376 
THK VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
When a valuable Japanese sword is exhibited one touches 
neither the hilt nor the scabbard, and of course still less the 
blade, with the bare hand, but it is taken hold of either with a 
gloved hand, or with the hand with a handkerchief or piece of 
cloth wrapped round it. The blade is only half bared,, the 
steel setting is looked at against the light and admired; on the 
often exceedingly valuable 
blades which are not moun¬ 
ted, but only provided with 
a wooden case to protect 
them from rust, the maker’s 
mark is examined, and so 
on. As among us in former 
times, the swordsmith’s is 
the only handicraft which 
in old times was held in 
high esteem in Japan, and 
immense sums were often 
paid for sword-blades forged 
by famous masters of the art. 
Among old Japanese writings 
are to be found many works 
specially treating of the 
making of weapons. But 
since the swordsmen {samu- 
rai) have now been forbidden 
to show themselves armed, 
old Japanese swords are 
sold in all the towns by hundreds and thousands, often for a 
trifle. During our stay in the country I purchased for a com¬ 
paratively limited sum a fine collection of such weapons. Even 
those who cannot appreciate the artistic forging of the blade, 
the steel-setting, and tempering, must admire the exceedingly 
tasteful casting and embossing of the ornamentation, especially 
A SAMURAI. 
