Sword, Scabbard and Kogatana
| Place of origin |
This short sword, or wakizashi, has a blade of ridged type with a long point and irregular tempered edge. The surface of the blade is covered in mokume, so that it resembles fine wood grain. The sword's hand guard, the tsuba, is of shakudo, an alloy of copper and gold which is generally patinated to a rich black colour. It is decorated with a design of a pheasant under a tree by a stream.
The sword's scabbard is of black lacquer decorated with conventional cloud forms. The scabbard's chape, which the Japanese call a kojiri, has been decorated with a design depicting a dragon, waves and Mount Fuji.
The fittings are all of very high quality and have been mostly signed by well-known masters active around 1800.
The sword's scabbard is of black lacquer decorated with conventional cloud forms. The scabbard's chape, which the Japanese call a kojiri, has been decorated with a design depicting a dragon, waves and Mount Fuji.
The fittings are all of very high quality and have been mostly signed by well-known masters active around 1800.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
|
| Brief description | Sword, scabbard and kogatana, lacquered wood, ray fish skin and silk; metal fittings of shibuchi, shakudo, gold, silver and copper signed by well-known masters active around 1800, Japan |
| Physical description | Short sword (wakizashi), scabbard and scabbard-knife (kogatana) |
| Gallery label |
|
| Summary | This short sword, or wakizashi, has a blade of ridged type with a long point and irregular tempered edge. The surface of the blade is covered in mokume, so that it resembles fine wood grain. The sword's hand guard, the tsuba, is of shakudo, an alloy of copper and gold which is generally patinated to a rich black colour. It is decorated with a design of a pheasant under a tree by a stream. The sword's scabbard is of black lacquer decorated with conventional cloud forms. The scabbard's chape, which the Japanese call a kojiri, has been decorated with a design depicting a dragon, waves and Mount Fuji. The fittings are all of very high quality and have been mostly signed by well-known masters active around 1800. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.21:1-1949 |
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| Record created | March 16, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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