Honno-ji Temple Museum: Valuing the Invaluable Symbols of the Warrior Class

[MassiveMoonHeh]

The Honno-ji Temple Museum DAIHOUDEN (The temple where Oda Nobunaga died), has been hosting an excellent exhibition for the last 8 months entitled "Valuing the Invaluable Symbols of the Warrior Class".

 

This has been an excellent exhibition that saw a large attendance. 

 

Here they did something more than just show the sword. They also produced life size Oshigata of the whole sword and displayed this below the sword with explanations so the people visiting the exhibition could compare it directly with the sword so that they knew what they were looking at. Basically like looking through the eyes of a Hon'Ami appraiser. This was a great idea.

 

They also provided the valuation according the Hon'Ami based in Gold Coins of how much each sword was said to be worth at the time in gold pieces and converted this to today's value.

 

They gave only one value but the truth is that there are three values that could have been provided, the Gold Price, the Rice price and the Labour price. The most valuable is the labour price whilst the rice and gold price has not really kept up with inflation. Their price appears to settle somewhere in the middle.

 

For example the Masamune Tanto had a price of 50 pieces in 1639:

 - In terms of rice this would be worth around 2-3,000,000 yen today.

 - In terms of gold this would be worth around 20,000,000 yen today.

 - In terms of labour where 1 ryu was equivalent to roughly one year's wages of a labourer. The this would be worth around 200-300,000,000 yen today.

 

These are what the museum estimated today's value* equivalent would be from lowest to highest:

 

- Hirotsugu Katana: 20 million yen (approx. $133,000)

- Enju school Katana (attributed Juyo): 35 million yen (approx. $233,000)

- Sekishu Dewa-ju Naotsuna saku Tachi (Juyo Bijutsu): 50 million yen (approx. $330,000)

- Hasebe Kunishige Wakizashi (Hon'Ami Kōjō origami): 60 million yen (approx. $400,000)

- Rai Kunimitsu Tanto: 80 million yen (approx. $530,000)

- Norikuni Tanto (Juyo & Hon'Ami Mitsutada Origami): 100 million yen (approx. $665,000)

- Masamune Tanto (Hon'Ami Koon Origami): 100 million yen (approx. $665,000)

- Rai Kuniyuki Kodachi: 150 million yen (approx. $1,000,000)

- Bizen Osafune Kanemitsu Tachi (Juyo Bijutsu & Hon'Ami Mitsutada Origami): 200 million yen (approx. $1,330,000)

- Rai Kunitoshi Tachi (Tokubetsu Juyo & Hon'Ami Kōjō Origami: 300 million yen (approx. $2,000,000)

 

This was very interesting and if correct it again confirms that we are living in the 安刀時代 (Era of the cheap sword).

 

日本刀の美 made a great video of this exhibition that you can view here and you can read more about it here on from Tamaki Joji Togishi's blog post.

 

*I never attended the exhibition but did a quick google and found only one post but without any photographic evidence I could not corroborate these numbers and I could not find anything else so if you did attend or are going to attend before the exhibition closes this weekend, please confirm or deny these numbers. Thank you.

[eternal_newbie]

Sounds like a very well-done exhibition, glad to hear it had a good attendance. Hopefully other exhibitors will take some lessons from this.

[Lewis B]

Yes, this would be an unmissable exhibition. A broad range of blades from top makers with a focus on middle Koto period. I'm a little surprised a signed Masamune was only valued at $665K though, but a Juyo mumei Enju is $233K

 

Full size oshigata under the blade is a great idea to inform the casual observer and assist those with some knowledge.