芒蒔絵鞘突兵拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)

Fittings inscribed by 高本秀宗 Takamoto Hidemune Japanese

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 380

The style of this mounting, known as toppei-koshirae, emerged at the end of the Edo period (1615–1868). It reflects the influence of Western infantry swords at a time when Japan was modernizing its armed forces. The fittings, including a hilt collar dated 1871, are masterworks by Takamoto Hidemune (高本秀宗, 1819–1887), who had trained with one of the last great masters of the Edo period, Tanaka Kiyotoshi (田中清寿, 1804–1876). The scabbard is decorated with a delicate makie lacquer décor in the form of Chinese silver grass. The blade is unsigned, but exhibits the style of the Late Seki (Sue-Seki) smiths of the 16th century.

芒蒔絵鞘突兵拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (<i>Katana</i>), Fittings inscribed by 高本秀宗 Takamoto Hidemune (Japanese, 1819–1887), Steel, wood, lacquer, leather, gold, iron, Japanese

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Front

芒蒔絵鞘突兵拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (<i>Katana</i>), Fittings inscribed by 高本秀宗 Takamoto Hidemune (Japanese, 1819–1887), Steel, wood, lacquer, leather, gold, iron, Japanese
芒蒔絵鞘突兵拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (<i>Katana</i>), Fittings inscribed by 高本秀宗 Takamoto Hidemune (Japanese, 1819–1887), Steel, wood, lacquer, leather, gold, iron, Japanese

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.