Tachi Sword with Fittings

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Tachi Sword with Fittings
Japan; blade (shin): Kamakura period; 13th c.

The upper part of the scabbard and the hilt of this long one-edged sword are wrapped with a silk ribbon. This kind of sword is called itomaki no tachi. It appeared in the 10th c. and was perfected during the Kamakura period for close fighting on horseback. On the hilt of the blade there is the signature of the master-swordsmith.

In Japan sword making was considered an almost mystical act so that those blades made by famous craftsmen were cherished in the families of the nobility and the shogun awarded them for special services. In later times the blades were placed in costly scabbards.