Page 120 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

knife) or the kogai (a kind of bodkin), or they could form menuki, small decorative pieces bound on either
side of the hilt. The collar and the pommel of the hilt would usually match if both were metal. All metal
parts of both swords could match for luxurious mountings, and the blades might even be by the same
maker, although it was very prestigious to have blades by different master smiths of earlier centuries.

M E T A L The tradition of using shakudo fittings by the Goto family dates from the Muromachi period, when
C O M P O N E N T S Ashikaga Yorimasa gave a commission to Goto Yújó (1440-1512). The descendants ofYújó served suc-
OF S W O R D cessive military rulers through seventeen generations over four centuries. The use of black was in
M O U N T I N G S accordance with ancient custom, for since the Nara period (710 - 794) swords whose mountings were 119
wholly lacquered black existed alongside highly decorative mountings with gold-lacquered scabbards.
The shakudo copper alloy contained i to 5 percent gold and sometimes other metals such as
silver. A poorly refined copper (yamagane, or "mountain metal") contained trace impurities of arsenic
and antimony, which seem to have been deliberately added to some shakudo during the Edo period.
The nascent alloy is copper red, but it was patinated with various ingredients — among which plum
vinegar is often named — to achieve black and near black. The color of fine shakudo was compared to
a crow's wings in the rain, but purple and other fine nuances occur in some shades of black obtained.
Standard Goto work employed a shakudo ground of a regular raised pattern made with a hollow
punch. The array of minute hemispherical protuberances was called nanako, or "fish roe." This fine
and geometrically accurate decorative technique probably originated in the punched surfaces of Chinese
Tang-dynasty silver wares. Indeed early generations of the Goto family specialized in Chinese-style
designs inlaid in silver and gold, which were very much to the taste of the Ashikaga shogun. The designs
included the flower, bird, insect, and animal designs prevalent in Yújó's native Minó province as well
as Chinese Buddhist subjects like the monk Pudai (Japanese: Hotei), themes from Buddhist-inspired
arts, legendary creatures, and subjects from Daoist and popular Chinese mythology.
Yújó and other metalworkers of the early generations specialized in matching sets of three sword
fittings — menuki, kógai, andkozufea (the kozuka being the hilt for a utility knife secured at one side of the
scabbard). The sets produced by the early Goto masters were highly valued throughout the Edo period. The

hollow decorative pieces were beaten out over forms of pitch, which is sometimes found still adhering to
the inside. The subjects of the design were either sculpted into the ground or made separately and mechan-
ically adhered to the ground using hammers, points, and chisels. Pieces sculpted in high relief might
have details in silver and gold inlay.
The sword guard was the most important part of the mounting. The most visible piece of the en-
semble, it had the crucial function of preventing the hand from slipping onto the blade in time of combat.
The Goto family and its offshoots made sword guards of shakudo throughout the Edo period, but there
were many regional schools that used different metals. Some sword guards were made of iron and deco-
rated with motifs sculpted into or above the ground, or pierced in positive or negative silhouette, which
might be further embellished with a softer metal inlay.
In the peaceful period around the end of the seventeenth century, sword making suffered a
momentary decline, but the demand for luxurious sword mountings increased. At this time it was com-
mon for the merchant class to carry richly embellished short swords, and the fittings became more
widely appreciated as works of art in their own right. The repertoire of alloys and manufacturing tech-