The sales of important collections are key parts of the auction world, as they represent the consolidated efforts by keen eyes to bring together pieces that fit their most discerning tastes. While most conventionally seen in the collection of traditional works of art, anything can be made into a collection, as Paul L. Davidson proved with his assortment of Japanese swords and armor.
A former US Marine and a lawyer by trade, Davidson was deeply engrossed in the world of Japanese swords and martial culture. He wrote and spoke Japanese and helped found the American branch of the Nippon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (NBTHK), the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, serving as its president since 2003. Davidson passed away in 2021.
Sotheby’s New York will offer, in an online sale, Davidson's collection of Japanese swords, armor sets, firearms, and other related items on sale between 13-25 March. Leading the sale is an exceptionally important sword from the 14th century attributed to the most important sword-making school in Japan at the time. It is estimated to be between US$180,000 and US$220,000.
Lot 705 | Yoshioka Ichimonji School | A katana registered as Tokubetsu Juyo Token [Exceptionally Important Sword]
Crica 14th Century
Provenance:
- By repute, Akimoto family, Japan
Estimate: US$180,000-220,000
During the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333), the bakufu, the military government of Japan, realized the need to improve its sword production operations and ordered various swordsmiths to move their operations from Kyoto. The Ichimonji School would come from this move and would eventually split into various sub-groups, including the Yoshioka School in Yoshioka, Bizen Province.
As a whole, the Ichimonji School was renowned for producing some of the greatest swords in this period, many of which have gone on to become famed national artifacts, with sources claiming that 70% of Japan’s national treasure swords originate from this era and school. Members of the school also served the Emperor directly, while more specifically, most of the members worked in Bizen, where the Yoshioka Ichimonji School was located.
The Yoshioka School was in almost near-constant competition with its sister school, the Fukuoka School, for dominance in the swordsmith trade within the Bizen region, with the Yoshioka School, producers of this lot, winning out. The Fukuoka school tended to lose their characteristics and failed to innovate in ways that would keep the school alive, while the Yoshioka thrived in Bizen province.
At the tip of the lot, note the distinctive hamon, the distinctive pattern created during the sword's hardening process
Certain elements identify this blade as one that originated with the Yoshioka School. For example, the hamon of the sword is the physical effect that happens around the blade's edge when being hardened, with this blade’s being particularly vibrant and paired with a very notable midare-utsuri, or polish.
The blade also has thicker lines within the grain of the blade, known as the kinsuji, and pronounced thin lines within the blade, known as sunagashi, which are indicative of the Yoshioka school and something they did different from their Fukuoka School counterparts.
What makes this lot so important, among Yoshioka School swords, is that the NBTHK has graded it as exceptionally important. This is due to its exceptional preservation and qualities that identify it as a well-crafted blade from the Kamakura Shogunate. Its provenance was also important as it was once property of the Akimoto family, a Daimyo family that ruled over the Tatebayashi domain, which lay slightly north of modern-day Tokyo, late in the Edo period of Japan.
Additionally, this blade is considered within the top ten blades to have come from the school, with the only ones that surpass it being graded by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs as artifacts that are important to the country and fall under export restrictions.
The oshigata, for this lot, this is a special drawing made of the sword that can be used to identify it without seeing it
Lot 704 | Attributed to Niji Kunitoshi (b. 1240) | A tachi registered as Tokubetsu Juyo Token [Exceptionally Important Sword]
Circa Kamakura period, 13th century
Provenance:
- By repute, carried in the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 by Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-1560)
Estimate: US$150,000-200,000
The production of Samurai swords was, as seen with the previous lot, dominated by these various schools, including the Rai School, which produced this lot. The de facto founder of the school, Kuniyuki’s successor, Kunitoshi, is a swordsmith to whom this lot is attributed.
This can be determined not just through his signature on the sword, but also, not unlike a piece of art, a swordsmith can imbue his sword with certain motifs or styles that are characteristic of a certain person. Elements such as the flamboyant hamon and the abundance of ko-nie, as well as crystals formed on the sword during the forging process, are identified as Kunitoshi work. The clarity of the metal and the slight bend also highlight this fact.
Collectors and the broader culture around Japanese swords highly regard works by Kunitoshi. Like the prior lot, other works by this swordsmith are protected by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, specifically a total of 23. Additionally, once narrowed down to works signed by Kunitoshi, there are only 12, including this lot, that fit. Finally, there is only one other lot comparable in quality and preservation to this specific sword, further enhancing its rarity.
The clarity of the sword's metal and small crystals are characteristic indicative of this swordsmith
Furthermore, the lot comes with the sword mountings and storage cases used to hold the sword when not in use, as well as a wood block print of the sword’s former wielder. It is alleged that Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-1560) carried this very sword at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560. The battle took place near the end of Japan’s Sengoku period, where various warring clans vied for power, and others such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu sought national unification.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was the head of a strong clan in Eastern Japan who opposed Oda Nobunaga’s efforts and sought to establish himself as the leader of the country. In 1560 he marched on Kyoto with 25,000 soldiers to capitalize on what he saw as a weak central government; however, in order to do so, he would have to travel through Nobunaga’s territory.
While Yoshimoto’s forces initially had success in overrunning several border forts, a large set-piece battle was developing in Okehazama, outside modern-day Nagoya. In a daring action led by Nobunaga, a small force of only 2000-3000 men aggressively assaulted Yoshimoto’s camp while others set up flags and banners, making it appear that Nobunaga had more forces than he had.
Unfortunately for Yoshimoto, most of his forces were drunk and caught off guard, having been celebrating their earlier victories. Yoshimoto quickly organized a withdrawal to a nearby village when he fought two Oda samurai and was killed, possibly while carrying this very sword on sale.
The woodblock print included in the lot depicts Yoshimoto and comes from the series Heroes of the Grand Pacification by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi. His name is altered on the print due to there being a ban on historical figures in Japanese media when this print was produced in the mid-1800s.
Lot 753 | Myochin Ki Muneyoshi | An elaborately mounted honkozane do-maru tosei gusoku [armour]
Circa Edo period, 18th – 19th century
Provenance:
- Tamura clan, daimyo of the Ichinoseki Domain in Mutsu Province
Estimate: US$150,000-200,000
In addition to his collection of swords, Davidson’s collection also included samurai armor. This specific kind of armor is referred to as tosei-gusoku (or simply gosoku), which came about in the 16th century after a shift towards mass-produced armor that large armies could use in major battles. Furthermore, modifications incorporated Portuguese elements such as full-plated iron armor.
The dō-maru aspect of the terminology emerged later on and involved the addition of colorful threads to the chest plate of the armor. Armor such as this, from this era, was very flashy and ceremonial. Following Japan’s unification, the large wars and battles that dictated the country’s political climate became rare, and thus the need for large pieces of armor. Instead, armor was concentrated in the ruling class as a status symbol, with the flashier dō-maru design aspects becoming key in representing that.
This is not to say armor wasn’t used, primarily to protect from assassins or putting down peasant revolts, but works such as the one on sale weren’t to be used in that sense and instead kept for the lords to preserve and show off. This one belonged to the Tamura clan in Northern Japan and incorporated various Dutch designs, Japan’s main European trade partner before opening up.
For example, on the helmet, in addition to the elaborate Japanese motifs such as the chrysanthemum, are seen alongside stenciled Dutch leather. Dutch leather could also be seen on the face mask, cuirass, shoulder guard, sleeves, thigh protectors, and shin guards. This was alongside the flash metals and textiles, further added to give the armor flare.
The clan this armor set belonged to was a more minor political player in the north, come the time of the Tokugawa shogunate and up until the Meiji Restoration. Its lands were split, and they were technically under the vassalage of another clan but also regarded as independent by the central government. As such, the piece of armor is highly representative of Japan’s complex and peacetime ruling class following unification, but before their opening up and eventual internal conflict that overthrew samurai rule, a last gasp of a golden age of military rule in the country.
Other Highlighted Lots:
Lot 754 | A kawazutsumi dangae-do tosei-gusoku
Circa Edo period, 18th – 19th century
Estimate: US$100,000-120,000
Lot 707 | Attributed to the Aoe school | A katana
Circa Kamakura period, 14th century
Estimate: US$80,000-120,000
Lot 706 | Attributed to the Ichimonji School | A naginata naoshi katana
Circa Kamakura period, 14th century
Estimate: US$80,000-120,000
Lot 706 | Signed Rai Kunitoshi | A tanto registered as Tokubetsu Juyo Token [Exceptionally Important Sword]
Circa Kamakura period, 13th century
Estimate: US$80,000-120,000
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby's New York (online sale)
Sale: Important Japanese Swords and Armour from the Paul L. Davidson Collection
Date: 13-25 March 2025 | Bidding ends at 11:00 am (New York local time)
Number of Lots: 74