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Reinventing the Sword Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2007 Reinventing the sword: a cultural comparison of the development of the sword in response to the advent of firearms in Spain and Japan Charles Edward Ethridge Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Ethridge, Charles Edward, "Reinventing the sword: a cultural comparison of the development of the sword in response to the advent of firearms in Spain and Japan" (2007). LSU Master's Theses. 3729. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3729 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REINVENTING THE SWORD: A CULTURAL COMPARISON OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SWORD IN RESPONSE TO THE ADVENT OF FIREARMS IN SPAIN AND JAPAN A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The School of Art by Charles E. Ethridge B.A., Louisiana State University, 1999 December 2007 Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Fredrikke Scollard, whose expertise, understanding, and patience added considerably to my graduate experience. I appreciate her knowledge of Eastern cultures and her drive to promote true ‘cross-cultural’ research. I would like to thank the other members of my committee, Professor H. Parrott Bacot and Professor David Culbert, for the guidance they provided during this project. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Tom Contine for taking time out from his busy schedule to serve as my external reader. I would also like to thank my family for the support they provided me through my entire life and in particular, I must acknowledge my wife and best friend, Robin, without whose love, encouragement and editing assistance, I would not have finished this thesis. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………...ii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………….…....iv Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….viii Chapter 1 Introduction...………………………………………………………………………...…...1 2 History of Spanish Sword Crafting and Aesthetics…………………………………….…8 3 History of Japanese Sword Crafting and Aesthetics……………………………………..20 4 Discussion of the Development in Both Countries After the Advent of the Firearm………………………………………………………….37 5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….59 References………………………………………………………………………………………..72 Appendix: Glossary……………………………………………………………………………...77 Vita.................................................................................................................................................80 iii List of Figures Figure 1-1: Roman and Middle Eastern Bronze Age Replicas ...................................................... 3 Figure 1-2: Examples of wootz and Damascened Steel ................................................................. 4 Figure 2-1: Bronze falcata ............................................................................................................. 9 Figure 2-2: Xiphos reproduction .................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2-3: Celtiberian Sword Replica and Celtiberian ‘sacrificed’ sword ................................. 10 Figure 2-4: Gladius hispaniensis ................................................................................................. 11 Figure 2-5: Shamshir and scimitar reproductions ........................................................................ 12 Figure 2-6: Bastard sword ............................................................................................................ 14 Figure 2-7: Modern falchion ........................................................................................................ 14 Figure 2-8: Battle of Kappel (1531) illustrating the use of zweihanders ..................................... 15 Figure 2-9: Espada ropera ........................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2-10: Tizona ....................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 2-11: Sword of Boabdil ...................................................................................................... 18 Figure 3-1: Prince Yamato Takeru by Kikuchi Yosai (1788-1878) ............................................ 20 Figure 3-2: Kusanagi (or replica) housed at Atsuta Shrine ......................................................... 21 Figure 3-3: Folding screen (date unknown) depicting early samurai warriors ............................ 22 Figure 3-4: A. Chinese copper sword (557-581 C.E.) B. Kusanagi C. Korean bronze dagger (500-300 B.C.E) ............................................................... 25 Figure 3-5: Kogarasa-maru sword circa 701 A.D. (attributed to Amakuni Yasutsuna) ........................................................................... 26 Figure 3-6: Tachi sword. Kamakura Period (1322). Tokyo National Museum ........................... 27 Figure 3-7: The Swordsmith of Mt Inari by Ogata Gekko (1859-1920) ...................................... 28 Figure 3-8: Sword blade attributed to Masamune ....................................................................... 29 iv Figure 3-9: Sword testing diagram of the Yamada family .......................................................... 30 Figure 3-10: Tanto blade, late Kamakura period, by Rai Kunitoshi (active ca. 1290–1320) ................................................................. 31 Figure 3-11: Nodachi wielded by unknown swordsman ............................................................... 31 Figure 3-12: Balinese kris with Damascened steel blade .............................................................. 34 Figure 4-1: Chinese firelance and grenade (upper right), 10th century C.E. ................................ 38 Figure 4-2: Chinese hand cannon ................................................................................................ 38 Figure 4-3: Battle of Legnica (April 1241) by Matthaus Merian (1593 – 1650) .......................................................................... 39 Figure 4-4: Ottoman mameluke using a handgun during a battle in the Habsburg wars ........................................................................ 41 Figure 4-5: Model of a 14 th century European arquebuser ......................................................... 41 Figure 4-6: Wako influence map .................................................................................................. 42 Figure 4-7: Samurai with arquebus ............................................................................................. 44 Figure 4-8: Tokugawa (Edo) period (1603 – 1868) screen depicting the battle of Sekigahara ............................................................................................. 45 Figure 4-9: Tokugawa (Edo) period arquebuses ......................................................................... 46 Figure 4-10: Lion armor, Italian or French, mid 16 th century ....................................................... 46 Figure 4-11: Stanisław Antoni Szczuka in a representative national Polish outfit with ornamental szabla (artist unknown) ............................................. 47 Figure 4-12: Shashka (date unknown) ........................................................................................... 48 Figure 4-13: Reproduction katzbalger ........................................................................................... 49 Figure 4-14: Danish swept hilt c. 1600 .......................................................................................... 50 Figure 4-15: Modern swept hilt ..................................................................................................... 50 Figure 4-16: 1894 cartoon drawing of Mr. Henry David Erskine wearing rapier ........................ 51 Figure 4-17: Modern daisho set ..................................................................................................... 52 v Figure 4-18: Sword fittings circa 1681 .......................................................................................... 53 Figure 4-19: Iron tsuba .................................................................................................................. 53 Figure 4-20: Three tsuba (left to right: shakudo, shibuichi and sentoku) ...................................... 54 Figure 4-21: Iron tsuba with Chinese motif ................................................................................... 54 Figure 4-22: Kagamishi -style tsuba ............................................................................................... 55 Figure 4-23: Nambam -style tsuba ..................................................................................................55 Figure 4-24: 19 th century collector’s export tsuba .........................................................................56 Figure 4-25: Saotome Muromachi tsuba ......................................................................................
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