that known
as kebori ("hair carving") . The lines are of a uniform
thickness and depth, and have the effect of engraving.
Katakiribori is that type of chiselling which suggests
the lines of a painter's brush. The strokes are of un-
equal width and depth, each having a value in the
design. They were performed with one effort by the
great artists, especially those of the Yokoya school.
Sculpturing in the round is called sukashibori. It is
generally applied to tsuba of iron whose designs are
made in positive silhouette.

The earliest type of Japanese sword of which we
have any knowledge is that found in the Yamato tombs,
which, according to tradition, date from the second
century B.C. to the eighth century a.d. These swords
are weapons of iron, single-edged, straight and fitted
with a separate tsuba, which even in those early days
seems to have been an important accessory. These
tsuba are of copper covered with a gilding. They are
oval* in form, perforated with trapezodial holes which
may have been made for decorative purposes as well
as for lightening the weapon.

Other early swords unearthed are double-edged
and short, having a peculiar hilt in the form of a
diamond trefoil or thunderbolt (vajra). This shape
has persisted through centuries as the sword used in
the Buddhist rituals. It is to be seen in many of the
early stone carvings and paintings of certain Buddhist
divinities, as well as in some of the temple ceremonies
of the present time.

Belonging to the ninth century, probably, is the
early type of tachi, a long sword, the scabbard of which

[120]

Thd Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 9

bears two ashi or feet. Through these are threaded
braids or chains with which the sword is suspended
from the belt. Many tachi are curved, and some are
of extreme length, often exceeding five feet. They
were brandished with both hands, and must have been
effective weapons at the time of the Mongolian in-
vasion in 1281. The ceremonial tachi is generally
straight, and several are short. In certain examples
the scabbards are highly ornamented, reflecting in the
inlaid lacquer the influence of China which pervaded
all branches of art in Japan at that time. The tsuba
on these swords is of a shape called shitogi because of
its resemblance to a rice-cake of that name used in
Shinto ceremonies.

This narrow form of guard was sufficient for use
at the luxurious Fujiwara court, but a stronger pro-
tection was needed for the many years of fighting
which began with the long and bitter struggle known
as the War of the Gen (Minamoto) and Heike (Taira)
clans, the war in the twelfth century which eventually
placed Japan under military domination for seven cen-
turies. Tradition tells us that the guard of this period
(Gempei) and that immediately preceding was either
a plain iron disk, or was made of rawhide. The
leather was sometimes lacquered, in which case the
guard was called neri tsuba, or again it was made more
efficacious by being affixed between two thin iron plates
called dai seppa. These were either plain or orna-
mented with a pierced decoration.

The aoi tsuba is another early form of guard. It
is so called from its outline which suggests the heart-
shaped leaves of the mallow (aoi). Often the entire
surface is decorated with floral motives, and again the
ornament covers only the central portion. This form
has ever been popular, many nineteenth-century guards
being of this shape.

[121]

10 Field Museum of Natural History

Square and oblong tsuba with rounded corners are
to be seen among the drawings of early guards in
books and in certain paintings. During the Ashikaga
period (fourteenth to sixteenth century), fighting be-
came fiercer, and there are accounts of swords being
set up, the guards of which served for steps in scaling
the enemies' walls. From such weapons may come the
large square and circular guards with simple decora-
tions in openwork, which served to ornament and
lighten the heavy tachi. The katana in time super-
seded the large tachi as a fighting weapon, the latter
becoming the ceremonial sword carried at court and
worn on stately occasions. As far as is known all of
the early guards were made by swordsmiths and ar-
morers, and many of them bear the hammer-marks of
the armorer as the sole decoration.

During the latter part of the Ashikaga period,
however, the sword received the attention of certain
artists who were the founders of the first schools of
guard-makers. Among them must be mentioned No-
buiye. He was the first member of the famous family
of armorers, the Myochin, to be recorded as a tsuba
maker. He used perforated designs as well as surface
modelling, and often finished the field or edge of the
guard with the tortoise-back pattern. He was suc-
ceeded by many generations of followers.

Whether Nobuiye was the first artist to decorate
guards is a question, for the date of the great master
Kaneiye is quite uncertain. Both of these artists, how-
ever, probably lived in the sixteenth century. The
name of Kaneiye Shodai is held in the highest esteem
by all the metal-craftsmen of Japan. He was the first
artist to apply to iron guards those processes which
Goto Yujo used only upon the smaller sword-mounts.
There are three artists of the name of Kaneiye, as well
as a host of followers and imitators. Among the many

[122]

lilt tiBRAHY
Of- THE

LEAFLET 20.

PLATE II.

' ♦•♦•♦•♦•♦•«

1, SWORD-GUARD BY KINAI (p. 14). 2, SWORD-GUARD CARVED FROM IRON (p. 15).

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 11

thousands of pieces signed "Made by Kaneiye of Fu-
shimi in Yamashiro" there are very few genuine speci-
mens, as will be readily recognized once one is privi-
leged to examine an authentic product. All three
Kaneiye worked in iron of a rich brown color and
wax-like quality. Sometimes there are traces of lac-
quer upon the surface. The forms preferred were
oval, mokko, which is quadrilobed, and kobushi ("fist-
shaped"). The first Kaneiye is said to have chosen for
his subjects personages, while Kaneiye Nidai, the
greatest of the three, was the master of landscapes.
The third Kaneiye is thought to have favored birds
and flowers. Many of the subjects of Kaneiye guards
are taken from the paintings of Sesshii, a contem-
porary landscapist whose work was permeated with
the spirit of the Zen sect of Buddhism, that philosophy
which sought calm in the contemplation of nature.
During the Ashikaga period, the Zen sect had a large
following, especially appealing to the samurai. The
exquisite expressions of nature's calm moods which
Kaneiye chose are modelled in low relief, sometimes
lightened by a sparing use of gold or silver, perhaps
applied to dewdrops on the grass or to the bill of a
wild goose hidden in the rushes. On these small pieces
of sword-furniture there is to be seen in consummate
form that masterful simplicity which is the foremost
characteristic of the great Japanese artists (Plate I,
Fig. 1).

Goto Yujo (1435-1512), as was remarked above,
decorated only the small mounts, preferring them to
the larger field of the tsuba. He is known as the
"father of chasing," and was the first metal-craftsman
to have decorated in relief of precious metals the fit-
tings of the sword. The style which he instituted,
called iyebori ("family chasing"), was followed with
more or less accuracy by sixteen generations of artists

. [123]

12 Field Museum of Natural History

who are known as the "Sixteen Masters." Working
almost entirely for the rich daimyo, pieces made by
the early Goto are of extreme scarcity and value. They
are rarely seen outside Japan, where, in the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries, it became fashionable
to possess a series of Goto fittings almost always ac-
companied by certificates proving them genuine. Pre-
ferring the softer metals or alloys, almost all of the
early masters used shakudo for the field, choosing a
nanako ground upon which the reliefs of gold and
silver showed up brilliantly.

For subjects they preferred dragons, plants, small
figures, and mythical animals, such as the Chinese lion
(shishi) with curly tail, or the kirin, a composite beast
with scaly body, a dragon's or horse's head, a single
horn, and flame-like appendages at the shoulders. The
kozuka (Plate I, Fig. 2) is by Shin j 6, the fifteenth
master, who lived in the nineteenth century, signing
much of his work Mitsuyoshi. The nanako ground is
of a fineness and exactness of execution characteristic
of the later Goto work. After the third generation
much of the formal style was abandoned; and in the
work of many eighteenth and nineteenth century art-
ists of this school great individuality was expressed.
Goto Ichijo, born in 1789, was one of the great modern
tsuba artists having a following of many pupils, chief
among them Funada Ikkin.

It must be remembered that the early Gotos
worked expressly for the court and the daimyos, and
that the sword in general was not at that time so richly
ornamented. Certain inlays, such as those designated
as Fushimi-Yoshiro, were evidently popular in the late
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Decorated either
in flat inlay or brass or in a relief of brass, these iron
tsuba present an attractive appearance, as well as a
strong protection for the hand of the warrior. The

[124] .

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 13

floral designs, though in many cases rather crude in
form, possess a certain charm. A peculiar surface
decoration which is known as gomoku-zogan (literally,
"dirt inlay") is sometimes combined with brass crests,
which from that time on (seventeenth century) appear
frequently. Gomoku zogan consists of scraps of brass
wire apparently applied at random.

Other peculiar guards, such as Shingen and Nam-
ban, date from that period. Shingen tsuba take their
name from that of the great general, Takeda Shingen,
who advocated this type of guard on account of its
lightness. There are four distinct forms listed under
this category which cannot be described here save to
say that in each case they are decorated with wire laced
or inlaid in the iron. One example in the collection of
Field Museum is of iron with brass centre, to the edges
of which is affixed a weaving of brass and copper
wires which are bound to the foundation disk by a rim
with simple decoration. Tsuba called Namban ("south-
ern barbarians" or "foreigners") are generally orna-
mented with a Chinese motive, the two dragons strugg-
ling for the possession of a jewel. Sometimes touched
with gilt nunome, they are skilfully wrought within a
network of entwining tendrils, chiselled out of a
brownish iron. Many are the imitations of Namban
tsuba as well as those of several other schools. Dealers
in ready-made articles (shiiremono) , always found a
ready market among the merchants who, in the eigh-
teenth century, wore swords along with their writing-
cases in their belts. Foreign traders at Nagasaki
were also led into buying spurious pieces of sword-
furniture, many of which unfortunately found their
way into European collections.

Living at Nagasaki in the seventeenth century and
seeing the products from foreign countries which came
in for trade, was one Jakushi, an artist both in paint-

[125]

14 Field Museum of Natural History

ing and metal-work. He made many beautiful guards,
taking for his subjects scenes from Chinese paint-
ings. Using the process of nunome very skilfully, he
"painted" in varying shades of gold many charming
landscapes done in great detail (Plate I, Fig. 3).

Inlaying had reached a high state of perfection by
that time, when both processes hirazogan and nunome-
zogan were applied to many pieces of sword-furniture.
One of the foremost exponents of inlay and one of the
greatest of all tsuba masters was Umetada Myoju,
otherwise Shigeyoshi, who, working in Kyoto in the
early seventeenth century, originated a method of flat
inlay on brass and copper. Products from his chisel
are exceedingly rare. There is in this collection a
tsuba of copper, unsigned and of wonderful patina,
which bears a strong resemblance to examples known
to have been made by Myoju. On one side, inlaid in
fine gold wire, are two flying birds and a flute of
shakudo with gold trimmings. On the reverse in flat
inlay of shakudo, gold, and silver, are two weapons in
the form of a chained hoe which were used in ancient
times by women as defensive weapons when a city was
besieged. Accompanying this tsuba is a scroll describ-
ing the decoration and stating that the guard once be-
longed to the shogun, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, who gave it
to Nakamura Shirozaemon, a faithful samurai. It is
well not to put too much confidence in such documents,
for they have also been forged as have many pieces of
metal-work. But, as is the case here, when the treasure
described has certain intrinsic qualities, one is inclined
to give them serious consideration.

There were many schools of artists who clung to
the use of iron and disdained inlay of any kind. To
this group belonged Kinai I of Echizen, a masterful
carver of the seventeenth century. He knew the meth-
ods of producing rare effects through pickling and

[126]

LEAFLET 20.

1, SWORD-GUARD BY SOTEN (p. iS). 2, SWORD-GUARD BY JOI (p. 17).

THE UBfUfiY
OF THE

OlffEtillY OF ALUMS

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 15

treating iron, preferring a rich black tone styled by
some writers as a magnetic oxide. Many of the guards
by Kinai were made for the daimyo of Echizen, who
in turn presented them to the shogun, probably on the
former's annual visit to Yedo. These were called
ken jo tsuba ("presentation tsuba"). Imitators of
Kinai were numerous, and several of them adorned
their products with gold inlay which serves to distin-
guish them from those of the master. Dragons were
among the favorite designs of Kinai I and Kinai II,
and cranes (Plate II, Fig. 1), masks, and shells in
groups often appeared signed with this name.

In this short outline of the different schools of
artists who decorated the sword, only the most promi-
nent names can be mentioned.

Before leaving the tsuba of iron carved in designs
of positive and negative silhouette, a glance must be
given to those done in the province of Higo where most
of the artists were retainers of the great Hosokawa
family. Delicate sprays of the cherry or plum tree,
crests of intricate design, cranes with spread wings
and sprays of the graceful kiri plant {Pavlownia im-
perialis) are some of the motives which place these
guards among the most admired specimens of the
metal-worker. Often the dark iron is embellished with
the inlay of brilliant gold threads applied in tiny spirals
or in designs of diamond shape. Difficult to distin-
guish from Higo guards are the lacy carvings made in
Akasaka of a brown iron, so chiselled that the part cut
away exceeds that which remains to form the delicate
picture. In Bushu were made certain guards called
Itozukashi or Odawara tsuba. Sometimes they are of
iron and occasionally of shakudo, marvels of intricate
saw-cutting in diaper patterns (Plate II, Fig. 2).

Soten of Hikone in the province of Goshu should
not be passed over, both on account of the real merit of

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16 Field Museum of Natural History

his sword-fittings and more especially because of the
historical interest of the subjects chosen. From the
hundreds of so-called Soten guards, which seem to be
everywhere, this artist has been given a false represen-
tation. These copies are in general crudely made and
devoid of any artistic merit. The tsuba of the two
Soten and their pupils, on the other hand, are admir-
able specimens of carving in iron with inlays of gold,
silver, and copper used to very good effect. Most of
the subjects are taken from the pages of history, and
portray in detail some of Japan's greatest heroes as
they appeared in battle array. The incident illustrated
here (Plate III, Fig. 1) is one of the most thrilling in
the history of the country, that moment at the battle
of Dan-no-Ura (1185) when the dowager-empress
leaped into the waves with the boy emperor, Antoku,
on seeing that the Taira were defeated hopelessly by
the Minamoto clan. This is the typical Soten guard,
and is its own argument for being included along with
other examples of the mastery of technique and design
which has been attained by the Japanese artist.

In the early seventeenth century, the Nara school
was founded by Toshiteru, a Yedo artist. This school
is one of the largest and most widely known, having
an influence over many groups of artists, equalled only
by that of the Goto. The earlier masters of the Nara
school often employed iron, while the greater number
used the softer metals, perfecting the style called iroye
("colored picture"), painted from the rich palette of
the alloys. From the latter part of the seventeenth
century on, the purely decorative mission of the sword
is evident, the fighting weapon being needed only in
the settlement of personal quarrels or an occasional up-
rising of minor importance.

Taking their inspiration directly from nature, the
Nara artists depicted birds and insects, flowers and

[128]

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 17

trees, with a grace which makes one marvel at the
complete mastery which these metal-craftsmen had
over their tools and the unresponsive mediums with
which they had to work. Historical and legendary
subjects made their appeal to many, and these are
portrayed in detail, generally amid natural surround-
ings of real beauty. The three great names of the
Nara School are Toshinaga I, Joi, and Yasuchika. To-
shinaga I was the second artist of this name, and was
followed by a son who signed his name identically, but
fortunately used a different written seal (kakihan).
Both men modelled figures with exceeding skill; the
father, however, was much more thorough in his exe-
cution and detail. Joi's work is characterized generally
by the use of a recessed relief or intaglio relievato
which gives the effect of the object rising out of the
metal. His surface treatments are remarkable, espe-
cially in the case of copper-bronze, which forms the
guard here illustrated (Plate III, Fig. 2), where Hotei,
the household god beloved by children, leans over his
treasure bag.

Of the six artists named Yasuchika, all used the
same characters in their signatures, and one or two
adopted the same noms de plumes as those of the first
master. This is a typical instance of the confusion
one is constantly meeting in sifting the facts relevant
to this branch of study. Yasuchika I and his son
Yasuchika II favored purely decorative motives, hav-
ing been influenced to a large extent by Korin, the
famous painter and designer. The decoration on the
tsuba (Plate IV, Fig. 1) might be characterized as
"the survival of the fittest." On a shibuichi ground in
relief of gold and copper is a vine tinged with autumn
colorings, food for the slimy snail crawling along on
the obverse. A tiny frog, the snail's devourer, is on
the reverse, while a serpent moulded in silver glides
out from its hiding-place.

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18 Field Museum of Natural History

Most of the Nara artists worked in Yedo, the
shogun's capital, which by that time had attracted
craftsmen in every art. Of the many schools which
trace their origin to the Nara masters, that of the
Hamano is probably the most famous. It was founded
by Masayuki, a pupil of Toshinaga I. He and his
many followers worked in Yedo in the late eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries producing sword-fittings deco-
rated for the most part with figures, historical and
legendary. Noriyuki and Kaneyuki have left some
beautiful specimens of craftsmanship and, design, well
illustrated in the two kozuka here reproduced. On
that by Noriyuki (Plate IV, Fig. 2), Hitomaro, one of
Japan's favorite poets, is portrayed. Above him is
engraved one of his most famous poems, the one relat-
ing to the beach at Akashi. Caligraphy is considered
as great an art as painting, and this which is deftly
cut in hard metal is evidence indeed of the hand of a
master artist. The kozuka by Chikayuki (Plate IV,
Fig. 3) illustrates an interesting New Year's custom,
that of the householder scattering dried beans in order
to drive out any lurking demons.

Another great name known by all lovers of Japa-
nese metal-work is that of Yokoya Somin. He was the
founder of the Yokoya school, a school whose influence
can be traced in several groups, such as the Yanagawa,
Iwamoto, and Ishiguro, all founded by pupils of Yokoya
artists. The work of Somin is extremely rare, two
menuki being the only examples in this collection which
bear his signature and impress. He was the origin-
ator and perfector of the style known as katakiribori,
previously defined, using his chisel with the surety and
effectiveness with which the painter makes his brush
strokes.

Yanagawa fittings are generally rich, sometimes
even to ornateness in their adornment. The peony and

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OF THE

uaiVESOT of maois

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 19

the lion (botan~ni-harashishi) , a subject often used by
the Yokoya artists, is a most typical motive of decora-
tion for these later craftsmen who also worked in Yedo.
The Ishiguro school founded by a Yanagawa pupil is
renowned for the beauty and detail with which the
bird and flower decorations are wrought out. These
fittings are typical of the elegance of the samurai of
the early nineteenth century, who spent much of his
time in luxurious ease, enjoying the peaceful arts of
painting and literature, filling his moments with those
pursuits which made him the scholar-gentleman of
Japan.

The name of omori and Ichinomiya, the Te-
tsugendo, Tanaka, Tamagawa, and Uchikoshi schools
will only be mentioned before passing on to the three
great moderns who were the last to ornament the
sword, omori Teruhide executed in shibuichi and
shakudo some wonderful bits of sculpture usually
adorned with undercut waves of minute dimensions.
Ichinomiya Nagatsune was one of the finest chasers in
the history of Japanese metal-work. His art was
recognized by the emperor who bestowed upon him the
title of Echizen-no-daijo, which is one of the appella-
tions occasionally seen inscribed along with the signa-
tures of famous artists. Other honorary titles are
Hogen, Hoin, and Hokyo.

In the fittings made by Naoshige of the Tetsu-
gendo school and those carved by Tanaka Toryusai,
that masterful treatment in iron is again met with,
iron so perfectly patinated that it has the appearance
of soft brown wax.

The Tamagawa school was one of the many groups
of artists working in Mito, a city where dwelt many
famous families of metal-craftsmen, among them the
Hitotsuyanagi and the Sekijoken. One of the Tama-
gawa pupils, Hironaga, founded the Uchikoshi school

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20 Field Museum of Natural History

in the early nineteenth century. Working both on iron
and the alloid foundations, he and his followers left
many charming reliefs in precious metals.

The three great modern artists who made sword-
fittings were Goto Ichijo, Haruaki Hogen of the Yana-
gawa school, and Kano Natsuo, a member of the otsuki
school of Kyoto. Goto Ichijo was preeminently a
maker of tsuba which his predecessors had only made
by special request, having generally applied their art
to the smaller mounts. His preference for iron was
another feature in which he broke away from the fami-
ly traditions, for seldom does one see the ornaments
beloved by the early Goto masters applied to this field.
To be sure, Goto Ichijo both made the smaller fittings
and also used the alloys, as may be seen on a fuchi-
kashira in the museum collection where golden peonies
with the leaves and branches of shakudo are set in
high relief on a nanako ground.

Haruaki or Shummei Hogen, though a pupil of
Yanagawa Naoharu, shows in his relief the influence
of the Goto school and in his katakiribori a careful
study of the technique of Yokoya Somin. These two
processes Haruaki was fond of combining in one speci-
men. On the obverse of a tsuba in this collection, in
well rounded reliefs of silver, shakudo, and gold, is
Rinnasei, Chinese poet and lover of the plum-tree be-
neath which he stands with his young attendant. On
the obverse, in katakiribori and hirazogan, an old sage
is drawn with characteristic strength and mastery.

Kano Natsuo lived to see the abolition of feudal-
ism and the resignation of the weapon which had
received the loving attention of artists for many gene-
rations. Like many another metal-worker he reflected
the art of a great painter. Natsuo, a student of the
Maruyama school, came under the influence of Okyo,

[132]

The Japanese Sword and Its Decoration 21

whose realistic nature studies he often adapted to his
scheme of decoration. The drawings of the carp,
ascending the waterfall or leaping to catch a fly, have
given Natsuo a place among the masters both on ac-
count of their artistic appeal and because of the
excellent technique with which they are executed.

It is hoped that the foregoing remarks will allow
one to appreciate what a place the sword has held in
the heart of the military class and what an interesting
study is opened up in the serious consideration of the
art and thought which have been directed toward the
beautifying of this weapon. From the specimens ex-
hibited in Gunsaulus Hall students will find many
gateways through which they may pass to a fuller
understanding of the life and culture of Japan.

Those desirous of more information are referred
to Field Museum Publication 216 in which the subject
is dealt with in detail.

Helen C. Gunsaulus.

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UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOW-URBANA

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