Tachi
The Taikō, which began in the Heian period and has been a weapon of warfare used by samurai on horseback through the Kamakura, Nanboku dynasty, and Muromachi periods. Its body is long and curved, and it is generally belted with the blade facing down and hanging below the belt, so there are two hanging ring-like parts above the sheath.
In the exhibit, a 16th-century Muromachi period taiko, the handle of the knife is 230mm long, the blade is 735mm long, equipped with elegant and simple, is a typical style of the actual combat knife at that time, when riding a horse, you can pull the knife from the bottom up with one hand, and the other hand grasps the reins of the horse.
A Edo period-made Weifu Tai knife is a sabre of the Rokuefu, the Emperor's bodyguard, which is ornately equipped with a sheath of gold and a phoenix pattern from myths and legends. A Taiko knife made in the 9th year of the Edo Period (1826), the shape and ornate decoration of the knife are similar to the ancient Japanese Eduyaku Weifu Tai Knife, but the handle and sheath decoration of the Falun, Swastika and Lightning and other motifs mean that this knife was made for the temple, the sword inscription "Mutsusuke Fujiwara Hiromoto", of which"Fujiwara Hiromoto" is the name of the knife worker, he is the proud protégé of the famous knife worker Mizu shinko Masahide in the late Edo period, and the "Mutsusuke" in front of his name represents the region and official titles (Shou, Suke, 掾, 4 ranks of magistrates). This kind of sword inscription with an official title is called "receiving inscription", indicating that its knife-making skills were recognized by the imperial court and received official positions.
A separately exhibited Taiko knife body without a hilt or sheath was made in the 14th century Muromachi period (c. 1375), with the inscription "Sadaji of Bichinaka", the founder of the Kiyoe school of Bichin (one of the ancient Japanese shōgunates), who was recruited by Emperor Go-Toba, a third-generation descendant of the genre.
Knife fighting
Ushito Taiko, with the inscription "Mutsusuke Fujiwara Hiromoto", made in the Edo period 9th year of bunsei (1826); Weifu Taidao, made in the Edo period; Taikō, made in the 16th century Muromachi period; Short knife, made in the Edo period; Tai Dao (太刀), with the inscription "Prepared to go to Sadaji in China", was made around 1375; The top one was made in the Asuka period in the 6th century, and the others were made in the Edo period.
Knife fighting, made in the Edo period; Waki, produced in the Edo period; Waki, sword inscription "Hida Kunisumi Tadahiro", the body of the knife was made around 1600, and the knife was made in the late Edo period in the 19th century; Fighting knife, blade with "Mihosugi" blade pattern, made in the middle of the 16th century Warring States period; Knife holder, made in the Edo period
"Mihomasugi" blade detail
The knife, commonly known in Japanese as a knife, was a weapon of warfare that emerged after the middle of the Muromachi period and was used until the end of the Edo period. The difference with the Tai Dao is that the knife is mainly used for infantry combat rather than fighting immediately, so the bend is smaller, the blade is slightly shorter, the blade is inserted upwards into the waist when wearing, and after being pulled out, it can directly draw an arc in the air, and directly swing with a coherent action, because the knife is faster than the Tai Knife, and it is more rapid and agile to use. In the exhibit, a knife with the inscription "Kunisho" was made in 1505 during the Muromachi period. A knife from the Warring States period in the mid-16th century is the work of The Japanese Mino Kuni sword worker Kenmoto. One of the most notable features of the knife from the Mino region is that the hardened blade section presents a horizontal row of "Mihosugi" (the figurative pattern of three juxtaposed fir trees), which was used as a paradigm for popular Japanese swords in the 20th century. A 17th-century knife, built by Edo (Tokyo's former name) Hoseiji Sword Worker Sadayuki, was a weapon worn by a military doctor with the rank of an officer during World War II.
Coercion
It was made in the Edo period and decorated with deformed geese and lake water
Wakisa, sword inscription "Tanba Moriyoshimichi", made in the 17th century Edo period; Knife, knife inscription "Kunishiro", made in the Muromachi period in 1505; Waki, knife body made in the 17th century, sword inscription "Echizen Yasuji", knife suit made in the 19th century; Knife fighting, made in the 17th century, was installed on new sabers during World War II; Shin Saber Sho (Army Knife), assembled during the Showa period, sword body is a work of the Kamakura period in 1380; Shin Saber Shoji (Navy Knife), assembled in the Showa period, sword body worked in 1670; Knife fighting, built in the 17th century by Edo (the former name of Tokyo) Hoseiji Sword Craftsman Sadayuki; Long scroll, made in the Muromachi period in the 14th and 15th centuries, with vague inscriptions such as "Dangma" and "Yamato Kuniku sword", suspected of being a forgery; Pickaxe, made in the Edo period.
The knife is also known as the threat finger, the blade is short and straight, the length of the handle is only for one hand to hold, the knife is usually equipped in the form of a knife similar to the knife, the blade length is 300 ~ 600mm, which can be regarded as a shorter "knife". From the late Muromachi period, Wakisa is a secondary sword other than the main long sword carried by Japanese samurai, suitable for close combat in narrow environments, and is carried with the left waist along with the fighting knife, collectively known as "size".
Among the exhibits are two pieces of Muromachi period threats, which belong to the weapons of war worn by samurai, the earliest of which was made around 1400 and made by Kaga Kunikugun Kudoshima; Another sword inscription, "Zhenzong", was made in the mid-15th century. During the "Onin Rebellion" of 1467-1477, most of the fighting took place in the narrow streets and alleys of Kyoto, and the threat was the most practical weapon. Other exhibits of the same kind are from the Edo period and are mostly commercialized weapons made for the wealthy merchant class.
During the peacetime period of the Edo period, many merchants accumulated a great deal of wealth, because the long sword was a symbol of the samurai and was not allowed to be worn by the common people, while the merchants spent a lot of their money on coercion and short swords. With the surge in market demand, some knife craftsmen are assigned to create knife bodies with exquisite carved decorations, while some craftsmen specialize in the decoration design of various types of fixtures. One of the well-made swords in the exhibit is a well-crafted sword by a skilled artist from the late Edo period in the 19th century, and the body of the knife was made in the 1600s by the famous knife maker "Hitada Kunisumi Tadahiro". A 1650 sword inscription "Tanba Morikido" was written by the Fujiwara Yoshimichi family, a famous swordsman in Kyoto, Japan, who was enthroned as Tanba Mori (Sanpin Prefectural Official' Name) in the fourth year of Bunroku (1595), and since then the swords he and his descendants have built have been inscribed with the inscription "Tanba Morikido".
Nanban iron short knife, the blade comes from Germany, using Japanese technology to reshape and harden
Around 1650, the family moved to the commercial city of Osaka to create short knives for the wealthy merchants and citizens, and the exhibit on display was the first generation of "Yoshido Osaka", along with a late 17th-century knife, the fourth generation of "Yoshidō Kyoto". A 19th-century assembled sword body made in the 17th century with the inscription "Echizen Yasuji", the sheath of the sword is redecorated with a dragon pattern. This ornate decoration was completely out of the market demand at that time, with the reopening of Japan in 1853, especially after the promulgation of the "Abolition Of the Sword Order" in 1876, many old swords became the darlings of the competition, the market demand grew like a flood, in order to be able to sell a good price, many old knives were equipped with gorgeous equipment.
dagger
Short knives are daggers, and the length of the blade is generally less than 300mm, without hand guards, and there are many types. The two short knives on display were both made in the Edo period, and one of them, known as the "Southern Iron Dagger", was made using blades from Germany and re-molded and hardened using Japanese technology, which seems to be the only Japanese dagger in the world made in this way.
New saber
With the promulgation and implementation of the "Abolition Of Knives Order" in 1876 and the acceleration of the modernization process, the weapons and tactical systems of the Japanese army began to be westernized, and the sabers worn were also adopted in the European style of Western knives, and mass-produced using machining methods. Sabers manufactured and equipped before 1935 are called old sabers, and sabers manufactured and equipped after 1935 and before World War II are called new sabers. The new saber is designed for army and navy officers based on the traditional taiko style, and unlike the old saber, the hilt base can be fitted with both a newly produced saber and a traditional Japanese samurai sword. The two new saber exhibits on display, the knife body (the form of the knife body, the handle, the sheath and other assemblies) are the new sabers, and the knife body is a Tai dao created in the 14th and 17th centuries.
Spear (9 poles) and gun head sheath (2), diplomatic gifts from shogun Tokugawa Ieshige to Queen Victoria in 1860; Spear (sheathed), iron handguard with handle, sakai family motif, made in the 19th century Edo period; Spear (sheathed) with z-shaped bladed septum on the handle, made in the 19th century Edo period; The Ten Character Gun, a long-handled weapon similar to a halberd, was made in the 18th century Edo period
Along with various types of Japanese swords, there are also many sword pickaxes (knife hand guards), the earliest of which is the Asuka period product of the 6th century AD, and the largest number of products of the Edo period. Early picks were practical and simple to make, while later ones were lavishly decorated. In the Edo period, pickaxes were basically designed and made as works of art.
薙刀 (with sheath), the body of the knife was made in the late 17th century, the sword inscription "Takeshi Zo Fujiwara Kuniho", the handle of the knife may have been made in the 19th century; A sword, a diplomatic gift from Tokugawa Ieshige to Queen Victoria in 1860; Blade (sheathed), unmarked, Edo period honor guard weapon
Long weapons
Pike
The spear, or spear, was a long-handled weapon used in warfare by the retinue of the medieval Japanese samurai "Foot light" (infantry), and was more used in display and sacrificial ceremonies in the Edo period, the cross-section of the gun head was usually quadrilateral, with a head sheath, the head sheath was usually decorated with a family coat of arms, and the wooden long handle surface was painted, which had a protective and decorative effect.
A set of lavishly decorated spears (9 poles) was made in the mid-19th century as part of a diplomatic gift given to Queen Victoria by shogun Tokugawa Ieshige in 1860. These spears are very finely crafted, with wooden grips with mother-of-pearl inlays, decorated with traditional Japanese lacquer painting, and the tip of the gun comes with a golden sheath. A sheathed spear of the Sakai family, from the Edo period in the 19th century, with a total length of 3685 mm and a gun head length of 151 mm, is unusual in that the grip handle has a rare iron hand guard with the Sakai family pattern on it, which allows the gun bearer to enhance the stability of the grip in battle. A shorter sheathed spear, dated to the 19th century, with a total length of 2352 mm, a tip length of 138 mm, a sheath length of 219 mm, and three hoops with embossed decorations on the front half of the grip, and a Z-shaped bladed septum on the third hoop. A "Ten Character Gun", also known as a Curved Gun, made in the 18th century Edo period, is a long-handled weapon similar to a halberd, in addition to the spear-shaped gun head, there are two different shapes of blades, the shape of which may be influenced by the European halberd. The grip has an ornate decoration and is clearly a weapon to display.
Stick (long handle is truncated), a trap for capturing fugitives, made in the 19th century Edo period
halberd
The sword is a long-handled weapon with unique Japanese characteristics, originally used by temple monks, and later became a common weapon for samurai, the length of the handle is usually 900 ~ 1800mm, the blade length is 300 ~ 600mm, the shape of the knife is similar to the traditional samurai sword, the front of the sword is curved. In the early days, the handle of the knife was slightly shorter and the body of the knife was longer, and the body of the knife that appeared in the later period was short, and some of them were exclusively for women. During the Heian-Kamakura period, the sword was a popular weapon of war, and in the peacetime period of the Edo period, the sword was as often used as the spear for honor guards.
In the exhibit, a Tokugawa Ieshige knife is one of the many Gifts of Japanese Weapons given to Queen Victoria in 1860, the front and back of the handle are painted, brown and black, respectively, and the gold carving is luxurious and elegant, which is a fine work of japanese swords in the 19th century. A Shodaira family knife (with a sheath), 2114 mm in total length and 344 mm in blade length, the handle of the knife may have been made in the 19th century, decorated with gold sorrel and white oak leaf coat of arms, these two family crests represent a branch of the Matsudaira family. Its body was made in the late 17th century, and the inscription "Takeshi Zoe Fujiwara Kuniho" is written. There is also a 19th century unmarked knife (with a sheath), with a total length of 2 756 mm, a blade length of 410 mm, and a sheath length of 485 mm, which is more well-made and belongs to the sword used for ceremonial guards.
The rotary tube three-barrel arquebus gun has a similar mechanism to the "pepper bottle" pistol that appeared in Europe at the same time, but the bolt system is still stuck in the arquebus gun era
Scroll
Long scroll, total length 1800 ~ 2 100mm, handle length 900 ~ 1200mm, blade length of about 900mm, its shape is similar to the long handle of the big Tai knife, appeared around the Time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, gradually popular in the Muromachi period, the Sengoku period and the Azuchi Momoyama period. Among the exhibits is a long scroll from the early 14th century Muromachi period, with the inscription "Unji". According to reports, Unji was one of the representative figures of the "Cloud School" knife workers in the Bizen Kingdom, and the blade pattern made by this school was shaped like a rolling cloud, and Emperor Toba greatly appreciated this and gave him the name of Yunzi. The long scroll on display was later transformed into a knife, with the stem shortened and the body thinner. Another long scroll of the Muromachi period, dating from the 14th to the 15th century, is engraved with vague words such as "Dangma" and "Yamato Kuni Sword", which is suspected of being a forgery.
Miniature arquebus guns, made in the 19th century in the Edo period, decorated with four-eyed coats of arms used by different daimyo families, and are loaned by the Victoria-Albert Museum
Japanese firearm arquebusier, made in the 19th century in the Edo period, with a hojo family fish scale coat of arms in the barrel, loaned by the Victoria-Albert Museum; Arquebusier, made in the 18th century Edo period, barrel decorated with a genpei battle motif; Arquebus gun, made in the 19th century Edo period, with a carp jumping gantry motif on the barrel; Arquebus, made in the 19th century Edo period, the barrel is decorated with gold, silver and bronze, decorated with the Tokugawa family hollyhock coat of arms and Buddha, Jizo Sanskrit
Japanese firearm arquebusier, also known as "Yama King Arquebus", made in the 19th century Edo period, loaned by the Victoria-Albert Museum; Arquebus gun, made in the Edo period in the 19th century, with a barrel decorated with a Matsutsuru and Matsudaira family coat of arms, loaned by the Victoria-Albert Museum; Arquebus gun, also known as "auspicious arquebus gun", made in the 19th century Edo period, the barrel is decorated with a phoenix sycamore pattern; Arquebus, made in the 19th century Edo period, the butt is decorated with lion, peony, chrysanthemum motifs, and the barrel is decorated with the coat of arms of the Matsu, Crane and Matsudaira clans
Sticks
The stick, a long-handled weapon covered with barbs, is mainly used to capture escaped prisoners, and is one of the "three traps" (sleeve, stick, and thorn) commonly used in Japan, which can hook the clothes of the captured person and force him to lean against the wall or fall to the ground. Similar tools are often placed in groups on shelves outside the cell, which is also a deterrent to prisoners with escape intentions. One of the sticks on display was made in the 19th century Edo period and has been truncated with a long handle.
Hayaku (gunpowder measuring instrument and fixture), made in the Edo period in the 19th century
Muskets
Japanese muskets originated in Europe. In 1543, the Portuguese came to Tanegashima, Japan, by boat, and brought with them the first European-made arquebusier, thus beginning the process of Japanese military reform. From the initial purchase to the later large number of imitations, the Japanese firearms manufacturing industry was first developed in Tanegashima, and more and more arquebusiers have been used in warfare ever since. According to historical records, the earliest record of the Japanese using arquebusiers in warfare is 1549. By the end of the Japanese Civil War in the 16th century, arquebusiers had become the main weapon of warfare, especially in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575 and the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The large-scale equipment of arquebusiers made the originally low-status "foot light" (infantry) the main factor in determining the outcome of the war, and the prominent samurai seemed to take a back seat.
A firing pistol disguised as a dagger
After the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo and controlled all of Japan. During the Edo period, which lasted more than 260 years, Japan practiced a closed-door policy for most of the time, expelling foreigners and maintaining only foreign trade and trade relations with China and the Netherlands. At the same time, the manufacture and use of firearms was also placed under the control of the Tokugawa shogunate. While these policies and prohibitions have been effective in maintaining internal peace and preventing civil unrest, they have also inhibited social development and technological progress. It was not until the middle of the 19th century, when the Western capitalist powers forced Japan to open its doors with strong ships and cannons, prompting Japan to transform from a feudal society to a modern state, and a new page was opened in firearms manufacturing.
Mustard cannon, fired by squeezing the grip above the barrel, was loaned by the Victoria-Albert Museum
Most of the Japanese muskets on display in the museum are arquebusiers made in the late Edo period in the 19th century, including long rifles, carbines and pistols. These guns are finely crafted, decorated with gold, silver and copper patterns and family coats of arms, and belong to the weapons and equipment of the Tokugawa shogunate and the chiefs of the various domains. What they commonly feature is that the bolt adopts the firing mechanism of the early Portuguese arquebusier, the main spring is set outside the bolt panel, the rifle and the carbine have no shoulder stock, and the basic structure has not changed much compared to the 16th century "Tanegashima-style arquebus". A set of gunpowder measuring instruments and fixtures known as "early combinations", manufactured in the 19th century, which may be copied from similar instruments introduced by the Netherlands in the 17th century. A "wheel-winged three-barreled arquebus gun" (rotary tube three-barrel arquebus gun), which is an innovative firearm, and its transfer mechanism is similar to the "pepper bottle" pistol that appeared in Europe at the same time, but the bolt system still stays in the arquebus gun era. Several arquebusiers on display at the museum were loaned by the Victoria-Albert Museum.
Two small firing pistols, imitating Belgian pistols
There are also four firing pistols produced in the Meiji era of Japan in the 19th century, one of which is disguised as a dagger, which is extremely concealed in appearance; A special firing pistol known as the "mustard gun" is a special firing pistol that combines the barrel and grip, and the firing is completed by squeezing the grip above the barrel; The other two were small shot pistols modeled after Belgium. This shows that after opening the country in the middle and late 19th century, Japan quickly absorbed the advanced weapons production technology in Europe, and the manufacture of firearms directly entered the era of firing guns from the arquebus gun era, and ranked among the ranks of modern weapons manufacturing.
Leave a message in the lower right corner and see which cold weapon you like!