Deer antler-adorned sword

Japanese: 鹿角装刀剣 - ろっかくそうとうけん

An iron long sword or katana fitted with a pommel, handle edge, mouth of the scabbard, and tail of the scabbard carved from a deer antler. Excavated from burial mounds of the 5th and 6th centuries, this is a type of sword mounting that developed uniquely in Japan before the adoption of Chinese-style mounting styles using metal fittings. Fifth-century antler-mounted swords used the same fittings for both swords and long swords. That is, the pommel fitting was cylindrical with a step on the front end, and a rectangular blind hole was drilled into the rear for the insertion of a pommel. The handle fitting was an elliptical truncated cone-shaped body that was wide at the back and narrow at the front, with a cylindrical protrusion attached to the back, and a part equivalent to a habaki was carved into the rear to be combined with the mouth fitting.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

鹿角を彫刻して作った把頭（つかがしら），把縁（つかぶち），鞘口（さやぐち），鞘尾（さやじり）の各部品を装着する鉄製の大刀（たち）または剣。5～6世紀の古墳から出土し，金属装具を用いる中国系の外装形式を受容する以前の，日本で独自に発達した刀剣外装である。5世紀型の鹿角装刀剣は，剣と大刀とに同一形状の装具を用いた。すなわち，把頭装具は円筒形で前端面に段を設け，後面に長方形の盲孔を穿って把木を挿入する。把縁装具は後面を広く前面を狭くした楕円錐台形の本体の背側に円柱状の突出部をとりつけた形とし，後面に鎺（はばき）に相当する部分を造りだして鞘口装具に組み合わせる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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