Kamasu Kissaki ?

[Tom Darling]

Help in placing the school on kamasu kissaki and kaji. Have you ever seen one, other than in Japan?

 

Tom D.

[Ray Singer]

I have seen a healthy Ko-Bizen which showed some feeling of kamasu kissaki. That feature is specific to the earliest blades (going back to chokuto, which all had kamasu kissaki) and into Heian. In terms of schools, I would look to schools which worked at those earliest time period. Ko-Senjuin, Ko-Bizen, Mokusa, etc. Ko-Bizen Tochika attached.

 

[Tom Darling]

Hi Ray,

 

I've never seen one at a show. I was wondering if one came up for a shinsa, in past twenty years.  Also, was it in  ito-maki  koshirae mounts or shira saya. I would love to see one in mounts, if  anyone has a pic. Thank you for your enlightenment.

 

Regards,

 

Tom D.

[Jussi Ekholm]

I think it is extremely rare feature and I'd try to look into Heian period schools as Ray suggested. The problem is that most swords of that age would have had their kissaki reshaped at some point in time.

 

I tried to look Tokubetsu Jūyō items (from sessions 2-10), and I only found one good example and few others that had been reshaped from their original form. The only one I found is a shortened Mitsuyo blade from early-mid Kamakura (session 3). I think the Miike school profile being wide at sakihaba and kissaki is short it helps to retain this form more easily than more narrower swords. There is still very slight fukura but it was the example I found that is not at Cultural treasure level, as those cannot really be owned outside of Japan.