Ayanokoji

[Ray Singer]

Hi all, I am having a hard time understanding the sugata of this sword.

 

https://www.aoi-art.com/auction/en/auct ... 1213703271

 

The shape is incorrect for the time period, unless the sword is a nagamaki/naginata naoshi (which I am assuming this is not). Is there a precedent for other such swords from mid-kamakura with a sugata we would ordinarily kantei to Nambokucho?

 

- Ray

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Ray,

I checked Harry Watson's translation of Nihonto Koza, volume 2, page 49. It has an Aya no Koji family tree that shows 2 generations of Sadatoshi followed by Sadasuke who was in turn followed by Sukeyuki. If the dates for Sadatoshi are 1264-75 (according to this book), then 3 generations later could be mid Nambokucho. That's all I can come up with as an answer to your question. This is obviously not early sugata.

Early Aya no Koji work is wonderful; some of the best in my estimation. I have a Meiji era full length oshigata of a Sadatoshi tachi hanging next to my desk, a pre WWII Kokuho. The Sadatoshi Kokuho at the Metropolitan in New York recently was among the favorites of the show for me.

Grey

[Ted Tenold]

Ray, to add on to Grey's comment, I agree this is not Kamakura looking shape but elludes to a probable Nambokucho period sword. To me it is indeed a naganata/maki naoshi, but the shape is definately awkward, particularly in the kissaki. Also note how straight the sori is from the mid-section of the blade to the tip. It's not natural or harmonious to the overall shape of the blade to the eye. My guess is that the point was severly broken or blunted thus requiring radical pulling back of the tip and installing this shape as a best effort to save it. Also if the damage to the kissaki is severe enough, repairing it can require removing steel from the mune to save a boshi from running off the hasaki thus compromising the integrity of the sword. Obviously, this can really play havoc with the sori and other elements of the adjacent lines and radii, and balance can be difficult if not impossible to ammenably adjust. I hope my crude attempt at illustrating this on the oshigata helps explain the process a bit more clearly.

 

Ayanokoji swords are infrequently encountered. Even with this odd shape it's nice to have what few examples are out there.

 

Just my thoughts on it.

[Ray Singer]

Thank you both for the feedback, I did not catch the lack of sori in the mono-uchi. Ted, that excellent diagram makes it very clear what would have been there before. I have to wonder if another smith/polisher would have been able to do a more elegant naoshi on this piece, but do so by removing even more of the original material from the mune. Perhaps a future owner will want to revisit this. Just by way of comparison, another naginatanaoshi that has been greatly reworked...

 

https://www.aoi-art.com/auction/img/tem ... 1709_2.jpg