TANTO ENJU

NTHK PAPERS

SUGATA: HIRA ZUKURI

MEI: ENJU

NAGASA: 12.625″ (32cm)

OVERALL: 17.625″ (44.76cm)

MIHABA: 1.5″ (3.8cm)

KASANE: 0.312″ (0.78cm)

SORI: 0″

NAKAGO: UBU

MEKUGI ANA: ONE

MUNE: IORI

HADA: O-ITAME

HAMON: MIDARE with NIOI

HORIMONO: SUKASHI GOMA HASHI WITH TSUME

This Tanto was sold recently but is being relisted. Sadly, the previous buyer passed away and his widow asked if I would assist her in re-selling it.

Koto period Tanto papered to the Enju school. This Tanto appears to be a copy of the famous Hocho Masamune. It features a Hada of O-Itame and a Hamon of thick Nioi. The Horimono are done in rarely seen sukashi, going completly through, in the motif of Goma Hashi or chopsticks with Tsume or claw. Habaki is wood.

There is an elaborate inscription carved into the saya , which is a Buddhist prayer, “NAMU MYOHO RENGE KYO” . This is a prayer used by the Nichiren Buddhist Sect, and also the Sokugakkai, which is a religious and political party in Japan. It’s meaning is basically as follows:

Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō – 南無妙法蓮華経; Devotion to the Law of the Lotus Flower Scripture) is a mantra that is chanted as the central practice of all forms of Nichiren Buddhism. The mantra is referred to as Daimoku (題目, title; also, in some schools, O-daimoku: お題目) and was first revealed by the Japanese Buddhist teacher Nichiren on the 28th day of the fourth lunar month of AD 1253 at Kiyomizu-dera (also, Seichōji) near Kominato in current-day Chiba, Japan. The practice of chanting the daimoku is called shōdai (唱題). The purpose of chanting daimoku is to attain perfect and complete awakening (enlightenment).

Namu: The words na and mu derive from Sanskrit. A close translation of its meaning is “to devote oneself”. Nichiren established the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a means to enable all people to put their lives in harmony or rhythm with the law of life, or Dharma. In the original Sanskrit, nam indicates the elements of action and attitude, and refers therefore to the correct action one needs to take and the attitude one needs to develop in order to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.

Myoho: Myoho literally means the Mystic Law, and expresses the relationship between the life inherent in the universe and the many different ways this life expresses itself. Myo refers to the very essence of life, the mystic law which is “invisible” and beyond intellectual understanding.

Renge: Renge means lotus flower. The lotus blooms and produces seeds at the same time, and thus represents the simultaneity of cause and effect. The circumstances and quality of our individual lives are determined by the causes and effects, both good and bad, that we accumulate (through our thoughts, words and actions) at each moment. This is called our “karma.” The law of cause and effect explains that we each have personal responsibility for our own destiny. We create our destiny and we can change it. The lotus flower grows and blooms in a muddy pond, and yet remains pristine and free from any defilement, symbolizing the emergence of Buddhahood from within the life of an ordinary person.

Kyo: Kyo literally means sutra, the voice or teaching of a Buddha. In this sense, it also means sound, rhythm or vibration.

“When deluded, one is called an ordinary human being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.”

—Nichiren, On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime