Shuihu Tachi

This masterful piece by Hanwei combines the elements of one of the most popular Chinese classic novels with an elegantly crafted and superbly decorated Tachi. Shui Hu Chuan (Water Margin Chronicles), translated by Pearl S. Buck as All Men are Brothers, is a truly epic tale of a band of outlaws who, in Robin Hood fashion, attempt to overthrow a corrupt government in the name of the Emperor. This Tachi tells the story in a series of exquisitely-detailed bas-relief panels on the sides of the tsuka and saya, held in place by retainers that are themselves decorated in a chrysanthemum motif.The blade of the Tachi is no less outstanding - hand forged and folded in Swedish powder steel with a hamon displaying elements of both notare and gunome, it is in itself a work of art.