Mid-Edo period
Donated by Homma Norio
Variously known as a “utility knife” or “companion knife,” a kozuka is part of a sword mounting, typically kept in the scabbard of a katana. A matching hairdressing tool, a kōgai — literally, “sword-needle” —is often found alongside.
This kozuka is said to have been made by Okamoto Naoshige (?–1780), and depicts a horse race held on the fifth day of the fifth month at Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. Naoshige, together with Ōtsuki Mitsuoki and Ichinomiya Nagatsune, was one of the three master swordsmiths of Kyoto, specializing in iron sword guards and menuki (a decorative metal ornament on the hilt of the katana).