Japanese feudal era sword guards might have been owned by 'hidden Christian' samurai

CB Condez Monday, May 23, 2016

Several Japanese feudal era sword guards on display at a museum might have been made or belonged to "hidden Christians" at a time when Christianity was banned in Japan.

"It is extremely rare to find sword guards used after the adoption of anti-Christian policies," said an official at the Sawada Miki Kinenkan museum, as quoted by The Asahi Shimbun. "The findings indicate that they kept their deep faith (despite persecution)."

Swordswoman Chie Tanaka practices with a sword during a session of a 500-year-old Japanese martial art Iaido at a 'dojo', or training hall, in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, February 21, 2004. | REUTERS/ISSEI KATO

According to the report, since November 2015, Yuhiko Nakanishi, chairman of Nihon Token Hozon Kai, a nonprofit Japanese sword preservation association, had been examining the 367 sword guards owned by the museum. The materials and techniques used to make the artifacts as well as design and other factors were also considered in order to make an estimate on when they were created.

Image of The Asahi Shimbun report on what could possibly be "hidden Christian" sword guards at the Sawada Miki Kinenkan museum. | Sawada Miki Kinenkan/ The Asahi Shimbun

Forty-eight were identified to have belonged to Christians, and more than 10 of these could have been created somewhere between 1467 and 1568 during the Sengoku period. It was duriing this Warring States era that some warlords were believers of Christianity. The other sword guards are estimated to have been made after 1596, the year that warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi adopted anti-Christian policies. Christians then hid their Christian faith, only expressing it by drawing crosses on different objects.

The sword guards, having been among the samurai's most the important ornaments for their swords, is believed to have been designed with hidden crosses to prove their Christianity, albeit in secret.

"A characteristic of sword guards made after anti-Christian measures were taken is that Christians carefully hid crosses in their designs," Nakanishi said. "We concluded the designs show the faith of hidden Christians."

However, Waseda University history professor Yukihiro Ohashi said that caution must be taken since it's too early make conclusions that the sword guards were actually owned by Christians.

"We can say the sword guard that has a statue of Jesus Christ inside it belonged to a hidden Christian," he said, "but others need to be carefully examined before confirming that they belonged to Christians."

The sword guards have been on display at the Sawada Miki Kinenkan museum since May 10.