MassiveMoonHeh Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 A little while ago, I gave myself the task of learning more about Gyobutsu swords, or the swords personally owned by the Emperor of Japan. When I first embarked on this research, I did not think it would be a very arduous task, like other designations or provenance it just meant doing a little digging but little did I know. Straight from the beginning I got a little unstuck as my first task was to find a comprehensive list of Gyobutsu swords – surely, this would not be that hard to find with so many greats before me, someone must have created a list, written a book, right? Nope, well certainly nothing I found until well after WWII and even then there is no proper definitive Gyubutsu list of swords that were owned by the Emperors of Japan. Emporer Meiji – son of heaven You see back in the day, as a living descendent of the gods, the Emperor was subject to no one and no thing and therefore what he owned was never catalogued in a public way… ever. It was not necessary and certainly not appropriate for the time. Records did exist but they were strictly for viewing within the walls of the Imperial Court. This as a result makes this designation of Gyobutsu probably the opaquest designation that can be given to a sword and the same can be said for Imperial Provenance because whilst some of the records are easily accessible now – most even today are still not. Two swords that fall into the latter category of not having accessible records are the two previous Gyobutsu swords by Gō Yoshihiro. From the Japanese Sword Encyclopedia by Fukunaga Suiken (R.I.P.) we get this information: Kitano-Gō: This sword, crafted by Gō Yoshihiro, is listed in the "Kyoho Meibutsu-cho" (Chapter of Specialties of the Kyoho Period). Hon'ami Kosa and Komasu purchased it from Sakai in Senshu. Kotoku, who had been named after Yoshihiro, attached a 1,500-kan (approx. 1,500 kan) origami (signature). The centre features gold inlay "Emagami Kotoku (monogram)." These characters are said to have been written by Hon'ami Koetsu. In September 1614, Maeda Toshitsune travelled to Sunpu to express his gratitude to Tokugawa Ieyasu for his succession to the domain. Hon'ami Kosa followed him to Nagoya, claiming to be celebrating the succession. Having become lord of the domain and feeling cocky, Toshitsune generously purchased the sword. Years later, while Toshitsune was in Kyoto, he stayed at the residence of Shōbaiin, the Shinto priest of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, and had the sword tested on the banks of the nearby Kamiya River. Because of its excellent sharpness, the sword came to be called Kitano-Gō, after the place where it was tested. By the time the Kyoho Meibutsu-chō was compiled, the sword's value had risen to 5,000 kan. The Maeda clan kept it at their Edo domain residence. There is a record of Hon'ami Nagane having it maintained in March 1812 (Bunka 9). Marquis Toshinari Maeda On July 9, 1910, Emperor Meiji visited Marquis Maeda's residence and was presented with the sword. The Kitano-Gō is currently kept at the Tokyo National Museum. The Kyoho Meibutsu-chō lists the blade length as 2 shaku 3 sun 5 rin (approximately 69.8 cm), but Maeda family records state it as 2 shaku 3 sun (approximately 69.7 cm), which corresponds to the current length. The curvature is 6/8" (approximately 1.8 cm). The surface has a flowing itame grain pattern and is slightly raised. The blade pattern is a curved straight blade with a small five-point pattern and frayed edges. The blade has a small rounded edge. There are four notches above the monouchi. The center is heavily polished and there are three mekugi-ana holes. However, judging from the burnished blade pattern, it does not appear to have been polished very much. Nabeshima-Gō: This is an unsigned sword written by Gō Yoshihiro of Etchu, listed in the "Kyoho Specialty Book." It was first owned by Nabeshima Naoshige, the lord of Hizen Saga Castle. The sword was passed down to Umitada family from this family, who made an oshigata of the sword. Afterwards, the Umitada family presented it to Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is probably the same sword that was named the ``Koboshikiri-Gō'' presented by Katsushige Nabeshima in 1600. In November 1618, it was gifted to the Bishu Tokugawa family as a so-called Suruga gift. According to the records at that time, there was a slight nick on the blade about 3 inches (approximately 9.1 cm) below the side. It is decorated with a 75 pieces of gold origami, the edges are made of shakudo, the menuki is made of gold-free taku, it depicts a lion with two lions, the tsuba is made of shakudō, the habaki is double-layered, the bottom is covered with gold, the top is made of gold-free gold, and the face and quail eyes are made of gold-free gold. The back of the koji is walnut, and the front is a carving of a lion with three cubs. The small handle was made of shakudo and had an image of a shell in water. Koen Hon'ami has also seen this. On September 21, 1636, when Shogun Iemitsu came to the Bishu residence, Yoshinao presented this sword to the Shogun along with Rai Kunimitsu's tanto. On June 18, 1651, the sword was given to Iemitsu's fourth son Tokumatsu, the future shogun Tsunayoshi, as a relic of Iemitsu. The theory is that the Bishu family gave it directly to Tokumatsu is incorrect. In the second year of Kyoho (1717), Omi no kami Tsuguhira obtained the permission of Shogun Yoshimune and had the shogun's storehouse swords stamped. Among them, he listed as ``Nabeshima-Gō' but it had two mekugi holes and was completely different. Since then, it has been handed down as a treasured sword of the shogun family, but on August 10, 1891, it was presented to Emperor Meiji under the care of Tesshu Yamaoka. After the war, it became state-owned. The length of the blade is 2 shaku 2 sun 65 rin (approximately 68.6 centimeters), Honzukuri, and Iori-bu. The front side of Jitetsu has a large grained texture and stands out, but the back side has a small grained grained texture. The hamon is rich in small shapes, with a mixture of gomoku and kanji. In the ``Kyoho Specialties'' book, there are several places where ``Yubashiri'' is said to be ``a little bit grilled for both Taira and Ho.'' The blade on the front side has a straight edge and is long and curved, but the back side is jagged, sharp, and crumbles, as the ``Kyoho Meibutsucho'' says, ``Kogiri Feng, Odeki.'' The center is highly polished, unsigned, has one mekugi hole, and has a sword-like shape. As you can see first hurdle crossed Fukunaga Suiken has kindly documented evidence that these two Gō Yoshihiro swords were gifted to the Emperor Meiji, a keen sword collector: Nabeshima-Gō presented by Tokugawa Iesato to Emperor Meiji on August 10, 1889 as documented by the Tokugawa Clan. It seems reasonable that the then 26 year old, Prince Tokugawa Iesato, head of the Tokugawa family would document this – at this stage his family was no longer the Shogun for some 20 years, but he was a Prince and the Emperor had just signed the 1889 constitution in February that year, formalising the himself as head of the Empire, combining in himself the rights of sovereignty. Iesato an Eton educated Noble was keen to stay on the right side of the Emperor and apparently he did as he was made a member of House of Peers when it was established a few months later in 1890 and later became its president from 1903 through to 1933. Portrait of Tokugawa Iesato Kitano-Gō was presented by a 15 year old Marquis Toshinari Maeda to Emperor Meiji on July 9, 1900, when the Emperor Meiji visited the Maeda residence in Komaba Park in Meguro, Tokyo, only a short 8km carriage ride east from the Imperial Palace. The Emperor Meiji visited the 15 year old Marquis Toshinari Kōshaku Maeda on this day because less than a month earlier on the June 13, 1900, Toshinari had been adopted as heir of the main branch of the Maeda clan by his father, the former Daimyō of the Nanokaichi Domain in Kozuke province (modern day Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture) Maeda Toshiaki, even though he was the fifth son. He was named Shigeru at birth but changed his name to Toshinari at his coming of age. As a new Marquis of only 15 years of age he had only ever known the Empire of Meiji and was never exposed to the times of the Shogunate. As a major family in the Empire the Emperor had come to congratulate the new Marquis Maeda. Former Maeda Residence at Komaba Park Great, so we have two confirmed Gyobutsu Gō Yoshihiro blades… so what happened to them, where are they now? Well, both thankfully, as Fukanaga points out, are still very much around with both being stored and occasionally displayed at the Tokyo National Museum but their ownership status is no longer listed as swords owned by the Imperial Family. The official database (ColBase: Integrated Search System for National Museum Collections) lists them both as belonging to the Tokyo National Museum. Colbase: Katana Unsigned (Famous Nabeshima-Gō) Colbase: Katana (Gold Inlay) Emagami Kotoku (Seal) (Famous Kitano-Gō) So what happened? How did these two swords lose their Gyubutsu status and how did they land up at the Tokyo National Museum like so many other swords from the Imperial Collection? The answer, World War II. To understand what happened we need to dig deeper into the story of war debts and restitution after WWII. After WWII the Allied Forces took control of Japan under the command of General Douglas MacArthur who was the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). His office, referred to as GHQ which stood for General Head Quarters, became the defacto Ruler of Japan from 1945 through to 1952 as the Emperor and Government had to adhere to this office’s orders and instructions. General Douglas MacArthur & Emperor Hirohito, US Embassy Tokyo, September 27, 1945 During this time, we have now all heard about the confiscation of swords that took place and of course this attracts the most attention due to the horror stories of lost National Treasures but this policy of confiscation did not affect the Imperial collection of swords in the same way. As such none of the Emperor’s Gyubutsu swords were confiscated by this means (although many of Emporer Meiji's newer military swords were) but that does not mean he got to keep all of his treasure swords. In fact, as we will see he did have to give most of them away for two reasons: 1. War Reparations through Property Tax 2. Rearrangement of the Imperial Status where the Emperor became a constitutional monarch Let’s talk to War Reparations through Property Tax. After the Second World War, the Imperial Family found itself subject to the new "Property Tax Law" that was enacted in 1946 under the GHQ. For the first time property taxes were imposed on the Imperial family's property, so payments were required to be made. It was a sizeable sum: 3.3 billion yen, or 90% of all the Imperial Family's assets valued at the time. The sum was so large that the Imperial Family could not pay it and they certainly could not take out a loan that large to do so either. So instead, the only option they were left with, being asset rich but now, incredibly cash poor, was to make payments in kind in the form of restitution through the giving away of Imperial possessions, including prized property, art, furniture and treasure swords. The exercise of claiming this tax was carried out by the GHQ through the Japanese tax office. As such the Imperial Family was forced to act with some haste in terms of giving over these possessions. This meant that a lot of the normal procedures and paperwork associated with documenting changes to the Imperial possessions were simply abandoned – the Allied Forces did not care to wait on protocol. The Americans however were not devoid of documentation and as such somewhere in the archives of the GHQ (held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, Maryland, USA) or perhaps even the Japanese Tax Office there will exist documents today that detail the specifics of the Imperial possessions and their individual values as payment in kind against the property taxes the Imperial Family owned. NARA at College Park, Maryland It is also almost certain that the Imperial Family will also have some sort of record for this payment, but we will likely never to see any of these documents for a very long time, if we ever, due to the sensitive nature of these taxes and the estimated values of these possessions. It would invite too much scrutiny and pain digging up such a painful part of Japanese history. As a consequence, today there is little to no data publicly available of this historic transfer of wealth and treasures from the Imperial Household to the Nation of Japan. All we know is that a deal was done between the Imperial Family and the GHQ/ Tax Office so that Imperial possessions including many treasure swords of which Nabeshima-Gō and Kitano-Gō forms part, were used as payment in kind to cover the Imperial Family's tax burden that had been levied on them after the war in 1946 and in so doing these two swords and many more treasures were transferred out of the Imperial Collection to the Nation of Japan and were held at several museums including the National Museum (now known as the Tokyo National Museum.) For more details of this tax burden and payment in kind click here. So now we can see that property taxes were the primary reason why the Japanese Imperial Family lost 90% of their Imperial possessions. It is also how many swords including the two Gō Swords, Kitano-Gō and Nabeshima-Gō lost their Gyubutsu status and became the possession of the Tokyo National Museum as care takers of the treasures for the Nation of Japan. This all seems pretty terrible but the story is not over, let’s look at the second loss of Imperial possessions through the unwinding of the 1889 constitution and the establishment of the Constitutional Monarchy. A year later in 1947, the Emperor’s rights of sovereignty given to him in the 1889 constitution were revoked and new constitution was established where the Emperor of Japan became a constitutional monarch. In so doing the Emperor and the Imperial Family became ceremonial figure heads of the state requiring him to relinquish the remaining majority of his imperial possessions under the new arrangements, so that they could be managed by the Nation of Japan. This came into effect on the 3 May 1947 with the establishment of a new Imperial Household Office under the control of the Prime Minister’s Office so that the old Imperial Household Office no longer fell under the control of the Emperor meaning that it was no longer a part of the Imperial Court but instead became a government depart managed by the Government of Japan. Staff were also transferred out of the Imperial Court and numbers were reduced from 6,200 to less that 1,500 staff. The Imperial possessions transferred to the Imperial Household Office therefore were no longer the property of the Emperor but the property of the Nation of Japan. The Imperial Household Office subsequently became the Imperial Household Agency in 1949 and in 2001 this government department moved from the Prime Minister’s Office to fall under the management of the Cabinet Office. These transfers of Imperial possessions in 1947 saw hundreds of Gyobutsu swords moved to the National Museum where they have remained ever since and became the property not of the Emperor but of the Imperial Household Agency on behalf of the Nation of Japan. This transfer left only a fraction of the original Imperial Treasures in the personal ownership of the Emperor and how this was managed remained undetermined until 1989 when the Emperor Showa passed away and just under 80% of his remaining 4,600 treasures including more swords were “donated” to the national treasury under the ownership of the Imperial Household Agency and housed at Sannomaru Shozokan. A set of two Folding screens part of the Imperial Household Agency collection at Sannomaru Shozokan This has left the current Emperor of Japan Naruhito with a very small personally owned Imperial Collection compared to the past. This includes the 3 Sacred Treasures (which without which the Emperor cannot be Emperor), 20 Accessories of Her Majesty the Empress’ formal attire and 50 Imperial Properties that are made up of scrolls, art works, folding screens and 28 Gyobutsu swords that are considered Historic Objects and as such are not subject to the laws requiring Imperial possessions to be transferred to the Nation of Japan but instead will continue to be allowed to be passed down as part of the Imperial Throne. The Three Sacred Treasures of the Emperor; the mirror Yata no Kagami, the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama For your benefit listed below are these last 28 Gyubutsu swords confirmed as of 2019’s coronation ceremony: 1. 治天皇御料・今上陛下 山城国久国御太刀 先帝例祭（黒田清隆献上） Emperor Meiji's gift, His Majesty's present: Yamashiro Hisakuni Tachi from the Former Emperor's annual festival (presented by Kiyotaka Kuroda) 2. 明治天皇御料・今上陛下 相模国正宗御刀（名物 会津正宗） 旬祭三殿御拝（有栖川宮献上） Emperor Meiji's personal gift, His Majesty's present Sagami Masamune Sword (Meito Aizu Masamune) Shunsai Sanden Gohai (presented at Arisugawa Palace) 3. 明治天皇御料・今上陛下 備前国助平御太刀 元始祭（岩崎弥之助献上） Emperor Meiji's gift, His Majesty's present: Bizen Sukehira Tachi for the Genji Festival (presented by Yanosuke Iwasaki) 4. 菊御作御太刀 昭和天皇即位礼（黒田長成献上） Kiku Mitsukuri Tachi presented at the Enthronement Ceremony for Emperor Showa (presented by Nagashige Kuroda) 5. 明治天皇御料備前国真長御太刀 春秋皇霊祭（藤堂高猷献上） Emperor Meiji's gift, His Majesty's present: Bizen Province Masanaga Tachi from the Spring and Autumn Emperor's Residences (presented by Todo Takayu) 6. 山城国吉光御太刀 神嘗祭（権大納言徳川茂徳献上） ※一期一振 Yamashiro Yoshimitsu Tachi from the Kanna Festival (presented by Gon Dainagon Tokugawa Shigenori) (Meito Ichigo Hitofuri) 7. 大和国天国御太刀（小烏丸と号す） 新嘗祭（宗重正献上） Yamato Amakuni Tachi (Meito Kogarasu Maru) (presented by Muneshigemasa) 8. 備前国信房御太刀（十萬束と号す） 元始祭（徳川家達献上） Bizen Nobufusa Tachi (Meito Jumanzuka) Genji Festival (presented by Tokugawa Ietatsu) 9. 山城国国永御太刀（名物 鶴丸） 歳旦祭（伊達宗基献上） Yamashiro Kuninaga Odachi (Meito Tsuru Maru) Saidan Festival (presented by Date Muneki) 10. 山城国宗近御太刀 先帝例祭（酒井忠道献上） Yamashiro Munechika Tachi from the Former Emperor’s Festival (presented by Tadamichi Sakai) 11. 上皇昼御座御剣備前国長光御太刀 昼御座御剣 Bizen Province Nagamitsu Tachi, Retired Emperor's Daytime Throne sword 12. 上皇小御所出御御剣備前国包平御太刀 御寝間御剣（徳川家重献上） Bizen Tsunehira, Retired Emperor's sword from his small palace, sword for the sleeping quarters (presented by the Tokugawa Ieshige) 13. 古今伝授大和国天国御太刀 御代々古今伝授の節御佩用 Yamato Heavenly Sword, a sword of transmission from generation to generation. 14. 菊御作御太刀 昭和天皇即位礼控（元田永孚献上） Kiku Gosaku Tachi Copy of sword for the Enthronement Ceremony of Emperor Showa (presented by Eifusa Motoda) 15. 明治天皇御料備前国景光景政御太刀 祈年祭（川村純義献上） Bizen Koku kei kōkei Tachi Meiji Emperor's gift from the Prayer Festival (presented by Junyoshi Kawamura) 16. 大正天皇御料相模国行光御太刀 神嘗祭（伊藤博邦献上） Sagami Yukimitsu Tachi Emperor Taisho's gift from kan’nasai (presented by Ito Hirokuni) 17. 山城国国綱御太刀（名物 鬼丸） 新嘗祭（御取寄せ） Yamashiro Kunitsuna Tachi (Meito Onimaru) from Niname Festival (made to order) 18. 前国則宗御太刀 祈年祭（浅野長勲献上） Bizen Norimune Tachi from Prayer Festival (presented by Asano Chokun) 19. 備前国友成御太刀（鶯丸と号す） 歳旦祭（宮内大臣田中光顕献上） Bizen Tomonari Tachi (called Uguisumaru) from the New Year’s Festival (Presented by Mitsuaki Tanaka, Minister of the Imperial Household) 20. 備前国長光御太刀 旬祭（伊藤博邦献上） Bizen Nagamitsu Tachi Shun Festival (Presented by Hirokuni Ito) 21. 光格天皇御料 相模国正宗御脇指（名物 小池正宗） 賢所御神楽（徳川家斉献上） Sagami Masamune Wakizashi (Meito Koike Masamune) Emperor Kokaku's imperial offering Kashidokoro Kagura (Presented by the Tokugawa family) 22. 後白河天皇御剣 東宮御相伝 賢所御拝 Emperor Goshirakawa's Katana, the Crown Prince’s Sword 23. 豊後国行平御太刀 東宮御相伝 賢所御拝 Bungo Yukihira Katana, the Crown Prince’s sword: Worship at the Kashikodokoro 24. 豊後国行平御太刀 昼御座御剣 Bungo Yukihira Tachi Hirumoza no Tsurugi 25. 備前国長光御太刀 御寝間御剣 Bizen Nagamitsu Tachi, sleeping sword 26. 孝明天皇御料 相模国総宗御脇指 賢所御神楽（津軽承昭献上） Mitsuru Emperor Komei's Imperial Offering Sagami Soshu Wakizashi Kashikodokoro Kagura (presented by Josho Tsugaru) 27. 大正天皇御守刀美作国正守短刀 天皇陛下御枕刀（御誕生の節進ぜられ） Bizen Masamori Tanto Emperor Taisho's Talisman Tanto, (presented to celebrate his birth) 28. 山城国吉光御短刀（名物 平野藤四郎） 皇后陛下御枕刀（前田斉泰献上） Yamashiro Yoshimitsu Tanto (Toshiro Hirano) the Empress's Makura sword (presented by Nariyasu Maeda) As you can see this is a far cry from what was once said to be hundreds or even a thousand plus treasure swords owned by Emperor Meiji. In fact, many serious private collectors of Swords, including many international, now hold even more swords than the Emperor, something that boggles the mind. In my ongoing research I still have not managed to find a definitive list of pre-1945 Gyubutsu swords anywhere. We have scattered sources of information for example the Gyubutsu Tokahu Mei Oshigata by Sato and Numata, that lists the tangs of the Imperial Household Agency owned blades housed at the Tokyo National Museum but these are a snapshot from 1958 when they were already the property of the Nation of Japan. The list of the swords transferred from the Imperial Family to the Imperial Household Office that went on to be stored at the National Museum can be found in a book published by the Tohaku entitled; Tokyo National Museum Centennial History, but again this was published in 1973 which is some time after the swords had been transferred from the Imperial Family to the museum. The Tokyo National Museum Home to many of the Imperial Household Agency’s Collection of Swords In the end no definitive list of Gyobutsu swords pre-1945 was found and as such the quest continues to some degree. (Please feel free to drop a line below with any sources you have found in your time.) Unfortunately, as no Gyobutsu sword past or present will ever be sent to NBTHK (unless the Emperor perhaps allows it) we will never get their expert opinion on any of the swords in any formal way other than commenting on them perhaps in articles by people who once had the rare privilege of seeing and maybe even touching them. This also means we are unlikely to ever see them in any of the current Gyobutsu swords in any formal way. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs is also unlikely to ever publish a list of former Gyobutsu swords due to the nature of how these swords were transferred to the Nation of Japan. So, we are where we are… for now. Before I wrap up, I would like to acknowledge those who helped me with this exercise especially the curator of meitou.info who has been a wealth of information and has been so patient and accommodating with all my questions. We are lucky to have such a wonderful person and resource in this space. I would also like to thank @Hoshi who helped prod me. Finally, I would like to state that this is all my own research and therefore all the mistakes or inaccuracies in this are my own and no one else's - if you feel you have something to contribute or share that I have missed or want to correct anything above please do so below - it will definitely help everyone, especially myself, learn. Thank you. 4 10 Quote
Sebuh Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 Amazing writeup Brett! I honestly had the same question wondering what happened with many of the Gyobutsu. Though I never did get to it, you are a very fine addition to our community with all these recent contributions! When I see one of your threads I know it's going to be good! keep it up! 2 Quote
nulldevice Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 Amazing work Brett! An amazing writeup on these wonderful treasures. I've really enjoyed your deep dive posts recently and this is yet another great writeup! 3 Quote
Toryu2020 Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 Great write up. Since this is by Fukunaga Sensei it is likely just a repeat of information but if it helps... B518. Koshitsu. Shogunke. Daimyoke Token Mokuroku - Japanese sword books and tsuba 2 Quote
MassiveMoonHeh Posted March 4 Author Report Posted March 4 1 hour ago, Toryu2020 said: Great write up. Since this is by Fukunaga Sensei it is likely just a repeat of information but if it helps... B518. Koshitsu. Shogunke. Daimyoke Token Mokuroku - Japanese sword books and tsuba This is a great book - Fukunaga-sama is the gold standard for provenance of Imperial, Shogun and Daimyo provenance. 1 Quote
Lukrez Posted March 5 Report Posted March 5 Thank you for the translation and for the carefully compiled overview. In the end, however, a somewhat bitter aftertaste remains: it is regrettable how much knowledge and cultural context was lost in the immediate postwar period, or at least torn from its original context. The American occupation brought about a very rapid and profound reorganization of political and economic structures. While reading, a probably delicate and somewhat broader question came to mind—perhaps out of place here, but not entirely unimportant: How quickly and how thoroughly did Japanese society historically process the trauma of defeat, occupation, and two atomic bombs—if at all? (The older generations certainly did not. The following generations perhaps tend to keep their opinions to themselves, and the current generation may hardly have the time to form an independent view. ) Within just a few years, the relationship with the United States shifted from that of a total wartime enemy to one of the closest strategic partners of the postwar order. Many interpretations exist regarding this development. From my perspective, a rather sober picture emerges: through a combination of control, institutional reforms, and economic dependencies, the United States created a system in which close cooperation became a pragmatic and ultimately “voluntary” strategy for Japan. In my preliminary research, I gained the impression that this aspect of structural dependency—if addressed at all—is often treated rather cautiously in Japanese narratives, even though historically it is difficult to overlook. 2 Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted March 5 Report Posted March 5 Thank you for this amazing research Brett. It cleared some questions I have had about this subject. 3 Quote
MassiveMoonHeh Posted March 6 Author Report Posted March 6 Found this video entitled MacArthur's Japan from 1949 - it is a very fine time capsule of Japan after WWII from the American perspective. 1 Quote
Hoshi Posted March 6 Report Posted March 6 Thank you brett, great work! I would highly recommend reading the book "Honma talks" - I think Markus has a translation available. It gives many details on the "behind the scenes" of the Imperial collections an many other high-ranking collections. The challenge with Gyobutsu is that the majority of them do not have any designation from either the NBHTK or the Ministry of Culture. Items of great scholarly importance, such as a zaimei Masamune tanto, or a tachi signed by Kagemasa and Kagemitsu as joint work, or a Mitsutada with a complete long signature, and many others - are not documented anywhere else. it's crucial to keep track of these important and undocumented pieces. Even if they have lost their status post-war due to the tax regime change that ruined the Imperial family and its Junior branches, these blades do not carry any official designation and are thus the 'dark matter' of Nihonto. On another note, the post-Nambokucho blades in the collection can be eyebrow raising - there are many lower quality works there, and Honma remarks on this. One thing that is incredibly interesting: the vast majority of their holdings consists of signed blades, and with a clear statistical preference for Bizen and Yamashiro over Soshu, which perhaps reflects a certain disdain towards swords produced to the taste of the Kamakura warrior class. From the Meiji to the pre-war era, there was a great re-evaluation of schools such as Ko-Bizen, which has remarkably low origami valuation by the Hon'ami family compared to where they sit today in the elite hierarchy. Figures such as Imamura Chogi were instrumental in shifting the balance of taste amongst the elite. Honma Junji did not hold Imamura Chogi in high esteem, and takes a number of jabs at him in his book. Emperor Meiji's collection was probably the peak of the Imperial family's sword holding and accumulation. During the Meiji restoration, many great industrialist families heading the powerful Zaibatsu have gifted Emperor Meiji incredible blades. Best, Hoshi 5 Quote
MassiveMoonHeh Posted March 6 Author Report Posted March 6 28 minutes ago, Hoshi said: I would highly recommend reading the book "Honma talks" I have just picked this book up from Markus Sesko and am about to start reading it... thank you for the recommendation. Really enjoying reading Dr Honma's appraisals too at the moment. 41 minutes ago, Hoshi said: it's crucial to keep track of these important and undocumented pieces. 100% - hopefully we can keep a track of them in the new tools being created by this community. 1 Quote
MassiveMoonHeh Posted March 8 Author Report Posted March 8 On 3/6/2026 at 4:14 PM, Hoshi said: I would highly recommend reading the book "Honma talks" - I think Markus has a translation available. It gives many details on the "behind the scenes" of the Imperial collections an many other high-ranking collections. I have just read Honma Talks and was surprised to read that even Dr Honma Junji did not have any clear idea of what swords the emperor owned prior to 1945. His only full review of the what he considers to be 500 swords was as the head of preservation initiative after the war when he was brought in to save the important art swords before the non-important swords were given to GHQ. He was invited in because he was not an official member of the Imperial Court therefore other than the rare unofficial invite he was not able to view the swords at any other time for research or any other reason. He also notes that the book Meitō Oshigata (銘刀押形) compiled by Satō Kanzan and Numata Kenji (沼田鎌次) Sensei with 330 blades housed at the Tokyo National Museum that now belong to the Imperial Collection did not contain all the original Gyobutsu blades as the book focused specifically on signed blades meaning that no Masamune or Gō blades appear in the book. Which is perhaps one of the reasons why this book does not contain the Kitano-Gō and Nabeshima-Gō. And finally, even with all his connections Dr Honma Junji had no idea how the swords were split or allocated between the Property Tax payment, the Imperial Collection owned by the Imperail Household Agency on behalf of the state, the swords owned personally by the Emperor and the swords owned by the Imperial Throne after the new constitution was enacted and the majority of the swords became the property of the State of Japan. It was very much a need to know basis and he (even though he was the head of the Preservation group) was clearly not in the circle that needed to know. He makes a comment that even though he examined the Gyo-butsu blades he was not allowed to comment on any of them - which he found incredibly frustrating especially when similar swords came up for comparison in his writings. It just goes to show again how discreet and opaque this designation really is when even the great Dr Honma Junji was none the wiser about specifics (although he did get an incredibly rare privilege of examine them all - but that was a once off). 4 Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 There are a number of photos of Meito on sho-shin.com that are noted as being gifted to Emperor Meiji, a few of those mentioned above show up if doing a site search. Chogi Haito Sword of Emperor Meiji Chogi Nagasa: 71cm Sori: 2.3cm Standing Itame Hada with JiNie, Chikei and standing Utsuri. Bo-Hi and Sobi run the length. Gunome-Midare ba moves inside a Notare line. There is Ashi and Yo and Kinsuji through the Mid. Yakiba widens in the Monouchi. Boshi is deeply set O-Gunome Midare mound turns to an abrupt Kaeri. Suriage Nakago has two Mekugi-ana and Bo-Hi resolves in Marudome. Signed in the Ji at the bottom: Bizen-no-Kuni Osafune Ju Nagayoshi (Chogi) 4 1 Quote
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