Type: Tanto

Item No.: ujta001

Swordsmith: Kanetsugu (signed on nakago, tang)

Period: Mid Muromachi, (~1449-1466)

Length: 22.7cm

Included: Tanto sword, saya (scabbard as shown on this page), beautiful Japanese silk material bag, maintenance kit, and all documentation to legally and safely export this sword from Japan.

Price: This sword has been sold

The body of this powerful blade is made of itamehada, a wood grain appearance. The sword is unique in that its shape was influenced by the Nanbokucho period of sword making (~1333-1392) where the back of the blade is thick and then becomes thinner towards the tip. Tantos were an important part of a Samurai’s tool kit, as they were used to penetrate the armor of their opponent. Battles during the Muromachi period in Japan’s history was frequent, hand-to-hand and rather brutal.

Kanetsugu was a respected swordsmith and the blade demonstrates this skill of a sugucho hamon. The Edo period (~150+ years old) koshirae (mountings) perfectly compliment this blade. Shisa lions adorn the handle on both sides giving the blade power, security and good fortune. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils and are an important cultural symbol on Okinawa. When in pairs, the left shisa traditionally has a closed mouth, the right one an open mouth. The open mouth wards off evil spirits, and the closed mouth to keeps good spirits in. The clasps of the blade are of shibuichi, which a blend of silver and copper.

A wonderful addition to this sword is a kozuka that is fastened in the saya (scabbard), next to the sword. A kozuka was used as a utility knife by the Samurai, like opening letters, but it was also sharp enough to trim any loose hair, so he always was well groomed. A Samurai was always prepared for death at all times. A tiger is engraved on the kozuka. Notice the subtle details of the loop where the obihimo (silk cloth) is weaved through on the saya. A Samurai never wanted to be too ‘showy’ in his mountings, he rather preferred tiny hand-made details such as this sword possesses.

On very important distinction to this sword was that it was registered in 1952, a year after the official start of sword registration. This is a sword owned by a royal family or high-class Samurai as only swords from such families were invited to register swords in the early days of registration. This is a super little find that comes highly recommended.

If you would like to view this sword and other swords in person prior to purchase, we can arrange an appointment near Kamakura station at our partner shop La Mia. Please contact us to book a date and time.