Sword and scabbard

This Japanese court sword (‘kazaridachi’) has a wooden scabbard decorated in lacquer of the type known as ‘nashiji’, meaning ‘pear-skin appearance’, with mother-of-pearl inlay of pairs of mythical Ho-o birds (a type of phoenix). The metal fittings are of copper-gilt filigree work inlaid with turquoise enamels. The decoration also incorporates a design of paulownia leaves - the plant associated with the ruling Tokugawa shoguns of the Edo period (1600-1868) - and the triple hollyhock crest of the Tokugawa family.

From the Heian period (794-1185) the kazaridachi was the most common form of mounting for swords worn at the imperial court and this style remained in use until the 19th century. Intended purely for ceremonial occasions and worn by courtiers rather than warriors, the kazaridachi rarely held a well-forged steel blade. This mounting holds a poorly constructed blade signed by Etchu-no-kami Fujiwara no Masatoshi and inscribed ‘made to the order of Lord Tsunemitsu of shonii rank’ and dated equivalent to 1682.

During the Edo period, such mountings were sometimes worn not only by imperial courtiers but also by the shogun and other members of the military aristocracy. The use of the triple hollyhock crest reinforces the suggestion that this kazaridachi was worn by a member of the military aristocracy rather than by imperial aristocracy. The decoration of Ho-o birds coupled with the paulownia leaf symbolises the benevolence of the ruling Tokugawa shoguns.