???????? Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi) Swordsmith ?? Shigetake Japanese blade, 18th century; mounting, 19th century The mounting features a scabbard lacquered to resemble tree bark and decorated with maple leaves and an ornament in the shape of a cicada. With a snail that forms the cord knob (kurigata) and snakes as hilt ornaments (menuki), it is likely that the design refers to a popular East Asian hand game (Japanese: san-sukumi ken, ?????) that was introduced to the West as Rock Paper Scissors. The third element would be a frog. In China, the snail is replaced by a centipede, which
???????? Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi) Swordsmith ?? Shigetake Japanese blade, 18th century; mounting, 19th century The mounting features a scabbard lacquered to resemble tree bark and decorated with maple leaves and an ornament in the shape of a cicada. With a snail that forms the cord knob (kurigata) and snakes as hilt ornaments (menuki), it is likely that the design refers to a popular East Asian hand game (Japanese: san-sukumi ken, ?????) that was introduced to the West as Rock Paper Scissors. The third element would be a frog. In China, the snail is replaced by a centipede, which, interestingly, appears on the sword guard (tsuba) here. The maker of the blade, Shigetake (??), was active in Edo during the 18th century, but the lineage to which he belonged is unclear. View more. ???????? Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi). Japanese. blade, 18th century; mounting, 19th century. Steel, wood, lacquer, rayskin (same), thread, copper-gold alloy (shakud?), gold, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi). Daggers
Size: 4000px × 2000px
Photo credit: © MET/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: front
