Edo period, 17/19th century

1615-1868

Wakizashi

A 17th century Edo period osuriage wakizashi, saya in a roiro ground with intense agoai nashiji makie with seed pod decoration. An iron sukashi tsuba with shakudo and gold fuchi and kashira in floral and insect design that is almost certainly made by Mino Ju Mitsunaka. Mitsunaka’s family name was Watanabe and his name was Shinkichi who was the second son of the 2nd generation Nitsutoki. He was born at Bunsei 13th (1830) and passed away at Meiji 22nd (1889) He lived at Syonai and made grasses, followers, and also insects. A gilt menuki on ray skin with green and black silk braid handle.

Unsigned

555mm x 60mm

Kogatana

Edo period 18/19th century

1753-1805

A kogotana signed by Ozaki Gengoemon Suketaka. He was of the Osaka tosho and was the pupil of Korada Takanobu. He worked in later shinto and the early part of shinshinto. Suketaka died in Bunka ni nen (1805) at the age of 53. The kozuka is of copper and gilt lotus design. Edo period c1790.

Signed Ozaki Gengo’emon Suketaka

213mm x 14mm

Anonymous

Edo period, 18/19th century

1615-1867

Tsuba

A carved Iron tsuba with gold inlay and gilding in nunome depicting a tiger watching a dragon in the clouds in the Marubori style. This is an illustration of a Buddhist parable of the perils of life; parallel to the common expression “between the devil and the deep sea”.

The term maru-bori, literally “round carving”, is given to work in which the large and numerous subjects such as -animals, utensils, human figures, or plants- are depicted completely in the round within a border. Other examples show the addition not only of gold but also of silver and copper incrustation.

Unsigned

Attributed to Kinai school

74mm x 78mm

Signed unknown

Muromachi period, 15/16th century

1338-1573

Tanto

A 15th to 16th century tanto blade mounted in an Edo period lacquer saya with geometric designs, birds, and dragonflies on a roiro ground with gold and red hiramakie. tsuba, fuchi, kashira, and menuki are on a roiro ground with silver and gold takamakie. The blade its self is signed but from its great age is almost impossible to read.

It is not common to find sword fittings all made in lacquer for regular use and it is highly likely that this was never intended for this tanto. It was known that daimyo (feudal lords) would give gifts such as this tanto to high ranking individuals. It was commonly very old blades housed in beautifully decorative tosogu (sword fittings) with symbolic meaning. In this case, the tanto is covered in the dragonfly motif, the dragonfly is a symbol of victory and honour for the samurai and maybe symbolizing an individual’s victory or success.  

Signed unknown

417mm x 46mm

Kogatana

Edo period 17th century

1661-1673

A kogatana signed by Yamato no Kami Kanenobu (1661-1673). The kozuka is in roiro ground and gold hiramakie with designs of ancient turtles swimming through sea waves.

Signed Yamato no Kami Kanenobu

Unsigned Kozuka

214mm x 13mm

Goto Tokujo, Appraisal Goto Mitsuyoshi

Momoyama period, 16th century

1500’s

Kosuka

A shakudo kosuka signed by Goto Tokujo with bonzi design in gold and shakudo. He was born in 1549 in Kyoto and was son to the fourth mainline Goto master Kojo. When older in life he took his father's name of Shirobei. Both Kojo and Tokujo had important patrons: Kojo was in the service of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tokujo was in the service of Hideyoshi and then the first Tokugawa Shogun Ieyasu. Between the two masters, they served the three warlords responsible for unifying the Japanese territory into a single nation. Kojo’s son, Tokujo (Mitsutsugu), 1549-1631, the fifth master, greatly increased the scope of his predecessors with the manufacture of tsuba and kozuka.

Signed Goto Tokujo, Appraisal Goto Mitsuyoshi

95mm x 13mm

Kogatana

Edo period 18th century

1603-1868

A kogatana blade intricately worked with Kana script and seated poet immortals at the base of the blade. The characters are as thin as a hair's width.

The blade has been etched with the Rokkasen (六歌仙, "six poetry immortals"). They are six Japanese poets of the mid-ninth century who were named by Ki no Tsurayuki in the kana and mana prefaces to the poetry anthology Kokin wakashū (c. 905–14) seen as the most respected of the more widely know 36 immortal poets. On the blade, they are as follows.

わが庵は都の辰巳しかぞすむ世を宇治山と人はいふなり
喜撰法師 (Kisen Hoshi)
色見えで移ろうものは世の中の人の心の花ぞありける
小野小町 (Ono no Komachi)
鏡山いざたちよりて見てゆかむ年へぬる身は老いやしぬると
大友黒主 (Otomo no Kuronushi)
あさみどり糸よりかけて白露を玉にもぬける春の柳か
僧正遍昭 (Sojo Henjo)
おほかたは月をもめでじこれぞこのつもれば人の老いとなるもの
在原業平 (Ariwara no Narihira)
吹くからに秋の草木のしをるればむべ山風を嵐といふらむ
文屋康秀 (Hunya no Yasuhide)

unsigned

218mm x 13mm