The designation of important cultural property was given to this sword fitting, not to the sword. This is the sheath of Atakigiri, a sword of Kuroda Yoshitaka, the founder of the Fukuoka Clan, who is also known as Kanbyo-e or Josui.
The sheath is entirely wrapped in a sheet of gold, which is embossed in kin arare-ji structure. It’s audaciously designed by coating the bottom part in blue lacquer. The hilt is wrapped with shark skin tied with Fusube leather, and three paulownia crests in red, bronze and gold can be seen through the gap called "menuki." The butt cap called the "kashira" is in a high relief of a surging wave on its gold surface. On its ridge, the same design is inscribed on red bronze.
At its "kurigata", a protrusion on the sheath to keep the sword hanging in the right position, a "shitodome", or hole cover, which is made of pure gold, is attached.
The tip of the scabbard is covered with a silver metal part called the "kuwagata." The handguard is made of iron and in the shape of "kakumimi", a semi-square-like circle with a thick rim. Both sides of the handguard were entirely rasped in such a way that the lines radiate from the center to the rim.
The contrast of gold, silver, vermillion and green are very vivid. The gorgeous design represents the trend of the Momoyama period very well.
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| Inscription on the Bottom of the Metal Collar |
The sword Atakigiri has a two-ply metal collar made of pure gold. On the bottom surface of the metal collar is inscribed “小判明寿”. The inscription confirms the fact that the metal collar was made by Umetada Myoju, a renowned metal smith of the Momoyama period, who is considered to be a pioneer of “新刀” swords, which were made popular in the 16th to the 17th centuries. We can also assume that the whole scabbard was made under Myoju’s supervision.
“Sword Umetada Myoju, a resident of Nishijin in Yamashiro state” (Important Cultural Property stored at the Kyoto National Museum) is a sword made by Myoju, with the inscription “August. 1598 Don’t give it to anyone.“ Which means, in 1598, the swordsmith was already a priest and called himself “Myoju”. It tells us that the sword must have been made from 1598 to 1604, the year Yoshitaka (Josui) passed away. The sheath of the sword Heshikiri Hasebe (national treasure) is said to have been created imitating the Atakigiri’s sheath.
Both sheaths have refined kin-arare embossed patterns, in which one big nodule surrounded by six smaller nodules are neatly arranged. The Atakigiri’s sheath’s kin-arare motifs were more damaged compared to the Heshikiri Hasebe's, and the thread that covers the hilt is worn out. These traces prove that the sword was actually used in battle.
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| Close up of the Kin-arare motif of the Atakigiri’s sheath |
The knife edge has the inscription “Bishu Osafune Sukesada” on the front side, and on its back, is inscribed “大永二二年八月日”, the date equivalent to August 1524. From these inscriptions, we can assume that the sword was made by Osafune Sukesada, who lived in Suebizen.
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| The Sword Atakigiri |
The name of the sword “Ataki Giri” is taken from Kuroda Yoshitaka’s exploits in the conquest of Shikoku. According to the “Kuroda Family’s History” and the “Kuroda Family’s Treasure and Code of Etiquette”, Yoshitaka sailed to Awaji and took Yura castle, a castle of Atagi Kawachi no kami in present-day Hyogo prefecture. The sword was named Atakigiri (Ataki Slayer) because Yoshitaka used this sword when he killed Ataki Kawachi no kami.
The front side of the tang is inscribed with the swordsmith’s name, with “Atakigiri Wakige Otoshi” in gold inlay. The Atakigiri is a “meibutsu” (treasure sword that was registered as a masterpiece by government) and the Wakige Otoshi is a method of test cutting.
In test cutting, a real human body was used and the sharpness of the sword was determined by which body part the sword cut off. Wakige is a line which connects both armpits and it has a higher degree of difficulty compared to other body parts usually used in test cutting.
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