Mino tradition

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Centers of Japanese swordsmithing traditions. The Gokaden (including the province of Mino) are marked in red.

The Mino tradition ( Japanese 美濃 伝 , Mino-den ) is a collective name for swordsmith schools in the Japanese province of Mino , which had similar characteristics in different forms. The center of swordsmithing schools in the Mino tradition was the city of Seki near Gifu . Therefore, the term Seki-Tradition ( 関 伝 , Seki-den ) is common for swordsmith schools of this tradition .

The Mino tradition belonged to the Sōshū tradition , the Bizen tradition , the Yamashiro tradition and the Yamato tradition to the five classic Japanese swordsmithing traditions ( Gokaden ).

history

It is believed that the Mino tradition was founded by the swordsmiths Kaneuji and Kaneshige , students of the famous Sōshū swordsmith Masamune . The earliest blades also have many features of the Sōshū tradition and are difficult to distinguish from such blades. The assignment of blades by Kaneuji, who was influenced by both the Yamato and the Sōshū tradition, is even more difficult.

Characteristics

  • Sword blades of the Mino tradition are forged rather wide and long
  • The highest curvature has older blades (Ko-Mino) in the middle, so that they resemble the archway of a Shinto temple (Torii Sori). With later blades, the curvature shifts towards the blade tip (Saki Sori)
  • The hardness line ( hamon ) usually runs evenly and parallel to the cutting edge (suguha). In addition, however, there are also blade specimens with an irregular hardness line (Choji-midare).
  • The blade surface (hada) typically has a very fine, often hardly recognizable surface texture. There are also often martensite particles (Ji-nie) between the blade ridge and the hardening line.
  • The tang ( Nakago ) of older blades usually has a rounded tip (Kuri-Jiri), but pointed ends also appear in later phases (Kengyo).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Yumoto, John M .: The Samurai Sword - A Manual , p. 30.
  2. ↑ Kōkan, Nagayama: The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords , p. 116.

literature

  • Yasu Kizu: The Mino School of Swordsmiths . Hawley Publishings, Milwaukee 1991, ISBN 0910704163 .
  • Inami Hakusui: Nippon-Tō, The Japanese Sword . Kyoei Printing Co., Koriyama 1948.
  • Nagayama Kōkan: The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords . Kodansha International, 1998, ISBN 4770020716 , p. 122.
  • Markus Sesko: Genealogies and Schools of Japanese Swordsmiths . Books on Demand, 2010, ISBN 3839183472 , p. 57.
  • John M. Yumoto: The Samurai Sword - A Manual . Ordonnanz-Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-931-425-00-2 , p. 30 f.
  • Leon Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara: Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths - From 1868 to the Present . Kodansha USA, 2002, ISBN 4770019629 , p. 17.
  • William Tilley: One Hundred Masterpieces from the Collection of Dr. Walter A. Compton . Christie, Manson & Woods International, Inc. 1992, ISBN 1-880907-00-3 , pp. 52 f.

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