Southeast Asian & Japanese Arms & Art
Lot 163:
Spectacular 32.5" Nagasa Japanese Shinshinto KATANA in Fine Mounts, Extensive Writing on Tang (See Translation in Description) + NBTHK Tokubetsu Kitcho Certificate. Awesome & Rare Samurai Weapon. The translation of the Nakago / TangMichitoshi is a somewhat mysterious swordsmith. There are conflicting stories of who he apprenticed under. From his name and his style, he appears to have studied under Ch?unsai Tsunatoshi. He produces good work (although I have no personal experience in seeing his swords in real life). The inscription is fascinating, and the green authentication papers do the sword a great injustice, because they abbreviate the inscription by just saying "Ansei 6 Year, etc…". I don’t know if they really appreciated the inscription, and it is possible they didn’t fully understand it. I don’t think the NBTHK would be so lazy today. They would write down the full inscription. The inscription on this sword is particularly interesting because it directly references historical figures in the Bakumatsu era. Front Oite Higashi Ei Sanroku Iwano Michitoshi sakuNanzo totsu kami ni somuki, ta ban kami wo uyamau nariMade in the foothills of T?ei Mountain (Tokyo), by Iwano Michitoshi"Why follow the degenerate gods of the foreign countries, and forsake the gods of your own country?"Reverse Kiyokawa Masaaki sho z?Bakufu-jin Matsuoka Yorozu Fujiwara KomichiAnsei roku tsuchinoto hitsuji nigatsu kichijitsuGiven by Kiyokawa MasaakiTo Retainer of the Shogunate, Fujiwara Komichi Matsuoka Yorozu1859, February Kiyokawa Masaaki was a well-known swordsman of the 1800s and a retainer of the Shogunate. However, in 1860, one year after this sword was made and presented, he became critical of the government opening up to the west. He founded a hyper-partisan movement to overthrow the government and restore the emperor. Matsuoka Yorozu was a falconer in the service of the Shogunate, but he also turned against the government and joined Kiyokawa Masaaki’s partisan movement (also around 1860). So this sword was in the possession of these two important men and a very critical time in Japanese history. The phrase on the front side is a reference to the shinto gods of ancient Japan. It shows that in 1859 these two men were already critical of the government opening up to the west, and where agitating for a rejection of the west and embracing Japanese traditionalism. The original phrase does not have the word "degenerate" in it. But on your sword it looks like they added it, probably to emphasize Japan’ purity.~~~ … ~~~ Total length (inside scabbard if present) :50 3/8 ", Blade length : 32 1/2". ~~ DEAR BIDDERS, Please View More Detailed Close-Up Images by visiting our website – Sofedesignauctions.com ~ Thank you ! ~~~~~~. Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at info@sofedesignauctions.com
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