Japanese Sword Study Series #10

Seattle Art Sword Token Kai

Japanese Sword Study Series #10

Developments in the Sue Koto, Part 2

From Oei (1392-1420) to Genki (1570-1573)

1:00 PM Saturday, January 11, 2020

Japanese Art Swords

A gallery of fine blades and related art

Located in Rain City Fencing Center

1776 136th Pl NE, Bellevue, WA 98005

At the end of the Nambokucho with the resolution of the imperial succession and the return of the Ashikaga shogunate to Kyoto, the country settled into a period of peace for several years. The Oei Bizen Osafune school led a revival of the Kamakura style partially based on extant suriage and osuriage blades. Other schools followed. With the commencement of the Onin war (1467-1477) and its attendant upheavals, fighting styles changed and the fighting sword changed in response. The disturbances in politics, the economy, and the resulting social upheaval led directly to what became known as the Sengoku jidai, the Age of the Warring states, with further changes in tactics and weapon styles. Along the way, a vast and profitable trade with China and the Korean kingdoms arose, leading to mass exports of swords to China.

In Part 1, we followed the Bizen Osafune lineage through this time of change. In Part 2, we will look at examples of other schools across Japan that reflect these stylistic changes during the Muromachi era.

As always, we will review safe handling, sword etiquette, and formal viewing of the nihonto. Anyone interested in the Japanese sword as an object of art, craft, and history is invited to attend.

Seattle Art Sword Token Kai is a group dedicated to the study of nihonto, the Japanese sword. Seattle Art Sword Token Kai’s advisor is Tatsuhiko Konno, a licensed sword polisher with over 40 years experience in the study of Japanese swords. The lecturer is Steve Colton, who has been collecting and studying Japanese swords for 40 years

To RSVP, contactB. Tsutakawa (206) 234-4685 or email [email protected].