Cloisonnée Enamel Japanese Tachi Sword

Now sold.

Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868 the samurai class was abolished and replaced by a modern army. Swords continued to be made but the focus shifted especially to work in iron and other mediums for decorative forms such as this enamal tachi made in the finest Japanese cloisonne enamel.

This sword is a a fine tachi koshirae that represents the finest quality of enamel work of the time. It is decorated with roundels with traditional Japanese motifs, including, wisteria, butterflies and flowers, over a dark ground with small scrolls. Some of the roundels are filled with especially vibrant and sparkling colors, probably ground semi-precious stones.  There are additionally roosters inlaid as the primary decorative set piece.

In the mid-1800s, Japanese artists began crafting cloisonné. They were precise. Their work stood out, technical and disciplined.

Cloisonné had always been used for small touches—a sword fitting, a temple ornament. Nothing of large forms, such as this tachi.  But during the Meiji era, Japan mastered the craft. Between 1890 and 1910, it reached perfection and this was the "Golden Age" of Japanese enamelwork,

Kaji Tsunekichi started it all. He was a samurai, a man who had once lived by the sword. When that life ended, he turned to metal and he needed money. They say, in 1838, he observed and beheld a Chinese cloisonné. Curious, he took it apart and made a dish. He worked day and night, hammering, and refining. After a year, he made a plate. Six inches. It was considered at the time to be perfect.

In 1871, the Nagoya Cloisonné Company was born. Toshima, near Nagoya. Tsukamoto Jine'mon and Muramatsu Hikoshichi founded it. In 1873, Europeans noticed and they earned and international award for their work and started a craze for Japanese metalwork in Europe.

Other companies followed. Toshima became the heart of it all. Cloisonné poured out of the region, precise and brilliant.  Other famous Japanese enamel cloisonnee artists include Namikawa Yasuyuki was born in 1845. He learned early. By 1868, he was working in Kyoto at The Shippo Kaisha. He stayed until 1874, then opened his shop.  He showed his work to the world. Paris, 1878. Philadelphia, 1876. Tokyo, 1877. Each piece was intricate. Delicate wirework. Impeccable detail. Collectors took notice. Travelers, too. Rudyard Kipling, they say, was one.

The court of Emperor Meiji noticed. They made him an Imperial Court Artist. It was an honor, a ticket to fortune. His work sold at higher prices and his name carried weight.  The Golden Age had its masters. Yasuyuki led them, but he wasn’t alone. Hayashi Kodenji. Namikawa Sosuke. Kawade Shibataro all became known masters and such tachi swords were produced by many of them often unsigned.