''Shoami'' (or ''Ko-Shoami'') is a name of an artistic school (style) for making sword-guards (

tsuba Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings ('' tosogu'') that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored. refers to the ornate mountings of a Japanese sword (e.g. ''katana'') used when the ...

), mounted on a Japanese sword ('' uchi-gatana'' or just

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the '' tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge f ...

). The sword-guard is one of the most important symbols of the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

Etymology

The "ami" part of this name, which derives from the name of the Amida

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, was once used to indicate a rank among priests of a branch of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

called Jishu. Later, after the founding of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...

, a number of men engaged in serving the shogunal house in artistic or technical capacities included this word in their names.

History

In the

Muromachi The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

period,

of high standing began to use the ''uchi-gatana''; and as a result, outstanding guards for these weapons came into demand. Possibly the elevation of the status of the silver-smith to a position where he was entitled to use a name like Shoami dates from the time when craftsmen began producing fine sword guards of this kind. Naturally, as the popularity of the ''uchi-gatana'' increased, so did orders for them and for their guards. This in turn increased the number of people desiring to master the technique of guard design and production, since this field of endeavor promised prestige and reward. Apprentices to sword-guard makers must have grown in numbers, and probably feudal lords outside the capital invited these men to work for them. From the

period until the nineteenth-century edict prohibiting the carrying of swords, Shoami guards in a wide range of styles were being produced all over Japan. In fact, so numerous are the types of Shoami guards that it is even considered safe by some people to call anything unassignable to another group Shoami. Furthermore, although some Shoami guards produced for specific clients are of high quality, they were made in quantity to be treated as merchandise and sold as souvenirs of the capital city; and there is a tendency to regard Shoami guards generally as inferior.

Influence

Shoami guards had great influence on other schools of design and production. For example, Higo guards (produced in Higo Province), often called "the flower of sword guards," are closely connected with Shoami works. Such famous guard makers as Hirata Hikozo, Nishigaki Kanshiro, and Shimizu Jingo were trained in the Shoami style, and the Shoami influence is great in the works of Hayashi Matashichi and

Miyamoto Musashi , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

. Moreover, a large number of Shoami sword guards easily pass as products of the more highly regarded Higo, Kanayama, and Owari groups. For these reasons, Shoami guards deserve proper evaluation for their powerful influence and for their intrinsic merit as objects worthy of appreciation.

Aesthetics

The characteristic of the Shoami design is abundant movement with symmetry. The ''seppa-dai'' and the ''hitsu-ana'' for the ''kozuka'' and ''kogai'' are wide, giving the guards a slightly heavy appearance. Truly outstanding Shoami open-work guards are limited to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

Shoami,Japanese Crafts: A Complete Guide to Today's Traditional Handmade Objects by Craft Forum Japan (2001) p.153 and even among these the most valued are the Ko-Shoami, or old Shoami, from the

and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. Muro-machi-period Ko-Shoami guards have a style that falls between those of Kyo-sukashi and Owari. Those of the Momoyama period have elements in common with the style of Nishigaki of the Higo group.

References

{{Reflist Japanese swords

Etymology

History

Influence

Aesthetics

See also

References