Title: Blades and Mountings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō)
Object type: Blades and mountings for a pair of swords (Daishō)
Date: sword (katana) blade, dated 1440; short sword (wakizashi) blade, 15th century; mountings, late 18th century
Culture: Japanese
Artist: Long sword (katana) blade inscribed by Sukemitsu of Bizen 
Artist bio: Japanese, Bizen, Muromachi period, active ca. 1440
Artist nationality: Japanese
Artist role: Swordsmith
Medium: Steel, wood, lacquer, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), gold, copper, rayskin, silk
Dimensions: L. of sword (katana) 34 1/8 in. (86.7 cm); L. of sword (katana) blade 25 1/4 in. (64.1 cm); L. of sword (katana) scabbard 28 1/4 in. (71.8 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) 26 in. (66.0 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) blade 20 3/4 in. (52.7 cm); L. of short sword (wakizashi) scabbard 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm); L. of knife (kozuka) for short sword (wakizashi) mounting 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm)
Classification: Swords
Credit line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Gift of Howard Mansfield, 1936
Geography: Country of Origin    Japan      
Department: Arms and Armor
Repository: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY