A Ryôkai Katana (了戒)

*Ryôkai* is said to be the son of grandmaster *Rai Kunitoshi*, one of the most celebrated smiths of the Kamakura period. He left the Rai family at the age of 16 and took the priest name *Ryôkai*. Existing dated signatures range between the 5th year of *Shôô* era (1292) and the 2nd year of *Enkyô* era (1309) – dates that firmly support his close relation to Rai Kunitoshi, whose active period was around *Kôan* era (1278~1288). Ryôkai was known to produce rather slender *tachi*, and this sword carries all the hallmarks of his hand. It was once a long tachi that was greatly shortened to its *ô-suriage* form in approximately the late Muromachi to early Edo period, losing its signature in the process.

The *jigane* is a dense *ko-itame* with fine *ji-nie*, showing some clear *masame-hada* and *shirake-utsuri* – characteristics closely associated with the Rai school tradition. The upper *kissaki* area is particularly striking, with beautifully forged layers of free-flowing straight grain *masame-hada* folded and preserved for us to appreciate over 700 years later. The *hamon* carries a distinctly bluish tint – a quality feature often seen on better Kotô-period blades – and features an eclectic mix of *suguha* with *ko-gunome* and *ko-chôji*, with plenty of *ko-ashi*, *kinsuji*, and long streams of *sunagashi* running through it. The *nakago* features *kaki-tôshi* – grooves extending right through the butt end of the tang – and retains a gold-wrapped *habaki* with crisp horizontal file marks.

The *koshirae* is a magnificent *aogai-mijin-nuri* uchigatana mounting from the late Edo period (1780~1867), its saya lacquered in dense mother-of-pearl that shimmers like stars scattered across the night sky. The *tsuba* is a polished iron piece attributed to the *Kyô-Shôami* school, circa 1700~1780, depicting rolling waves in a quadratic design within a circular form, with an impressively preserved *nunome-zôgan* gold inlay pattern etched around the rim. The iron *fuchi-kashira* features elements of samurai weaponry and armour and has been certified to the *Tôryûsai* school of Edo from the late Edo period. The *menuki* are tethered horses of black *shakudô* and gold – a nod to the mounted warriors who once carried *tachi* such as this. Both the koshirae and its fittings carry NTHK-NPO Kanteishô certificates of authenticity. Ryôkai is ranked *jô-saku* – a superior swordsmith – an impressive achievement given the calibre of smiths at the top of their craft at the close of the golden Kamakura period.