Jump to content

Kamakura Enju tachi Xmas sale


Marius

Recommended Posts

Gents,

 

this will be the second and the last time I post this tachi here. You may want to take advantage of this opportunity, as Enju swords are usually much more expensive than this here.

 

Tachi from the late Kamakura period (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon to Enju)

 

Sugata

The sword has been shortened only a bit, so it still retains a magnificent, long (74 cm nagasa) tachi sugata, with a deep curvature (torii-zori tending to koshi-zori). The shape of this sword is very graceful and elegant - a typical Kamakura tachi. The fact that it has not been much shortened is confirmed by the position of the horimono, which is original to the blade.

 

Jigane and hada:

The jigane is high quality, with koitame/komokume hada, packed with sparkling ji-nie and tiny chikei. Whitish utsuri

 

Hamon and boshi:

The hamon is suguha-cho with ko-gunome, nie-deki, the habuchu is clear and bright. Boshi is omaru

 

Horimono:

The horimono is of spiritual nature: there are kanji for Hachmian Dai Bosatsu on the omote and rendai with a motif I cannot discern on the ura.

 

Mune

An interesting feature - this sword has a maru (rounded) mune.

 

Flaws:

Boshi runs close to edge.

There are a few ware,

Ther are spots of shingane (with one bigger spot ~4 cm length)

two spots of of umegane (old) close to each other

 

Attribution of the NBTHK:

Tokubetsu Hozon to Enju - I think the NBTHK's attribution to Enju was due to the shirake utsuri that is readily visible and the maru mune (found in Kyushu swords)

 

Ask me for A HIGH RESOLUTION SCAN of the sword if interested in a purchase.

 

Nagasa : 74.1 cm or 29.17 inches.

Sori : 2.6 cm or 1.02 inches.

Mekugi: 3

Width at the hamachi : 2.85 cm or 1.12 inches.

Width at the Kissaki : 1.69 cm or 0.66 inches.

Kasane : 0.61 cm or 0.24 inches.

 

Overall, this is an excellent sword for someone wishing to add a good Yamashiro koto to his collection without breaking the bank. It is also ideal for those of you who would like to own a Kamakura tachi, which still retains a tachi sugata, and does not look like a katana ;-)

 

$7,100 incl worldwide shipping (PayPal fee extra), which is considerably less than what Aoi is asking for comparable Enju blades (I have actually bought it from Aoi a few years ago).

 

Payment schedule possible, of course.

 

Guarantee: 3 days inspection period, if not satisfied with the sword for whatever reason, send it back for a full refund minus shipping cost.

 

I don't think I need to advertise the Enju here - this school is highly regarded and Enju swords are often taken for Rai work, so similar is the style and quality (not surprising as the school has it roots in Rai). I hope that Darcy will allow me to use his excellent description of the school:

 

The Enju school is an offshoot of the Yamashiro Rai school with some influence from Yamato. The founder, Enju Hiromura, is considered to be a smith from the Yamato Shikkake school who studied under Norihiro. He then moved to Kyoto and studied under Rai Kuniyuki in the middle kamakura. His son Kunimura is thought to have married into the family of Rai Kuniyuki by taking one of his daughters for a wife, and afterwards moved to Higo to found the Enju school. In spite of this level of detail, there are few to no generally recognized works left to us by Hiromura. Instead, Kunimura is held as the founder in practice.

 

Kunimura's students were Kuniyasu, Kunisuke, Kuniyoshi, and Kunitoki, and these smiths contributed to a lineage that was robust well into the Nanbokucho period and trailed off in the Muromachi period like many other koto schools. Most of the smiths of the school carry the Kuni character which traces itself back to Rai Kuniyuki.

 

As can be expected from the origins of this school with a Shikkake smith studying under a Yamashiro master, there are elements of Yamato in the style of Enju such as a high shinogi and some mixed in masame hada. Though the root of Enju lies with Rai Kuniyuki, the style tends to look more like that exemplified by Rai Kunitoshi, with ko mokume hada and much ji nie with chikei, in suguba with ashi and various other small workings including hotsure. There are small clear areas featured on some of the blades which are blackish and referred to as Enju hada. One of the traits we will see in Enju is nijuba, particularly in the monouchi area, and some of the blades will have nie or shirake utsuri.

 

Later blades changed with the times, with slightly elongated kissaki and shallower sori. The yakiba will tend to be a bit wider as well. The boshi tends to be very clear with komaru in the older blades and some ko midare in the middle and later periods.

 

The work style of Enju tends to be very uniform across the smiths, and this tends to see swords with these features attributed only to the school unless there is a prominent reason (such as kinzogan mei or explicitly distinct traits) to attribute directly to one of the Enju smiths. There are Enju swords rated at the top level by the NBTHK, Tokubetsu Juyo, and the skill of the best made Enju blades will be on a par with fine Rai work.

post-309-14196951327295_thumb.jpg

post-309-14196951328189_thumb.jpg

post-309-14196951330397_thumb.jpg

post-309-1419695133398_thumb.jpg

post-309-14196951337737_thumb.jpg

post-309-14196951340166_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...