Mino

Fellow students or disciples who studied under the same master smith; swords showing similar characteristics.

A wickerwork or basket-weave pattern used in decorative metalwork and lacquer designs.

Red wood; reddish-colored wood used in sword fittings or storage.

Temple name; may refer to a specific location or school associated with sword making or martial arts.

Blue shell; abalone or similar iridescent shell material used for inlay decoration.

Blue metal; copper-rich alloy with distinctive blue-green patina used in fittings.

Hollyhock crest; three-leaf design associated with the Tokugawa family.

Hollyhock leaf-shaped design motif, often used in decorative metalwork and family crests.

A tsuba outline: a four-lobed shape like mokkō-gata whose lobes are cut like hollyhock (aoi) leaves.

A tsuba outline: a four-lobed shape like mokkō-gata whose lobes are cut like hollyhock (aoi) leaves.

Hollyhock crest; the Tokugawa family emblem.

Blue-gold alloy; a copper-gold mixture producing a bluish metallic color for decorations.