Prefecture Bunkazai in Japan

[Jussi Ekholm]

I think I have written a small bit about various designations on the forum before. I think I have understood this properly but I hope out Japanese members can correct any errors I have written.

 

I think we all are aware of Kokuhō (National Treasures) 国宝. Then another well known designation is Jūyō Bunkazai (Important Cultural Property) 重要文化財. After this it starts to get complicated. Jūyō Bunkazai is a National designation (国). Now there are 47 prefectures in Japan, and prefectures can also designate and item to a Bunkazai status. However that is a Prefecture Bunkazai, prefecture level designation (県). To make it even more complicated Japan has 800+ cities and yes it is easy to guess cities can elevate items to a Bunkazai status. However that level is the lowest of the City Bunkazai, and city level designation (市).

 

I did go through all the prefecture websites and searched for all of the swords that have achieved Prefecture Bunkazai status. It was tedious job going through lots of websites, PDF files etc.  with just rows and rows of various things listed. I think I am pretty decent in finding the Prefecture level items and identify swords amongst the thousands of listed items. As there is so much to search for I might have missed few items but this would be the rough general count.

 

 

Now out of these 695 swords I found 293 that I feature in my database. What is slightly irritating is that there is a huge difference in the amount of information about the item that is featured. At most minimum level it can just be 刀 伝当麻 Katana - den Taima, no picture, no additional text (just an hypothetical example). While others have lots of additional information, sometimes even a good sized picture (mostly the pictures are extremely minimal) is featured and links to other data sites etc.

 

I do item matching as that is the search and research thing I enjoy so much, so I have been able to identify bunch of them. I believe some of them have achieved the Prefecture Bunkazai status so long ago and perhaps current owners of the Jūyō swords might not even know they are also Prefecture Bunkazai. I can share maybe in the end really well documented sword I was able to uncover.

 

It started when I was going through Kanagawa Prefecture Bunkazai list. There was an entry for mumei Chōgi, some prefectures have these clickable links that open a page for the item. For some single row like this is the all info you will get about the item

 

The link opened to Cultural Heritage Database but unfortunately there is no picture of the item either.

 

However the owner of the item is Nitro Plus and the item is in Tokyo. I did not know the company Nitro Plus but with googling I found out that it is the company behind Tōken Ranbu. And with more googling I was able to find a picture of their 2019 exhibition that features the Chōgi.

 

 

Unfortunately this was only picture I found but I found out NBTHK tweet that said that Nitro Plus Tokubetsu Jūyō Chōgi will be featured in TJ29 2026 exhibition as an extra showpiece, now as I have almost all the Tokubetsu Jūyō items and this was most likely TJ. It was just a matter of matching the correct sword and this one was Tokubetsu Jūyō 8. This particular sword was sold by Iida Koendo in 2019, and most likely Nitro Plus acquired it from there. https://iidakoendo.com/6300/

 

I was so happy to find out that Iida had also the Prefecture Bunkazai document pictured in the ad. I will attach it here as I think it is extremely rare to see these.

 

Now it is possible to track down at least this much of the modern history of this particular sword.

1956 Kanagawa Prefecture Bunkazai -  1973 Jūyō 21 Nagasaki Prefecture - 1983 Tokubetsu Jūyō 8 ??? Prefecture - 2019 Iida Koendo - 2019-2026 Nitro Plus

 

There is still so much more to uncover in these but unfortunately the information on them is very limited. There are for example Jūyō Bijutsuhin that have been also designated as Prefecture Bunkazai etc. Some super cool items (mostly for me the ōdachi) that I have not been able a single picture while trying to search them from Japanese sites.

[nulldevice]

Jussi this is PhD level research tracking down these items! Your depth of study never ceases to amaze me. I’ll be looking forward to your continued research and publications on these items! What a treat it would be to find out the Juyo sword you own was also designated as a city or prefectural Bunkazai.

 

[Brian]

Jussi, your dedication and effort is simply incredible. I am in awe of the amount of effort you put in.