Warabi-te-tou

This is an iron sword with a curved handle shaped like a wrapped bracken. One example is the Kurosaku Yokotana sword found in the Shosoin Imperial Treasures, and this is a type of sword that was popular around the Nara period. The blade and handle are made as one piece, and the blade is wide and short, but not very curved. The mounting does not use a wooden handle, but instead wraps thread or bark directly around the handle, and then attaches a tsuba (hand guard) and habaki (blade), making the handle itself the handle. In addition to wooden scabbards, there seem to have been some made of leather, and they have either a single or double-legged metal foot. Many are found as grave goods in small circular tumuli and tunnel tombs, and at the Kumado Tomb in Iwate Prefecture they are found together with a Wadou Kaichin coin. They have also been found at the site of dwellings. According to a survey by Ishii Masakuni, 183 swords have been identified, and they are mostly found in Hokkaido and Tohoku (Iwate and Miyagi prefectures account for 50% of the total), as well as in the Kanto and Chubu eastern parts of Japan. Traditionally, it has been said that swords with a short and wide blade compared to the handle are older, and swords with a long and slender blade compared to the handle are newer. The origin of this sword is unclear, with several theories including that it evolved from the Kabutchinotachi (big sword with a head and spine), that it was introduced from overseas, and that it originated from a tosu (a sword with a blade like a knife). However, the Kenukigatatachi (big sword with a tweezer shape) used by Efu officials in the Heian period is believed to have developed from this sword.

[Kihachiro Goto]

"Masakuni Ishii, Warabiteto: A Study on the Origin of the Japanese Sword" (1966, Yuzankaku Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

柄頭(つかがしら)の形状が蕨の巻いた形の曲線をもつ鉄製の刀。正倉院御物のなかにある「黒作横刀」が実例としてあり、奈良時代を中心とするその前後に盛行した刀の一種である。刀身と柄が一体につくりだされ、刀身は幅広く短いが、反りはあまりない。拵(こしらえ)は柄木を用いず、茎(なかご)に糸・樹皮などを直接巻いたあとに喰出鐔(はみだしつば)・鎺(はばき)をつけ、茎をそのまま柄とする特徴をもつ。鞘(さや)には木製のほかに革製のものもあったようであり、双脚か単脚の足金物(あしかなもの)がつく。小円墳・横穴墓の副葬品として発見されるものが多く、岩手県熊堂古墳では和銅開珎(かいちん)と共伴している。ほかに住居址(し)からも発見されている。石井昌国(まさくに)の調査によれば183口が確認されており、その分布状況も北海道、東北（岩手・宮城両県が全体の50％を占める）を中心として関東、中部の東日本に多くみられる。従来、柄に比して身の短く幅広いものが古く、身が柄に比して細長いものが新しいといわれる。この刀の発生については頭椎大刀(かぶつちのたち)からの変化説や、外来説、刀子(とうす)を起源とする説などがあるが不明確である。しかし、平安時代の衛府(えふ)官人が用いた毛抜形太刀(けぬきがたたち)は、この刀が発達したものとされている。

［後藤喜八郎］

『石井昌国著『蕨手刀――日本刀の始源に関する一考察』（1966・雄山閣出版）』

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