- Messages
- 30
- Reactions
- 51
- Ad Type
- For Sale
- Price
- $1500
- Manufacturer
- Other / Not Listed
- Caliber
- Other / Not Listed
- City
- Lorane
- State
- Oregon
- Zip Code
- 97451
I don't speak or read Japanese. Someone who does told me that the markings on the tang, in English, are "Haru Hikaru," which is presumed to be the maker's name and translates into "Bright (or shiny) Spring" (like the season). This dagger with original wooden scabbard is 12 1/2 inches overall length. Blade is 7 1/2 inches plus about two more inches of tang into the three-inch handle. The scabbard is painted with green lacquer with crushed sea-shells in the mix, the end result being rather sparkly. You can see in the photo that, due to age, some of the lacquer has peeled away from the wood. The black trim in four separate locations is carved horn, I don't know whether it is cow or ox or what. The "utensils" are made of silver with an ornamental decoration on one side. The two pieces dovetail together to each other and hold themselves firmly in place with like, spring tension or something. The handle of the dagger is covered in manta-ray skin and decorated at each end with copper. The copper band and the copper grip cap are both engraved with a six-sided geometric pattern that reminds me of a tortoise shell. Each side of the grip is adorned with an amethyst Buddha, but the Buddhas might not be original to the dagger, rather added "aftermarket," but I don't know either way -they were on it when I acquired it. The entire dagger disassembles with one copper screw and escutcheon in the handle. The two-piece tsuba is likewise made of copper and copper wire is spooled tightly around the blade as reinforcement. That all does not work, however, and the handle has almost a quarter inch of slop or waggle from the blade. I'm sure that this is due to age.
This is obviously not your average kitchen tool, not a warrior's weapon, nor would this have been owned by a peasant. My own research tells me that in Japan, up until somewhere near the year 1860, that daggers "like this one" were regarded almost like an article of clothing, sort of like a necktie with your business suit. Not necessarily functional, yet the man was not "properly dressed" without his dagger, and the more prestigious the dagger, the more prestigious the man. Somewhere during the 1860s, Emperor Meiji attempted to modernize Japan (Watch the movie "The Last Samurai," starring Tom Cruise, a fictional tale presented on top of Japan's transition into modern times, and a great movie!), and the wearing of ANY weapons in public was outlawed, whether functional or decorative, unless you were military. After the end of World War Two, during the American occupation of Japan, many family heirlooms were traded to American soldiers for food. I remember the ads in "Shotgun News" in the 1970s where the Japanese government was looking to buy and thereby bring such cultural treasures back to Japan. I have owned this dagger since 1997, but I've never seen those ads again, and I've showed it off to everyone I know to the point where I am finally willing to let it go. You could make it yours.
This is obviously not your average kitchen tool, not a warrior's weapon, nor would this have been owned by a peasant. My own research tells me that in Japan, up until somewhere near the year 1860, that daggers "like this one" were regarded almost like an article of clothing, sort of like a necktie with your business suit. Not necessarily functional, yet the man was not "properly dressed" without his dagger, and the more prestigious the dagger, the more prestigious the man. Somewhere during the 1860s, Emperor Meiji attempted to modernize Japan (Watch the movie "The Last Samurai," starring Tom Cruise, a fictional tale presented on top of Japan's transition into modern times, and a great movie!), and the wearing of ANY weapons in public was outlawed, whether functional or decorative, unless you were military. After the end of World War Two, during the American occupation of Japan, many family heirlooms were traded to American soldiers for food. I remember the ads in "Shotgun News" in the 1970s where the Japanese government was looking to buy and thereby bring such cultural treasures back to Japan. I have owned this dagger since 1997, but I've never seen those ads again, and I've showed it off to everyone I know to the point where I am finally willing to let it go. You could make it yours.
