粟田口吉光短刀
Awataguchi Yoshimitsu Tantō
Aussi connu sous le nom de: Yoshimitsu; Supreme Master of the Japanese Tantō; Peerless Kamakura Short Blade
Description
Awataguchi Yoshimitsu — known by his common name Tōshirō Yoshimitsu — is universally regarded as the greatest maker of tantō (short blades) in Japanese sword history. Working in the second half of the 13th century in Kyoto, he produced short blades of incomparable beauty: a crystalline, densely packed ko-itame grain that glows like polished steel, a supremely refined suguha hamon, and an overall aesthetic of quiet perfection in which nothing is excessive and nothing is missing. Multiple National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties by Yoshimitsu survive, including famous named pieces such as Ichigo Hitofuri, Hirano Tōshirō, and many others that passed through the greatest rulers of Japan. His work established the aesthetic standard for the tantō format that has never been surpassed.
Légendes et récits
Toyotomi Hideyoshi is said to have declared that all the treasures of Japan belonged to him — but the tantō of Yoshimitsu were gifts from heaven itself. He possessed Ichigo Hitofuri, Hirano Tōshirō, Hakata Tōshirō, and other famous Yoshimitsu pieces, and his obsession with them became legendary. When Osaka Castle fell in 1615 and the Toyotomi clan was destroyed, the fate of these blades became entwined with the dynasty's end: Ichigo Hitofuri is said to have been beside Lady Yodo when she took her life in the burning castle tower, then miraculously recovered from the ruins. It now rests in the Imperial Collection. That a blade made seven centuries ago should have witnessed so much history, survived so much destruction, and still exists today as a National Treasure is the essence of what makes Yoshimitsu's work legendary.