Tell Me More About Decoration On Blades...

[general_piffle]

Having seen a couple of antique katanas recently with engravings of dragons on the blade, I'm curious to understand the background to decorating the blade of a nihonto. 

 

Did these decorations mean the sword was purely for ornamental / decorative purposes? Would a decorated sword actually be used in battle?

 

Was there a reason behind say a dragon decoration other than aesthetic - like imbuing the sword with a good luck blessing or the strength of a dragon for example?

 

Would love to find out more behind this practice. Many thanks.

 

Joel U.

[Greg F]

Hello Joel.

 

From what I can remember is that earlier on it was used to keep god with them in battle or something like that and later when there were times of peace it was more decorative. Some times it can be used to remove flaws or openings in a blade that emerge when polished. There could be other reasons and someond will probably be able to give better details than me. All the best.

 

Greg

[general_piffle]

Thanks very much Greg. The sword I was looking at that is engraved with a dragon on one side is from the Kanbun era around 1658 to 1683 or so. Was there much battle / war during this period in Japan's history or would it more likely have been decorative do you think? 

 

Joel U.

[Greg F]

Hi Joel, I believe from 1615 to 1868 was the edo period and this was said to be a time of relative peace. It still could have been used in small battle i guess. A lot of the time there is carving (horimono) of a dragon on one side and an old ken sword on the other also. I love to look at nice horimono work. Would love to see some pics. All the best.

 

Greg

[Ken-Hawaii]

Almost certainly decorative, Joel. Take a look at https://books.google.com/books?isbn=4770020716.

 

Ken

 

[SteveM]

Horimono could be a votive decoration, could be a carving that was done to hide or eliminate a flaw in the steel, and there is a slight chance it could have been done to balance the weight of the sword.

While a carving doesn't automatically render a sword "ornamental", it does reduce the structural integrity of the sword (albeit slightly).

 

However for some reason I cringe at the thought of "ornamental" swords - except for exceptional cases. I think the higher the quality of the blade, the less likely it would be for someone to consider taking it with them on the dusty road to a muddy battlefield. But I find it hard to think about ornamental blades vs functional blades. Even in relatively peaceful times (Edo period), there were peasant revolts and civil unrest and banditry, etc... So I think "purely decorational" is a concept that ought to be handled with care. I mean, I would be surprised if gendaitō smiths, who are virtually assured the swords they made this year will never be used in battle, would consider their works as ornamental or decorational.

 

Koshirae and sword furniture are a different story. 

 

Common themes of horimono are bonji (sanskrit characters) and kurikara (dragon wrapped around swords, a Buddhist motif), Kanon (Bodhisattva).

[Brian]

A lot would depend on the age of the sword. Earlier swords might have added bonji for involkations or protection or good luck. As you get later into Shinto era and later, the sword became more of an art and less of a weapon and fanciful hamon became popular and the look became important, not just the utilitarian aspect.

[Shugyosha]

A good example of what Brian is talking about can be found for sale on Touken Komachi at the moment. Sukashi horimono can't add to the structural integrity of the blade and so have to be for art's sake. Blade is first generation Hizen Tadayoshi.

[Greg F]

Thats a beautiful example John!

 

Greg

[Shugyosha]

Hi Greg,

 

It is, and it can be yours for a mere JPY 8m!

 

John

[Greg F]

I like it but not quite that much. It would be great to afford blades of that price but cant hurt to dream huh.

 

All the best.

 

Greg

[general_piffle]

Thanks for the info and views guys. This is one of the swords I was referring to:

 

http://www.aoijapan.com/katana-noshu-seki-zenjo-ke-echizen-yoshikado-2

[Mark]

position of the horimono would suggest it was added later, not original to the blade

[general_piffle]

Thanks Mark. Interesting. Can I ask what draws you to that conclusion? Thanks.

[SteveM]

Both the dragon (kurikata) and the sanko (tsuruta-san is calling it a dokko) are esoteric buddhist images.

[general_piffle]

position of the horimono would suggest it was added later, not original to the blade

 

Hi Mark, can I ask what led you to this thought? I asked Aoi Art and Tsuruta san said he believed the horimono had been put in at the time the sword was made. Because the smith Yoshikado was training under Omura Kaboku who was also a buddhist monk. And as SteveM has observed both the kurikara and sanko are buddhist motifs.

[Guido]

Let me put it this way: if the horimono are original to the blade, they are placed unusually high. In most cases they start just a little above the habaki. They do that now, but the sword is suriage / machi-okuri.