Important Japanese Swords and Armour from the Paul L. Davidson Collection
Important Japanese Swords and Armour from the Paul L. Davidson Collection
A naginata naoshi katana | Attributed to the Ichimonji School | Kamakura period, 14th century
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06:05:38
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March 25, 03:06 PM GMT
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80,000 - 120,000 USD
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80,000 USD
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Description
A naginata naoshi katana
Attributed to the Ichimonji School
Kamakura period, 14th century
Sugata [configuration]: shinogi-zukuri, iori mune, wide mihaba, fairly thin kasane, shallow curvature, o-kissaki
Kitae [forging pattern]: itame hada, moku mixed in, with ji-nie, midare utsuri stands out
Hamon [tempering pattern]: a mixture of choji and gunome, there are highs and lows in the yakihaba becoming flamboyant, the nioi-guchi becomes a bit tight
Boshi [tip]: midare-komi, becoming the yakizume style
Horimono [carvings]: a fine hi is kakinagasu accompanying the koshimoto shinogi
Habaki [collar]: double clad, copper-gilt, chased and engraved
Nakago [tang]: o-suriage, the saki is a shallow kurijiri, no curvature in the nakago, the yasurime is katte sagari, one mekugi-ana, unsigned
In shirasaya [plain wood scabbard]
Nagasa [length from kissaki to machi]: 66.6 cm., 26¼ in.
Sori [curvature]: 0.9 cm., ⅜ in.
Saki-haba [width at the yokote]: 2.2 cm., ⅞ in.
Moto-haba [width at the machi]: 2.9 cm., 1⅛ in.
Kissaki length: 8 cm., 3⅛ in.
Nakago length: 17.7 cm., 7 in.
Accompanied by a certificate of registration as Juyo Token [Important Sword], no. 9751 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Art Sword], dated Heisei 2 (1990).
Art of the Samurai: The Paul L. Davidson Collection (New York, 2023), p. 26.
The two large schools of the Bizen smiths in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) were the Ichimonji and the Osafune. The Ichimonji school continued into the Nambokucho period (1336-1392) and flourished in Fukuoka, Yoshioka, Katayama and Iwato. The school's name derived from the character for 'one', ichi, that was often carved into the tangs of the swords they produced. This was sometimes supplemented by a further character pertaining to the name of the maker.
The Ichimonji school is typically subdivided into three stylistic categories: those working in a more classic tone in the early Kamakura period are known as the Ko-Ichimonji [lit. Old Ichijimonji]; whereas mid-Kamakura period works, which are markedly more flamboyant, are referred to as the Fukuoka Ichimonji. Later Kamakura period blades that display invected formations (gonome) in the tempering pattern are descirbed as Yoshioka Ichimonji, while Katayama Ichimonji swords have a distinctive directional patterning that points towards the tip (saka hamon).
In this example, the flowery irregular clove-like pattern (choji-midare) in the tempering points toward a mid-Kamakura dating. This piece was made into a katana by shortening a halberd (naginata).