Further Media
Producer unknown to us
Short sword (Wakizashi)
Asia, Japan
Prior to 1882
Steel, forged
Heinrich Botho Scheube (doctor, lecturer)
Purchased by the museum from Scheube in 1909
OAs 04911 a-c
In 1876, the Government of Meiji Japan prohibited the public carrying of swords. Thus, swords were no longer a status symbol. At the same time, many members of the swords nobility became increasingly impoverished due to social and economic changes, resulting in many Japanese swords being sold abroad.
The collector of this object, Botho Scheube, worked as a physician and lecturer at the Kyoto Medical School from 1877 to 1881. During this time, he amassed a collection of nearly 700 pieces of Japanese art and items pertaining to the Ainu culture.
The collection was stored at the Leipzig ethnological museum from 1891 to 1909, when it was finally acquired by the museum with the financial support and donations of wealthy citizens.
Dietmar Grundmann