Important Cultural PropertyLong sword signed Yamatonori Nagasaku

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  • Shikkake Norinaga
  • 1 piece
  • blade L70.6 Curvature2.1
  • Kamakura period/13th century
  • Tokyo National Museum
  • F-58

While it is believed that sword production already began in the Nara period in Yamato no Kuni (current Nara), many sword schools, such as Senjuin, Taima, Shikkake, Hosho and the Tegai schools, as well as master swordsmiths, emerged in the Kamakura period. Norinaga is believed to be the virtual founder of the Shikkake school. His swords bearing the inscriptions of 1319 and 1340 remain now, which indicates that he produced swords in the late Kamakura period. This sword features a high and wide shinogi (the ridge between the blade and the back) and a strong and sturdy form characteristic of the Yamato forging tradition. While the hamon (literally "blade pattern," which is a visual effect created on the blade by the hardening process) of suguha (straight pattern) with kogunome (a sequential pattern of small dots) is one of the characteristics of Norinaga's swords, the kogunome of this sword is particularly highlighted by the presence of tobiyaki found among the kogunome. It had been handed down to the Makeda family and was presented to Emperor Meiji in the modern period.

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