The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-28
TRUE ART OF JAPAN
Tempering Swords One of Them-Deoo'
rations on the Hit and Sheath.

Toxic Letter in the Chicago Herald.
AS had been already mentioned in the
preceding article, there was time when
every wearer of sword aimed to combine
arts and practical use in his property.
The swords are now universally admitted
as unrivaled, but the time has
come when these qualities command
very little practical value, and
works of merit are classed with curios of
antique ages, while the skill and secret
of tempering the blade has almost en-
tirely been lost. Still the arts so lavishly
spent on the other parts of the sword,
though subsidiary in the days when the
merit Of the blade wss of prime impOr
tance yet live in full vigor as in ages
when swords were almost exclusive arms
of defense and attack. These arts include
several branches, commencing with metal
works, and ending with lacquer work and
silk braids. But of these arts the prin-
cipal part is occupied by metal works,
and the collectors of Yamato's arts
mostly seek this of sword furnitures. In
metal works it would not be too much to
say that before the restoration and the
new era opened with the meili emperor
the sword furnitures were the only field
for the highest art of metal works. What
other field there may have been, it was
exceedingly limited, while millions OF
sword wearers who were not content with
a couple of swords, and were equally eager
in possession of quantity as they were in
quality almost unlimited field was af-
forded for the artists, while merits of high
orders found liberal patronage of the
wealthy class and of the Daimios. But
along with the disappearance of so extern
sive and almost boundless a field IL may
naturally be concluded that the arts
which have decorated the principal prop
erty of Samurai and Daimio have gone
out of existence, but nowhere a greater
mistake has been made, for tine ability
of the old artists had been Dequeatned ia
fnll measure to their meiji representa-
lives" Only the field of application has
changed, and the art remains in full vigor
as it was in olden times.
Such namef as were mentioned
iu the preceding article fully
testify the assertion that the NELL era
had artists who are worthy to rank with
their renowned predecessors. The new
field in which these. artists now apply
their skill, having been already dwelt on
in the last article, IL might be well, for
the sake of occidental collectors OF
Yamato's antique works in metal, TO give
the nomenclatures of sword decorations
where, as has been stated, the skill and
ability of this class of artists were almost
concentrated.
NoMENCLATCREs OF SWORD FURNITURKs.
A japanese sword consists of,three prin-
cipal parts, viz, mnior blade, tsuka, or
hilt,and srya or sheath On the first the so
called artistic decoration has no place, the
sharpness, temper and strength being Of
the prime Importance. On the second
and the third, arts of different patterns
and styles were lavished, and they now
as separate pieces are sought after by
collectors and connoisseurs of both east
and west. The second, the tsuka, besides
different styles of silk braids covering
the shank skin. or of fancy materials
without the braids and the skin, has
| three parts where metallic art and skill
are fully displayed. They are kashira,
or the topmost menuki, or the central,
| and fuchi, or the lowest decoration. The
third the saya. besides lacquer work Of
| highest type, or some other workman
! ship, has two parts, where metallic car
vers and engravers lavished their skill,
', the principal part Of which is the koiiri,
OF the koifri, or the tip Of the sheath,
while the next is called kurikata, or a
knob, 10 which the sword string is at
tached. But in sarya, both koIin and
kurikata are often made Of lacquer with
out any metallic works. This is mostly the
case with the latter, while