江戸時代 刀 無銘 水心子正次 鑑定書付｜侍ミュージアムショップ

附属品

NBTHK Hozon Certificate, Koshirae Case (Decorative Sword Mounting), Shirasaya Case, Traditional Sword Carrying Bag, Sword Maintenance Kit, Full Exportation Support

Category

Katana (SHIN SHIN TO)

Age

Estimated the late Edo period (the mid 19th century)

Location

Musashi province (Today’s Tokyo)

登録証

Tokyo 284598

販売店の記載のまま

This blade is attributed to Suishinshi Masatsugu (水心子正次), who was active during the late Edo period (the early – mid 19th century). Masatsugu was born in the 1oth year of the Bunka era (1813) and his real name was Kawabe Hokushi. It is said that he was adopted by Suishinshi Masahide (水心子正秀) for his excellent skills as a swordsmith, and was trained by Takei Naotane (大慶直胤), an apprentice of Suishinshi Masahide: both Suishinshi Masahide and Taikei Naotane are known as the three most renowned swordsmiths during the late Edo period (the other is Minamoto Kiyomaro). Then, Masatsugu became Naotane’s son-in-law later, and took over the main family of Suishinshi. Also, he forged blades as an Okakaekaji, a swordsmith who exclusively forged swords for a specific domain or clan, to serve the Akimoto family like Masahide and Naotane. Suishinshi Masahide was born in the third year of the Kan-En era (1750) in the Yonezawa domain in Dewa province (Today’s Yamagata/Akita prefecture). His birth name was Suzuki Sanjiro (鈴木三治郎). When he was about 18 years old, he started learning blacksmithing techniques from a local blacksmith named Yoshizawa Sanjiro, who specialized in producing farming tools in Dewa Koku. Later on, Masahide decided to become a swordsmith. In 1771, when he was 22 years old, he moved to Musashi Koku (Today’s Tokyo) to become an apprentice of Miyagawa Yoshihide, also known as Shitahara Yoshihide. Masahide learned sword-forging techniques under this master, who belonged to Shitahara School, one of the most prestigious schools in this area. After finishing his apprenticeship, he returned to Dewa Koku. His craftsmanship was widely recognized in the province. In 1774, Masahide started to serve Akimoto Tsunetomo, the head of the domain, because of his superb sword-forging techniques. It is said that he began to use Suishinshi as his title during this time and changed his maker’s name to Kawabe Gihachiro Masahide. In 1781, he moved to the Edo City, settling in a house owned by the Akimoto clan. He was always curious to know various sword-forging techniques. He started to search how Japanese swords were made during the late Heian-Azuchi Momoyama period (late 12th-late 16th century: KOTO era), especially the ones made with SOSHU DEN and BIZEN DEN traditions. He often visited the offsprings of renowned swordsmiths in the old days to know the secret of old sword-forging techniques. One of the most notable episodes is when he visited Yamamura Tsunahiro, an offspring of Masamune, one of the historical figures in Japanese sword forging. And he improved his craftsmanship there as well. Back in the day, the mainstream Japanese swords were less curved and muscular. However, he started to feel something was missing in those blades made in his days by exploring ancient Japanese swords. Therefore, he announced Token Fukko Ron (刀剣復古論), where swordsmiths need to go back to the old way the blades were forged. This theory resonated with many sword makers back then. Eventually, this theory became mainstream. While he published about ten books on how to forge Japanese swords and other related topics, he was also passionate about training his apprentices. Many apprentices who had learned sword-forging techniques from him later became famous swordsmiths, such as Chounsai Tsunatoshi and Takei Naotane. Considering this fact, he played an essential role in the late Edo period. He is listed as Edo Sansaku (One of the three most prestigious swordsmiths). The other two are Taikei Naotane (大慶直胤) and Minamoto Kiyomaro (源清麿). Taikei Natane was born in the seventh year of the Anei era (1778) into a family that made sickles, a farming tool, for living in Dewa Koku (Today’s Yamagata prefecture). From a younger age, he got interested in becoming a swordsmith while learning blacksmithing skills. During the late Kansei era (1789-1801), he left his hometown and moved to Edo City to become an apprentice for Suishinshi Masahide, as mentioned above. He learned excellent craftsmanship from Masahide in a house owned by Akimoto family, which was the head of Dewa Koku. It is said that Naotane became an independent swordsmith in 1801. He started to serve Akimoto family in 1812 through the introduction from Suishinshi Masahide. And he received the honorable official title of Chikuzen Daijo (筑前大掾) in 1822. In 1848, he visited Kyoto and forged a Tachi blade for Takatsuka family, one of the imperial lineage, and received another title called Minosuke (美濃介). The more Naotane gained fame, the more often he was invited by a feudal lord or high-class Samurai in other provinces to forge blades. He created swords nationwide in his late career. The works of Naotane have been highly appreciated because he played an essential role in Japanese sword history at the end of the Edo period. It is said that he mastered all the five Japanese sword traditions called Gokaten (五箇伝). They are Bizen DEN, Mino Den, Soshu Den, Yamashiro Den and Yamato Den. It is said that he was especially excellent at Bizen and Soshu Den. Masatsugu died in the first year of the Manen era (1860), when he was 47, three years after his master Takei Naotane died in the fourth year of the Ansei era (1857). Even though his active period was short and his remaining works are considered few, he was said to be highly skilled and created some masterpieces, inheriting his master’s style well. This blade is appraised as a Hozon Touken (保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai: 日本美術刀剣保存協会). *Please keep in mind that there are a few visible Kitae Kizu on the blade. Fuchi-Kashira Butterflies (蝶 ,Chou) are depicted on this Fuchi Kashira. People preferred a butterfly pattern due to its growth process, beauty, and auspiciousness among the various animal patterns. A larva becomes a chrysalis, and it grows up into a butterfly. Since this insect changes its looks, it symbolizes being reborn; therefore, Samurai loved this design. In this way, butterflies are seen as symbols of human life, death, and resurrection and are said to house the souls of the dead. Also, the arabesque (唐草, Karakusa) pattern is depicted. The Karakusa pattern is a design in which stems and leaves of vines are twined and make curves. Since ivy has a strong vitality and grows up without interruption, people regarded this design as a symbol of prosperity and longevity. Vine is called Tsuru (蔓) in Japanese, and it has another pronunciation; “Man.” There is a word 万 (it is also read Man), which means ten thousand. In the Karakusa pattern, leaves and vines are connected like Obi (帯, belt). The word “帯” can also be read “Tai.” Due to its pronunciation, the term “代 (Tai)” is associated. From this word-association game, an idiom 万代 is associated, and it means a thousand generations. In other words, we could imagine that people used this design wishing prosperity and longevity for their clans for a long time. Tsuka and Menuki We assume the motif of this Menuki is the Karajishi (唐獅子). The Shishi (獅子) means a lion in Japanese, and the Karajishi is a lion brought from the continent to Japan in the Toh period (唐, Tang dynasty, 618-907). The same as the Fuchi Kashira, this Menuki is also colored with shiny golden paint. It makes this work look gorgeous and enhances the elegant impression of the entire handle part. The Karajishi typically has curly hair for its head, neck, body, and tail, as seen on this work. In Buddhism, the Karajishi is regarded as a symbol of wisdom, and Monju Bosatu (文殊菩薩, Manjushri Bodhisattva) rides lions. According to a theory, the Karajishi is the origin of Komainu (狛犬, stone guardian dogs that exorcize evil spirits). It shows this animal motif has been familiar to Japanese people since ancient times. Dragons and Karajishis, this handle part is decorated with such auspicious beast motifs. Please keep in mind that the Samehada (鮫肌, shark skin covering the handle) is partly missing. Tsuba and Habaki The theme of this Tsuba is the Kari yuki Monyou (雁行文様). You would find wild geese (雁, Kari) flying diagonally, and the plants similar to Ashi (葦, reed) growing near water. The wild goose is a migratory bird, arriving in Japan in autumn to overwinter and returning to the north in the spring. Therefore, it represents autumn. Also, it is said that in the Manyoshu (万葉集), the oldest surviving anthology of Japanese poetry compiled from the late 7th century to the late 8th century, this kind of autumn scene depicting geese and a waterside with reeds is included. Also, because of its unique call, Kari is known as “a bird that carries good luck and good news,” meaning that it carries a message with its ancestors and brings good news. This bird was incorporated into designs for sword mountings and family crests. We would say this bird motif has been familiar to Japanese people since ancient times. Saya Ichou (銀杏 ,Ginkgo Biloba) pattern is designed on this Saya. This plant contains lots of water; therefore, it is fire-resistant. It does not quickly die even if flames burn it. Because of its strong vitality and longevity, the Ichou pattern has been considered a good-luck motif. In Japan, Ichou trees can often be found in shrines. People worship it as the Goshinboku (ご神木, tree of worship) and treat it respectfully. Also, many families use this plant pattern for their family crests. In Japanese, there is another word that has the same pronunciation as the Ichou (銀杏). It is written as “異朝” and means a foreign country. Based on this common pronunciation, people thought the Ichou (銀杏) pattern showed the joy of welcoming honored guests from overseas. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on August 25th in the 5th year of Reiwa (2023). They appraised it as Hozon Touken, the blade worth preserving for Japanese society.