The Craftsmen Behind Military Sword Mounts: Showa-Era Fittings Makers and Their Postwar Legacy
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Military Sword Fittings Structure and Artisan Division of Labor
The "koshirae" (fittings) of a Japanese sword refers to the collective term for all exterior mounting components beyond the blade itself. Specifically, the following parts are included:
- Saya (scabbard)
- Tsuka (hilt)
- Tsuba (hand guard)
- Kojiri (scabbard butt cap)
- Kurigata (scabbard suspension loop)
- Menuki (grip ornaments)
- Fuchikashira (guard and pommel collar)
- Tsukaito (hilt wrapping cord)
- Sageo (attachment cord)
These were not mere decorative elements, but functional components that protected the blade, facilitated sword-wearing, and enhanced operability in combat. Koshirae styles became diversified across different eras, regions, and social classes, and the diversity was sustained by a precise division of labor among specialist craftsmen.
Traditionally, each component of koshirae was manufactured through a meticulous division of labor undertaken by specialist craftsmen. With skilled artisans involved in each process, a complete set of fittings was brought to completion.
| Craftsman | Role |
|---|---|
| Sayashi (scabbard maker) | Shapes the scabbard from wood |
| Nurishi (lacquer craftsman) | Carefully applies multiple layers of lacquer |
| Kinkoushi (metalworker) | Casts and forges hand guards and grip ornaments |
| Tukamakishi (cord wrapper) | Wraps hilt cord in regular patterns |
This craftsmen-collaboration system, which continued from the Edo period, was maintained as a foundational framework even in Showa-era military sword production.
Showa-era Military Sword Standards and Each Craftsman's Role
Military swords for officers during the Showa period had multiple official standards such as the "Thirty-Two Year Type," "Ninety-Four Type," and "Ninety-Eight Type," each with detailed specifications down to scabbard shape, materials, and metal fitting dimensions. Koshirae craftsmen had to simultaneously meet these standards while maintaining both mass production and quality control.
In the work of sayashi, the "brown leather wrapping" adopted in Ninety-Eight Type military swords is a characteristic example. While traditional art swords were primarily finished with black lacquer, military sword scabbards adopted a brown leather exterior style. This was chosen to emphasize durability and moisture resistance in actual combat, creating a new manufacturing process requiring close coordination between leather craftsmen and scabbard makers. Additionally, the interior of the scabbard required wood preparation for the "blade rest" that made close contact with the blade, making the sayashi's skill directly crucial to blade protection.
Regarding the work of kinkoushi, while one aspect involved mass production based on official standards, it was not uncommon for individual officers to commission custom pieces from renowned metalworkers. Custom iron hand guards decorated with family crests, chrysanthemum motifs, or dragon designs using high relief or inlay technique are particularly highly valued today among military sword collectors. Metalworkers centered in Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo were at the forefront, and works by master craftsmen bore signatures and carried value as art objects.
In the work of tukamakishi, the unique "bellows wrapping" technique specific to military swords was employed. This was a distinctive wrapping method different from the ordinary blade hilt cord wrapping, combining practical grip and durability. Skilled hilt wrappers had to master a high level of technique, completing several swords daily while maintaining uniform and consistent wrapping tension.
Wartime Mobilization and the Crisis of Technique
As the Pacific War intensified, the situation of koshirae craftsmen deteriorated rapidly. As labor mobilization to military factories strengthened, scabbard makers and metalworkers were no exception, increasingly being redirected to manufacture of bayonets, mess kits, tools, and other military supplies. For craftsmen and Japanese craft culture alike, the inability to apply long-accumulated specialized skills was a significant loss.
Materials shortage was also a serious problem. Procurement became difficult for materials essential to fittings—high-quality lacquer, copper, brass, and ray skin—and the use of substitute materials became widespread. Around 1944–45 (Showa 19–20), as the war situation worsened, the quality of military sword fittings declined markedly, and shoddy mass-produced goods proliferated. Observed from a modern perspective, military sword fittings from this period clearly reflect wartime hardship in material deterioration and rough finishes.
Furthermore, many young craftsmen were conscripted into military service, creating a rupture in technical transmission. The traditional means of technical succession—oral instruction and practical training from master to apprentice—was lost, becoming a distant cause of postwar technical discontinuity.
Occupation Period Suppression and the Hardships of Craftsmen
Immediately after the war's end, GHQ imposed strict regulations on swords as symbols of militarism, and through the "Disarmament Order" of 1945 (Showa 20), privately held swords were broadly confiscated. Furthermore, new sword manufacture was effectively prohibited, and koshirae craftsmen were suddenly left without work. This GHQ confiscation and postwar sword market confusion struck directly at the livelihood foundation of koshirae craftsmen.
During this period, many sayashi, kinkoushi, and tukamakishi were driven out of business. Some transitioned to related fields such as woodworking, lacquerware, and metal crafts to earn their living, but in some cases sword mounting techniques were quietly preserved within family trades. In regions such as Okayama, Gifu, and Iwate that encompassed sword-making centers, craftsman communities maintained transmission by keeping techniques and tools secret.
The new production of swords was again officially recognized in 1953 (Showa 28). When the Cultural Properties Protection Law was amended to formally permit Japanese sword manufacture as art swords, longtime koshirae craftsmen returned to the profession, or the next generation inheriting their techniques came to the fore.
Postwar Technical Succession and Modern Impact
Today, many workshops playing important roles in sword mounting production directly or indirectly trace their lineage to craftsmen involved in Showa-era military sword manufacture. Paradoxically, military sword mass production brought about a broad dissemination of koshirae technique. Particularly regarding sayashi and tukamakishi, some researchers credit military sword demand with maintaining an absolute number of craftsmen, thereby preventing complete technical extinction.
Moreover, tools and material processing techniques developed and refined through military sword manufacture were inherited in postwar art sword production. Leather-wrapped scabbard techniques and certain hilt wrapping styles became technical heritage that contemporary koshirae craftsmen inherit through military sword culture.
That modern Japanese sword collectors question the quality of "koshirae" as much as or more than the blade itself stems from this multi-layered historical accumulation of artisan industry. Within a single military sword's fittings, the skills, hardships, and resolute determination toward transmission of Showa-era craftsmen are inscribed. Rather than viewing military sword fittings merely as relics of war, reading them as a chapter in Japanese craft history becomes the key to more deeply understanding modern sword culture.
