* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Ikakeji Katabami Hyōmon Hyōgogusari Tachi
沃懸地酢漿平文兵庫鎖太刀
Also known as: Ikakeji Katabami Hyōmon Hyōgogusari Tachi; the Kasuga hyōgogusari tachi with wood-sorrel crest
- Smith
- Unknown (unsigned)
- Era
- Kamakura period
- Type
- Hyōgogusari tachi
- Designation
- National Treasure
- Location
- Kasuga Taisha Museum (Kokuhōden), Nara, Nara Prefecture
Description
The Hyōgogusari Tachi of Kasuga Taisha
Ikakeji Katabami Hyōmon Hyōgogusari Tachi is a Kamakura-period ceremonial (kazari) tachi held by Kasuga Taisha in Nara City, Nara Prefecture. It was designated a National Treasure on 28 June 1956 (Shōwa 31). The blade is unsigned, and the sword is a craft tachi made for dedication and ceremonial use rather than for practical combat.
Dimensions and Mounting
Overall length 104.8 cm, scabbard length 84.8 cm, hilt length 21.2 cm, one sword. The hilt is covered in white sharkskin and edged with gilt fukurin on a silver ground, with two barrel-shaped rivets (tawara-gata no hyō) arranged in four pairs. The complete set of fittings (sō-kanagu) consists of kabuto-gane, fukurin, fuchi-tsuyu kanamono, menuki, large and small seppa, kuchi-gane, and ashi-gane, all with fine metalwork.
Scabbard Design
The scabbard is finished in kin-ikakeji, a gold-dusted lacquer ground with gold powder densely sprinkled over it. The wood-sorrel (katabami) crest is rendered in three sets across the scabbard in hyōmon, a technique in which thin sheets of gold and silver are cut into patterns and inlaid into the lacquer surface. The sageo cord is made of quail-patterned leather.
A Paired Companion Piece
Kasuga Taisha also holds a second sword with a closely similar design, the Ikakeji Katabami-mon Hyōgogusari Tachi, which is thought to have been made in the same period. The two are regarded as important material suggesting that the swords may have been dedicated as a pair, and both are highly valued in the history of swordmaking and craft.
Legends & Stories
A second sword of the same name, the Ikakeji Katabami-mon Hyōgogusari Tachi, whose design closely resembles this one, is also preserved at Kasuga Taisha and is thought to have been made in the same period. The design, with the katabami pattern expressed in hyōmon on a kin-ikakeji ground, is among the most refined of the Kamakura-period hyōgogusari tachi.