Samurai sword
Chōunsai Koretoshi1895), Japan, 1855
iron, metal, wood, silk, 110 cm x 9 cm
Credits: The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
This samurai sword was made in one of the best workshops in Japan. Such swords were often worn together with a shorter sword. This combination of weapons was reserved to the samurai class: the military elite that ruled Japan for almost 700 years, until power changed hands in 1868.
Visible among the plaited silk decoration on the hilt is a metal ornament representing a small crab. It is a reference to an ancient legend about the death of samurai warriors during a sea battle in 1185. Even today, people still believe that the crabs in that area are reincarnations of the warriors who drowned in the battle.
- Object number
- hwm0362a
- Edition
- 2-delig
- Dimensions
- 110 cm x 9 cm
- blacksmith
- Chōunsai Koretoshi
- Credits
- The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
Suijver, Renske, Donders, Bram, Mesdag & Japan, Amsterdam, 2018, p. 22