Page 273 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

of the tang is, Osumi no Jo Fujiwara Masa-
hiro, and on the reverse, An auspicious day
in the third month of the eleventh year of
Keichd [1606]. HY

178 Hydgo gusari no tachi mounting
wood, rayskin, silver, iron, gilt metal
length 103.8 (40 7/s)
Kamakura period, i3th century
Tokyo National Museum
Important Cultural Property
The name for this type of mounting refers
to the chains of woven wire, hydgo gusari,
used for the pair of hanging straps. Mag-
nificent yet austere, this mounting was
popular among high-ranking warriors from
the late Heian period into the Kamakura
period. After the middle of the Kamakura
period, however, hydgo gusari no tachi be-
gan to assume a more ceremonial function
and came to be produced exclusively for
dedication to temples and shrines.
This example is known as Hdjd Tachi
since it was dedicated to the Mishima
Taisha in Shizuoka Prefecture by a mem-
ber of the Hôjô family, regents of the Ka-
makura shogunate. The hilt is covered
with rayskin, and its edges are rimmed
with silver. On each side of the hilt, along
the lower edge, are four pairs of the mitsu
uroko mon, the design of contrasting trian-
gles that forms the Hôjô family crest. The
menuki (metal ornaments on the side of
the hilt) consist of the mon on an open-
work ground. The wooden sheath is cov-
ered with silver, which is incised and gilt
with a design of three sets of the mon and
held in place with other silver fittings; the
chains are also made of silver. The iron
tsuba (sword guard) is wrapped with thin
silver plate. Although not included in the
exhibition, the mounting usually holds a
steel Bizen blade dating from the mid-
Kamakura period. HY

179 Hydgo gusari no tachi mounting
wood, rayskin, gilt copper, silver
l
length 97 (38 /s)
Kamakura period, ijth century
Niutsuhime Jinja,
Wakayama Prefecture
Important Cultural Property
Niutsuhime Jinja in Wakayama Prefecture
has long been venerated as the Shinto pro-
tective shrine of Mount Koya, south of
Kyoto, a center of Shingon Buddhism since
the early ninth century. Among the many
sword-related items dedicated to the
shrine since the Heian period is this hydgo
gusari no tachi, an excellent example
thought to date from the late Kamakura
period. Its hilt, made of wood covered
with rayskin, is edged with gilt copper dec-
orated with a high-relief peony design on a
nanako (raised-dot) ground. The kabuto-

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