Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/265

 of the subject has hitherto received little attention from European and American commentators, possibly because it has a technical rather than an artistic character. The translation given above from the Sōken Kishō shows that nanako (fish-roe grounds) were counted de rigueur for kōgai or kozuka from the time (1469) of Gotō Yūjō, and that grounds in the ishime (stone-pitting) or jimigaki (polished) style were not considered proper for swords worn on ceremonial occasions. These remarks do not apply to iron sword-mounts. In the case of iron the patina alone was esteemed. Sometimes, though very rarely, the coarsest kind of ishime (arashi-ishime) was employed even on iron guards to heighten the effect of recessed chiselling, but it is generally true that shakudo was the favourite metal for nanako grounds, and shibuichi or copper for ishime.

As a broad definition it may be said that nanako is obtained by punching the whole surface, except the portion carrying the decorative design, into a texture of microscopic dots. The first makers of nanako did not aim at regularity in the distribution of these dots: they were content to produce the effect of millet-seed sifted, hap-hazard, over the surface. But very soon—certainly by the time of Gotō Yūjō—the punching of the dots in rigidly straight lines came to be considered essential, and the difficulty involved in this tour de force was so great that nanako-making took its place among the highest technical achievements of the sculptor. When it is remembered that the punching-tool was guided solely by the hand and eye, and that three or more blows of the mallet had to be struck for every dot, some idea may be formed of the patience and accuracy needed