Katana Blades

Katana Blades

Arts

Samurai, katana

Leftmost: This blade, somewhat shorter than the typical katana, was forged by Musashi daijo Tadahiro. Blades from school he founded, known as Hizen to, are characterized by a fine itame (woodgrain) surface and temper lines that are either straight (suguha) or have irregular clove" shapes (choji midare), as on this blade. Middle: Echizen no kami Sukehiro was apprenticed to the Osaka swordsmitch Tsuda Sukehiro; he was adopted by his teacher and inherited his name. At first Sukehiro made temper lines with irregular ""clove"" shapes (choji midare), like those of his teacher, but eventually he pioneered a beautiful and distinctive style of temper line reminiscent of the shape of ocean waves known as toran midare, as can be seen on ths example. Rightmost: (Momoyama Period) This fine example of Masahiro's work, typical of the Momoyama-period blade, is wide with a slight curve and large point. It has an itame (woodgrain) surface texture, and the temper line consists of small undulat

Masashi daijo Tadahiro; Tsuda Sukehiro; Masahiro

aaaaaaYoshiaki Shimizu, ed., "Japan: The Shaping of Daimyo Culture 1185-1868" Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1988, pl. 175-7.

Woudenberg, Annie

St. Olaf College

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soc000676

Japan

Japan - Edo-Tokugawa 1615 - 1868

323 w x 768 h, 72 ppi