Katana
Mumei, den Kinju
Early Nanbokuchō Period (1333-1392), circa 1340
NBTHK Jūyō Tōken
Nagasa [length]: 70.3 cm
Sori [curvature]: 1.8 cm
Motohaba [bottom width]: 3.1 cm
Sakihaba [top width]: 3 cm
Sugata [configuration]: Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, slight curvature with extended o-kissaki.
Kitae [forging pattern]: itame with moku majiri, hada tachi; on omote, yori nagare with jinie
Hamon [tempering pattern]: ko-notare with ko-gunome, deep nioi
Hataraki [activities]: sunagashi and kinsuji.
Boshi [point]: Midare-komi, hakikake, saki yakitsume
Nakago [tang]: o-suriage with three holes and kiri ending; yasurime katte sagari.
Horimono [carving]:Koshibi [short groove] on both sides
Origami [paper]: The blade comes with a Jūyō Tōken (Important Sword) Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken (Sword Particularly Worth of Preserving) certificate issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai in December 8th 1982 (29th session).
Sayagaki [certification on shirasaya]: The inscription by Tanobe sensei reads: “Item designated as Important Sword / Mino no kuni Kinju / Naginata-naoshi and unsigned, the period is Nanbokucho. At first glance, the style is that of Shizu but it is overall quiet. The workmanship shows the special characteristics for which Kinju is known. This is an exceptionall fine work of this smith, to be held in highest esteem. The cutting edge is 2 Shaku, 3 bun and 2 bu. December e2003, written by Tanzan.”
Imposing blade with a striking surface grain pattern reminiscent of the Yamato tradition: a mixture of fine wood-grain (mokume) with straight-grain (masame), the latter dominating in the shinogi-ji (the flat surface along the ridge of the blade). The steel has a dark tone and is traversed by delicate crystalline lines (chikei) that harmonize with a narrow, flowing and balanced temper pattern (hamon). This is further enlivened by bright streaks of hardened steel (kinsuji) and sweeping lines (sunagashi), both typical of Kinju’s workmanship. In certain areas these features cut across the undulating gunome-midare style of the hamon, producing small frayed effects (hotsure) characteristic of the Yamato style.
Kinju was known as one of the ten renowned disciples of the great master Masamune. Active in the late Kamakura period (1185–1333), he came from Echizen Tsuruga—his Buddhist name was Tsuami—and he was also known by the name Kaneshige. After completing his apprenticeship with Masamune, he moved to Seki, where he worked alongside Shizu Saburō Kaneuji. Together they completely replaced the older local tradition, giving rise to what would become the Mino school. Kinju and Shizu were active only in the very first stage of Mino (late Kamakura – early Nanbokuchō), when the style was still forming. It was precisely through the fusion of Yamato austerity and the more dynamic Sōshū style that, with gradual refinement, the distinctive character of the youngest of the five great classical traditions of swordmaking took shape.
The popularity of the Mino school grew considerably during the late Muromachi period and spread widely in the centuries that followed. Swordsmiths from this province disseminated their craft throughout the newly unified state, and their works became one of the key elements in shaping the shintō style of the early modern era. For this reason, although surviving works by Kinju are very rare, his role in the history of Japanese swordmaking remains of undeniable importance.
According to the inscription (sayagaki), Tanobe-sensei identified this blade as a naginata naoshi (a sword reshaped from a polearm), although when it was designated Jūyō Tōken (“Important Sword”) the NBTHK classified it as a katana. The overall shape, dominated by a large extended tip (ō-kissaki), is characteristic of the Nanbokuchō period, a time of fierce civil wars marked by martial display, both in the rivalry between the Northern and Southern Courts and in the fear of a third Mongol invasion. During this era blades were made longer than at any other time in history, often with such an extended tip that they could be shortened and reshaped if damaged in battle.
It is especially noteworthy that Tanobe remarked how, among the works of Kinju, this blade is of truly exceptional quality (Chin Chin Chō Chō), doubling the already emphatic formula Chin Chō (“an object of great rarity and value”) in order to stress its outstanding importance.
SOLD
(Inv. #2088)
