Osafune, Treasure Swords from Futarasan Jinja

[Bugyotsuji]

If anyone is in Japan this is a must-see. Just had a peek this afternoon and was blown away by the sheer size of some of these Ootachi Hono swords. This is not a national road-show. They are here for a special one-off. The original exhibition was conceived by Mr Ogawa Morihiro, special consultant for J arms & Armor/Armour at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art, apparently. The big daddies are in the downstairs exhibition room as I believe the couriers and curators had an awful time just trying to move them. Words fail me. The very first tachi on the left as you walk in, with Koshirae, is silly cm long... four or five people could stand shoulder to shoulder within that length. In the catalog they list one at 330 cm (10-11 feet) total length. And they are old, many made by legendary swordsmiths of Kamakura, Nanboku Cho, etc. Tachi, Naginata and Ken.

http://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/~osa-token/

 

And click on the poster for a larger shot.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Darn, Piers! Wish we were coming out again this year, but none of those super-fares.... Do you have any photos to share?

 

Ken

[peterqu]

Hello Piers,Please confirm when it ends.Looks like 16th June ?Regards,

[Bugyotsuji]

Peter, yes, that is correct.

 

Ken, they would not allow photos, so I bought the book, but then stupidly left it at a friend's house this afternoon. Here is the home page of Futarayama and a previous showing they had there, with some photos for you. (Did you get my e-mail about how Ando San has made some blades with your meteorite?)

http://www.futarasan.jp/cgi-bin/imgsys/image_c.cgi?194

[Ken-Hawaii]

Thanks for that link, Piers. Looks like some great blades in the show.

 

No, I didn't get the info on Ando-san making blades from my meteorite! More info would be greatly appreciated! Has he set pricing? Photos?

 

Ken

[Bugyotsuji]

Ken, here are some shots. He said he will also have a (at least one?) sword, made too with "Ryuseitetsu" (shooting star iron) ready for this summer's exhibition. I asked him if these are/will be on sale and he hesitated a moment, smiled and said yes, as if not yet sure on some detail... (?)

[Ken-Hawaii]

That's a very interesting hamon, Piers. In fact, I have no idea what to call it....

 

I assume it's a standard kogatana-size blade, right? Thanks for those shots.

 

Ken

[Bugyotsuji]

Ken he was actually in the process of togi when I happened to drop into the workshop asking about bolts from heaven; he stopped and wiped in order to let me take the shot. Kozuka, kogatana, standard size, I guess, yes. The other side might have proved more interesting, but I was already feeling a bit cheeky snapping away like this. This was not the only one he was working on in this size. There were two more.