Kanemoto Mageroku

[jasongarabedian]

It appears from pictures i have seen that Kanemoto blades have flatter hira-niku profile than other nihonto, but could this be a result of years of polishing, or did he indeed make them this way from the beginning? Also, im sure that even though kanemoto blades "appear" to be flat on the hira-ji, they are somewhat still convex in shape, just not as pronounced as other nihonto.

 

Have a good one.

 

Jason Garabedian

[Geraint]

Hi Jason.

 

As no one else has responded let me at least offer some thoughts. You must have a good eye if you can spot hira niku from illustrations! To deal with your points in reverse order, yes his blades do have hira niku and of course the shape, including niku will be altered by repeated polishing though a good polisher would do their best to retain characteristic features of the smiths work. Your question sent me searching for oshigata and information and here are my conclusions. Late Muromachi katana sugata is typically for one handed use. The kasane is thin and the shinogi runs a little closer to the mune of the blade than in some periods. All this would tend to appear as a flatter section between the shinogi and the ha, especially in photographs.

 

However this from Token Bijutsu No. 37, of a katana by Magaroku Kanemoto, "the hiraniku lacking substance making a very flat appearance is characteristic of the Suemono produced at the end of the Koto period, and was a common trait of Seki works in particular."

 

Happy Christmas.

[Ron STL]

A Christmas Day last minute comment or two...I have a longer than normally seen Kanemoto (70.2 cm) which is what I like to call a "textbook" sword. There is an excellent description on "what to expect to see" in a Magoroku Kanemoto blade, in the Connoisseur book. When showing my sword to collectors who truly recognize Kanemoto's work, the first thing they notice and comment on in the hada. Their first comment is, "Ah, Kanemoto's hada!" Again, read up on this in the Connoisseur book and then look for it on a sword when opportunity knocks.

 

Ron STL