Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan at The Met Fifth Avenue

 

Detail of blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 
 
 

Samurai Splendor

Sword Fittings from Edo Japan

March 21, 2022 — Ongoing

 
 

After almost a century and a half of near-constant civil war and political upheaval, Japan unified under a new ruling family, the Tokugawa, in the early 1600s. Their reign lasted for more than 250 years, in an era referred to as the Edo period, after the town of Edo (present-day Tokyo) that became the new capital of Japan. The Tokugawa regime brought economic growth, prolonged peace, and widespread enjoyment of the arts and culture. The administration also imposed strict class separation and rigid regulations for all. As a result, the ruling class—with the shogun as governing military official, the daimyo as local feudal lords, and the samurai as their retainers—had only a few ways to display personal taste in public. Fittings and accessories for their swords, which were an indispensable symbol of power and authority, became a critical means of self-expression and a focal point of artistic creation.

This installation explores the luxurious aspects of Edo-period sword fashion, a fascinating form of arms and armor rarely featured in exhibitions outside Japan. It presents a selection of exquisite sword mountings, fittings, and related objects, including maker’s sketchbooks—all drawn from The Met collection and many rarely or never exhibited before.

This exhibition is made possible by the Vilcek Foundation.

 
 
 
 

Exhibition Highlights

 

Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

秋草に鹿図鐔 Sword Guard (Tsuba)
19th century
紫原壽良画 Murasakibara Toshiyoshi
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

秋草に鹿図鐔 Sword Guard (Tsuba)
19th century
紫原壽良画 Murasakibara Toshiyoshi
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

印籠刻昆虫図螺鈿据文象嵌鞘打刀拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
blade 17th century; mounting 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

印籠刻昆虫図螺鈿据文象嵌鞘打刀拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
blade 17th century; mounting 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

印籠刻昆虫図螺鈿据文象嵌鞘打刀拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
blade 17th century; mounting 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

虫尽金具大小拵 Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
blade, 17th century; mounting, early 19th century
Blade inscribed by Yokoyama Kōzukedaijō Sukesada
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

紅葉蒔絵鞘脇指拵 Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 18th century; mounting, 19th century
重武 Shigetake
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

紅葉蒔絵鞘脇指拵 Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
blade, 18th century; mounting, 19th century
重武 Shigetake
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mounting for a Dagger (Tantō)
mid-late 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade for a Dagger (Tantō)
mid–late 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade for a Dagger (Tantō)
mid–late 19th century
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portraits of Twenty-eight Metal Artists
Edo period (1615–1868)
Kitao Shigemasa
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fittings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō Soroi-Mono)
early 19th century
Inscribed by Masayoshi
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
Fittings inscribed by Takamoto Hidemune
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
blade, 16th century; mounting, 19th century
Fittings inscribed by Takamoto Hidemune
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art