Reflections on the 'Hosokawa Masterpiece Swords' Exhibition

I visited the 'Hosokawa Masterpiece Swords' exhibition, which is being held at the Eisei-Bunko Museum until May 7, 2023.

Advance reservations are required for viewing, but since I arrived a little earlier than my reserved time, I took a quick stroll around the area.

It was time, so I went in. The following is the former Hosokawa Marquis family's administrative office (office) where the exhibition is being held. Although it is a relatively new building constructed in the early Showa period, I was able to enjoy the exhibition in a very tasteful building. (Photography is not allowed inside the building.)

1. Reflections on the exhibition

・Ikoma Mitsutada

A Mitsutada that is different from the Ko-Bizen style Mitsutada. The jigane (forging) is very tight and refined, giving it the appearance of a Shinto sword, but the nioiguchi of the choji-ba (clove-shaped temper line) is very soft, clear, and full of vigor. Utsuri (reflections) could be seen faintly. It is o-suriage (greatly shortened) and has a gold inlay by Kotoku on the nakago (tang).

・Moriiye

Personally, this Moriiye was the piece that I thought was a Mitsutada at first glance, and it was a tachi with a prominent kawazu-choji (frog-spawn clove) hamon. It is truly a masterpiece among masterpieces. Because there are works like this, I don't really understand the difference between Moriiye and Mitsutada. I wonder if it is the difference in mihaba (width) and sori (curvature).

・Kokon Denju no Tachi

This is a work by Bungo no Kuni Yukihira that moved me the most this time. With a blade length of 80 cm and a curvature of 2.8 cm, it has the elegant, slender, and waist-curved appearance seen in the late Heian period, with a large yaki-otoshi (unhardened section) of about 5 cm, and carvings of Sanskrit characters and a Kurikara dragon on the blade near the machi. The hamon is based on a straight line with small nie, with tobiyaki (scattered hardened spots) seen here and there, and the hada (surface pattern) is well-forged with ji-nie. Something like nie-utsuri can also be seen. Above all, it is wonderful that it is in such a healthy condition.

・Hocho Masamune

The hada is prominent, and the blade is very nie-laden, which can be seen as Soshu-den at first glance. I could see an utsuri that looked like a mikage (water shadow), but it was quite faint, so I felt it might be a tsukare-utsuri (fatigue reflection). The fact that the ji and ha are still clear despite being worn down this much shows the quality of the muku-gitae (solid forging).

・Tsuba (Sword Guards)

The Hosokawa family possesses many masterpieces such as those by Naochika, Hikosa, and Kanie. I was excited because masterpieces that are often featured in books were all gathered together. However, it is a pity that the iron color is not well understood because the lights are not hitting them and there is a distance to the tsuba due to the display case. However, even for Naochika, there are no iron pieces that look dry; they are all black and glossy. I feel the spirit of wabi-sabi in the fact that they intentionally created the appearance of the nunome-zogan (cloth-inlay) peeling off, starting with the Important Cultural Property 'Broken Fan' tsuba. And above all, what was shocking was Hikosa's 'Yatsumoku-kuyo-sukashi Karakusa-mon Tsuba'. I thought it was just a tsuba with round openwork, but when I looked closely, a karakusa (arabesque) pattern was drawn smoothly on the surface. I feel like I have seen this technique in tachi-shi tsuba, but I was shocked that it also exists in Hikosa's work. As for the Kanie work, it should be said that it is according to the rules, and everything is very thin. When viewed from the side of the case, the iron color could be seen well, and it still has a black and glossy color.

・Sword Fittings

In addition to tsuba, a great many other items were on display, including menuki, kozuka, and fuchi-gashira by the Goto family, as well as works by Nara Toshihisa, Yasuchika, and Yokoya Somin.
It really makes you want to see the back of the menuki as well, doesn't it?
I would like to create a display case in the future that allows you to see the back of the menuki.
Yasuchika's chashaku-zutsu (tea scoop case) motif kozuka is an interesting piece that depicts a kozuka as a tea scoop case, and the way two plates are joined and only the front side is carved like water droplets gives it a deep, refined quality.
An interesting item.

2. Conclusion

Perhaps because it was a weekday, it wasn't overly crowded and was relatively easy to view, but it suddenly became busy halfway through, with particularly large crowds around swords featured in Touken Ranbu, such as the Kokindenju-no-Tachi and Kasen Kanesada.
The lighting for the swords was excellent, making the hamon and jitetsu very easy to see.
Unfortunately, I couldn't see the tsuba very well, so I would have liked to see them in a slightly brighter environment.
That said, it is truly impressive to see so many masterpieces lined up.

There is also a stamp rally at the venue, and it is said that you can receive a novelty item if you collect them all.
If you are interested, you might want to give it a try!

I bought one catalog at the merchandise corner. I am grateful that the oshigata (rubbings/tracings) of the blades are also included.
I couldn't take my time looking around the Hosokawa Garden this time, so I would definitely like to go back.

Thank you for reading again this time!
If you enjoyed this, I would be happy if you could press the like button ^^
It encourages me to update my articles.
Well then, everyone, have a wonderful sword life!

↓ The person writing this article (Sword Box Maker Keisuke Nakamura)

I manufacture and sell display cases for swords based on the concept of 'Living with Swords.'