Demonstrations of Sword Craftsmen and Armorers
Let me introduce a sword event held at the Yasukuni Shrine which was built in Kudan of Tokyo in 1869 as well as some photos of its worshippers.
The shrine was visited lots of worshippers even under harsh circumstances of the pandemic and there was a long queue in front of the main hall of the shrine also a lot of other events were going in the precincts of the shrine.
The number of the worshipers to the shrine reached to 82,000 between January 1 and 3 (last year 110,000). It is supposed that the number of the visitors decreased because of an adverse influence of the pandemic this year.
The Yasukuni Shrine holds many events related to the Japanese Sword during New Year Holiday every year.
“Spring Sword Exhibition Dedicated to the Yasukuni Shrine”
(January 1 and 14 in 2023)
One tachiDlouhý japonský meč používaný především pro boj z koňského hřbetu v období koto. Byla n... More, 4 katanaDlouhý japonský meč nošený za pásem obi ostřím nahoru, obecně definovaný délkou čepele n... More, 5 wakizashiKrátký japonský meč, obecně definovaný délkou čepele mezi 30 až 60 cm, 1 shaku až 2 sha... More and 5 tantoKrátký japonský meč, obvykle definovaný délkou čepele nagasa do 30 cm, do 1 shaku, 11 palců.... More were on display the exhibition. Meanwhile swordsmiths explained of their works to the visitors including many sword fans. Also many photos and illustrations of swords were on display and helped them to understand the works of the sword craftsmen and armorers.
“Special Open Demonstrations by Sword Craftsmen”
(January 1 and 2 in 2023)
– Sword polishing by Okisato and his son, Tatsuya Fujishiro
– HorimonoDekorativní nebo náboženské řezby čepelí. More by Shuha Hashimoto and Sofu Kinoshita
– Shirasaya by Miyuki Mizuno
(January 3 in 2023)
– Sword making, forming, clay coating and chiseling (mei-kiri) by swordsmiths belong to the Kanto Branch of the All-Japan swordsmiths Association
– Armor dressing by armorers
“Gendai-to Viewing”
The Kanto Branch of the All-Japan Swordsmiths Association held the 10th sword viewing of their works at the shrine on the 15th of January.
The sword viewing was attended by 11 men and 19 women. It appears that more women attended the viewing as a result of the boom of an animation film titled “Kimetsu no Yaiba” (The blade of Demon) which has been very popular among young generations, especially young girls.
KanteiObecně znamená prohlídka nebo lépe posouzení meče. Jde tedy o proces, při kterém se odborní... More competition of gendai-to by Kawasaki Akihira, Shimojima Fusahiro, Mori Mitsuhiro and Ozawa Shigenori was held at the same time. Also 5 gendai-to were on display for their appreciation. There were 8 persons who made hit the makers and the result surprised the smiths. The winners were given awards of kogatanaJakýkoli nůž, zvláště malý nůž nošený v kapse pochvy saya u katana, wakizashi, popř. tan... More by the smiths.
A building used for sword forging, which produced about 8,000 Yasukuni-to (1932-1945) remains in the precincts of the shrine, so-called “NihontoNihonto je doslovný překlad pro japonský meč a je tím myšlen: Podle zjednodušené definice je... More Tanren Kai”. The building is converted to a tea house by now and tea ceremony is held there.
Photos
1: Gate to Main hall
2: Lucky Chinese lion bringing a fortune to you
3: Long queue to the main hall
4: Oracle drawn by lot
5: Making Ema (votive horse tablet) with their desires
6: Sword event site
7: Sword explanation by Ishii Narimichi (swordsmith)
8: Mei-kiri by Mori Mitsuhiro
9: Clay coating by Takahashi Tsuneyoshi
10: SayaPochva meče. More making by Mizuno Miyuki
11: Sword polishing by Fujishiro Tatsuya
12: Carving by Kinoshita Sofu
13: Dressing armor by Armorer
14: Gendai-to viewing
15: Sword explanation of Shimojima Fusahiro by himself
16: KanteiObecně znamená prohlídka nebo lépe posouzení meče. Jde tedy o proces, při kterém se odborní... More winners
17: Building of the NihontoNihonto je doslovný překlad pro japonský meč a je tím myšlen: Podle zjednodušené definice je... More Tanren Kai (Sword forging factory)
Thanks for the permission of the date collections by the Yasukuni Shrine and the Kanto Branch of the All-Japan Swordsmiths Association.
Article and photos by Tom Kishida.
