The Swordsmith on Mount Inari; Inariyama Ko-Kaji

This woodblock print is from a series entitled ‘Gekko zuihitsu’ (‘Miscellaneous Sketches by Gekko’) and dated to the equivalent of about 1887 (the dating is incomplete). The print depicts the swordsmith Sanjo Munechika, who lived during the Heian period (794–1185), forging the blade ‘Ko-Kitsune’ (‘Little Fox’) for the Emperor Ichijo (r. 987–1011). Munechika is assisted by Inari, the Shinto deity regarded as the guardian of smiths and metalworkers. Inari would often appear in the guise of a white fox, and an ethereal group of foxes (the earthly messengers, or manifestations of Inari) are shown here in the background. Around Munechika hang Shinto symbols of purity: a sacred rice-straw rope (shimenawa) with sacred paper (gohei) attached. Japanese blades were thought to be imbued with a spirit reflecting the manner in which they were forged, and swordsmiths worked in near-religious conditions. Purified in mind and body, they invoked divine spirits in their mastery over fire and metal.