"Katana" Mounting ("Uchigatana") with Wild-Ginger Crests 沃懸地葵紋蒔絵螺鈿打刀（国宝 太刀 福岡一文字助真の拵）いかけじあおいもんまきえらでんのうちがたな（こくほう たち ふくおかいちもんじすけざねのこしらえ）
Description
Round symbols depicting wild-ginger leaves adorn the grip, guard, and sheath. These are the official insignia of the Kishū Tokugawa, a branch of the family that ruled Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868). The symbols on the sheath alternate between two luxury finishes: gold powder suspended in lacquer and brilliant iridescent seashell.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
July 20, 2026