Japanese Old Sword Database

[Jussi Ekholm]

Well as I was travelling in Japan this summer I realized I should share the current data I have, because if something happens to me all my long time work is lost. There have been some unexpected passings in the last few years and I have been gathering the data for this file for around 10 years now and it would be shame to lose it all.

 

This is still a work in progress and there is even tiny bit of Finnish language mixed in there. This will never be finished and I will continue to work this hopefully for a long long time. As I managed to pass 15,000 swords in the file I thought it would be time to share it. I am strong supporter of openly sharing the knowledge, so feel free to use this for research, just would be nice to be credited if this is used in research. My original idea was to stop around c.1450, and I mostly did. However I wanted to include some Muromachi stuff I like and old ōdachi in general, and few years ago I started adding late Muromachi and early Edo Naginata to the list. So I think the number of pre 1450 swords might be closer to 14,000. Of course would be amazing to have all swords included but as a solo project just stopping around Early-mid Muromachi has proven to take majority of my sword hobby time. There are most likely some errors somewhere in there and I correct then always when I notice them. It is just due to human error as this is my solo project and 15,000 sword entries there are bound to be errors, and there are still many items that might have XX etc. that I need to do more research. 

 

I have included reference for each and every sword, so I do have all 15,000+ swords in my personal references. I have been using this my personal reference system for a long time so for me it is easy. I am always updating this when I have time but I think I have 1000+ written references at home as I have c.800 issues of Tōken Bijutsu. For a long time I have tried to find motivation to finish seeking all the City Bunkazai from city websites but so far I have only gone through 187 cities and I think there are 700+ in Japan. The reference system might be bit confusing but at the bottom I should have quite up to date list of the reference codes I use.

 

Few years ago I started adding additional information and attachments. I should have started it from the beginning as I need to go through references multiple times now. It is still a work in progress but for example additional info I should have around 300 Meitō, I think there should be provenance (denrai) for 1300+ swords currently. Maybe c. 150 shrine dedications etc. For attachment example I should have info on close to 1,500 sayagaki. Just looked and I think I should have c. 400 Tanobe sensei sayagaki.

 

Listed as authentication I should have around 2,500 Hozon & Tokubetsu Hozon papers for these swords. I know there should be 3,000+ but many Japanese dealers never post the NBTHK papers. If I know the location of the sword (museum, shrine etc.) I have written it in authentication field along with the designation of the sword if it has such. I had a huge dream of a website and I had an amazing vision in mind but unfortunately reality hit that I could never achieve that, and on top of that copyright issues would hit hard. As I said I have every item somewhat accessible to myself however I cannot really share them to public.

 

I try to be up to date with current information where smiths belong etc. and try to switch them around. However it is difficult as new theories emerge from Japan. I just read recently that in one view Ōmiya Morikage is now considered to be Osafune smith instead of Ōmiya, and just few years ago I switched Yoshikage from Sōden-Bizen to Ōmiya, maybe I need to do more switching... so some smiths might be in wrong school, or there can be alternating theories. In my defence I have all the references where I can check but there can be conflicting information among the references. Unless the item is dated I have tried to give a decent time range for the smith as I dislike very narrow ranges for mumei items. Some references can narrow the dating of mumei sword to very narrow time frame and therefore I have written what they see the item being.

 

As for me size and shape is the most important thing for me it was logical to arrange the items by length first and foremost. So if present the swords should go ōdachi - tachi - katana - naginata - naoshi - kodachi - wakizashi - tantō - ken/yari. Then for same length I have usually gone higher ranked first (at least that was my plan).

 

Well that is a brief summary of the database file. I hope everyone will have a great summer 

Koto tietokanta PDF15000.pdf

[Sebuh]

great work Jussi, an invaluable member of this community. 

[Rivkin]

WOW! That's great.

[b.hennick]

Tremendous! Thank you so much! 

 

[Kantaro]

Impressive Jussi, thank you!

[Lewis B]

Fantastic resource. Even my pdf reader was impressed

 

 

Puts in perspective how prolific some smiths were. Thanks for all the effort putting this reference together. 

[Lareon]

Thank you Jussi, Invaluable contribution to the field. I'm sure all who benefit from this now and in the future will thank you.

 

Tony

[Rayhan]

Thank you for this incredible work and kind gesture @Jussi Ekholm. An example to all of us to share dedication. 

[Rawa]

You are our hero. I wanted to raise this subject for some time already. It feels good to have you here!

[Rawa]

Oh and one thing - should we also look on swords weight? 

[Robert S]

Amazing work.  That's the kind of work that is rarely undertaken, but will be valued for a long time.

[Schneeds]

Need a special title/librarian rank just for Jussi

[Scogg]

Really impressive Jussi! This is an extremely valuable document, and I wonder if Brian can add it to the downloads section. 
 

As someone who’s recently picked up some cataloging myself, seeing this work of yours is inspiring. I can’t imagine the eye strain you must have experienced during days of heavy data entry  

 

Thank you so much! 
Sincerely,
-Sam 

[Mushin]

Impressive. Invaluable. Important. Incredible. Thank you.

[MEENag]

As a new member here, I’ve noted several times in various threads where you mentioned having many records for previous swords that have been listed for sale. I thought to myself “I hope he shares this someday”. That day has come. Thank you for sharing your excellent work! I hope you can work on it for many more decades. 

[atm]

This is simply astounding @Jussi Ekholm! Thank you for sharing this incredible resource.

 

If we own a koto blade not in this database, would you like us to forward the relevant information to you?

[MEENag]

@Jussi Ekholm you mentioned in my Aoi thread that you thought you had seen the blade I was asking about ( and eventually bought) offered before but without koshirae. You couldn’t access your db since you were on the road at the time. You were right, Chiyozuru line 4976. Hozon paper number matches. Koshirae not noted. Impressive. 

[hobnails]

Amazing work thanks for sharing 

[Hoshi]

Hero Jussi, this is simply wonderful. 

[OceanoNox]

Magnificent, Jussi. Thank you very much for you hard work and for uploading the data.

[Brian]

Impressive work (actually incredible!) as we would expect from Jussi. And so extremely generous...also as we would expect from this member. You're a star Jussi, thanks so much. Do you mind if I add it to the downloads section with the appropriate credit?

[Alex A]

Thanks Jussi, very kind, very impressive and progressive thinking to assist us all and is very much appreciated.

[Lewis B]

It's unfortunate Darcy was not so forward thinking or his heirs so generous. A whole canon of invaluable research and some of the best images of nihonto have been lost to the community, both now and for future generations. But it's fantastic that @Rivkin  @Hoshiand now @Jussi Ekholm are so generous with their time and knowledge, by publishing their Treaties and accumulated data. And not forgetting @Rayhan for the Token Bijutsu as well as other reference materials. Truly commendable. 

 

Special shoutout to @Brano for his generosity in sharing his amazing collection with the lucky few in May. It's only by having these unique opportunities to observe and study exceptional blades in hand can we further our knowledge and understanding beyond what is read and seen in photos. A humbling experience especially for someone so new to nihonto. 

 

 

[Brian]

And the members who so generously have submitted amazing articles to our downloads section. Too many of you to mention individually.

[Sukaira]

wow, incredible work @Jussi Ekholm!

I actually see some of my swords in here  - row 14257 for example

 

Also, you can add koshirae made in 2025 to line 5817 ko-fujishima

[Rawa]

I also found some pieces. Good to know how rare some attribution can be. But I dont see one echizen of mine. Edit I found it under 4937 but would tell that sori of mine is deeper then 1.2 and shorter nagasa per 0.3 but whatever.

[Jussi Ekholm]

@BrianOf course it can be added to the files section.

 

I chose the current measurements mostly as they are the most accessible ones that many major references give out. As almost all Hozon & Tokubetsu Hozon info comes from dealer sites, the dealers list varying info about swords (with also varying accuracy). I remember when I originally started this I didn't yet have Jūyō books and the books I had listed variable amount of measurements. Kissaki measurement for example would have been fun one too but unfortunately very few dealers have measured the kissaki. I deleted kasane measurement when I realized that it is too inconclusive, as we discussed in here lately too that dealers measure it differently, so I do not trust that measurement. I think weight is an important measurement but extremely few books even even dealer websites have that one mentioned. I didn't want to have a row that would be 90+% just blank.

 

And if someone wants they can of course send me information about the sword(s) not featured in here. For privately owned swords I have tried to limit it to modern NBTHK or NTHK papered ones, as I cannot judge non-expert evaluated swords as I lack the skill. For the swords in Japan I have included Museum swords, shrine swords etc. I know some Japanese experts might say sword X in Tokugawa Art Museum is not legitimate or Imperial Collection sword Z is a gimei. I have however listed them as they are in the collection of that museum and perhaps deemed correct by other experts. I have tried to keep my own opinions about the items in minimum. I saw few swords at various museums this year that I think might not be legitimate, however museum experts have noted they are legitimate pieces and they sure know more than me.

 

The Japanese kanji should always be correct as I have put a lot of focus that the Japanese is correct. I have had few mistypings on translating the year to our calendar, and I will correct them every time I see my mistakes. Mostly it has been just mistyping 1 year in either direction by human mistake. I think that something like c.98% of year conversions should be correct but there can be an error every once in a while.

[Gakusee]

Dear Jussi, you are a blessing to this hobby. Thank you for the humble and extremely generous contributions and selfless pursuit of the improvement of Nihonto knowledge. We are grateful. 

[Mushin]

Amen to that!