Live Auction 7316The Japanese Aesthetic
AN AIKUCHI TANTO
Lot 258

AN AIKUCHI TANTO

UNSIGNED, LATE SOSHU SCHOOL, MOMOYAMA-EARLY EDO PERIOD (17TH CENTURY)

Closed7 November 2012

Price Realised

GBP 6,250

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AN AIKUCHI TANTO
UNSIGNED, LATE SOSHU SCHOOL, MOMOYAMA-EARLY EDO PERIOD (17TH CENTURY)
Sugata [configuration]: honzukuri, shallow curve, chu-kissaki nobiru
Kitae [forging pattern]: oitame nagare, much ji-nie, vivid masame hada on the shinogi-ji
Hamon [tempering pattern]: omidare-ba with gunome, choji, tobiyaki, vivid kinsuji
Boshi [tip]: complex midare-komi with nijuba, yakitsume and komaru
Nakago [tang]: o-suriage, the whole blade formed from the upper part of a long sword probably broken in combat, file marks slightly katte-sagari in places, single mekugi-ana, kirijiri
Habaki [collar]: single silver-clad copper
Nagasa [length of blade]: 22.6cm.
Koshirae [mounting]: aikuchi koshirae, saya and tsuka ribbed and lacquered roiro overall, en-suite silver fittings including koiguchi, kojiri, kurigata simulating a small tsuba, all deeply carved with sea waves, with iron uma-bari, kozuka missing, silver menuki of sanskrit characters, in a black-lacquered lidded box with manji mon (used by the Tokurinan and Fukuzoji temples of Kyoto) and paulownia mon (2)

Specialist note

This blade has the characteristics of the Sue-Soshu (Late Soshu) tradition. These were the smiths descended from Yamamura Tsunahiro (originally Masahiro) who revived the style of the late Kamakura period master smith Masamune during the Muromachi period, working for the Hojo clan who held Odawara castle. Other such smiths include Shimada Gisuke (Yoshisuke) and his pupils (see Lot 256). This tanto appears to the upper portion of a long sword by one of the several generations of the Tsunahiro line.