Title: Blades and Mountings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō)
Object type: Blades and mountings for a pair of swords (Daishō)
Date: blades, dated 1839; mountings, 19th century
Culture: Japanese
Artist: Blades inscribed by Naotane Taikei 
Artist bio: Japanese, Yamagata 1778–1857 Edo
Artist nationality: Japanese
Artist role: Swordsmith
Medium: Steel, wood, lacquer, rayskin, silk, iron, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper, gold, silver, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi)
Dimensions: L. of sword (katana) 39 1/4 in. (99.8 cm); L. of sword (katana) blade 36 31/32 in. (93.9 cm); L. of sword (katana) blade cutting edge 28 5/8 in. (72.7 cm); D. of sword (katana) blade curvature 1 7/32 in. (3.1 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) 26 3/4 in. (67.9 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) blade 17 27/32 in. (45.3 cm); D. of short sword (wakizashi) blade curvature 9/64 in. (0.36 cm)
Classification: Swords
Credit line: Gift of Brayton Ives and W. T. Walters, 1891
Geography: Country of Origin Hagi Nagato Province (Yamaguchi Prefecture)  Japan      
Department: Arms and Armor
Repository: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY