NihontoWatchIt has appeared, it has appeared—a wonderfully precious piece. Along with the Shimazu family of Satsuma in Kyushu, the Naminohira smiths are a group of swordsmiths that continued in an unbroken line from the Heian period until the end of the Edo period; they are an extremely old school of swordsmiths ranking alongside Yasutsuna of Hoki and Tomonari of Ko-Bizen from the birthplaces of the Japanese sword. The name Sue-Naminohira begins from the middle of the Muromachi period. This Sue-Naminohira sword is an ubu mumei blade from around the Daiei era (1521) (505 years ago) at the end of the Muromachi period. The sugata displays an elegant sword form with a difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba, a high sori, and a somewhat ko-kissaki. The jigane shows a ko-mokume hada flowing into masame with fine ji-nie, presenting a jigane with great character. The hamon is a thin sugu-cho style with ko-nie and a deep nioi, and is very well made. Because Naminohira swords were active in many of the Shimazu family's battles, their depletion was extreme; Shimazu Yoshihiro's fight at the Battle of Sekigahara is particularly famous. The Shimazu Yoshihiro army, left behind and isolated on the Sekigahara battlefield, had to choose between fighting the large Eastern Army until death, retreating to the rear toward Omi (Shiga Prefecture), or breaking through the front toward Ogaki (Gifu Prefecture); the choice Shimazu Yoshihiro made was for the Shimazu army to form a single group and charge forward into Tokugawa Ieyasu's main force. They employed the tactic known to the world as "sutegamari" and charged forward. "Sutegamari" involves leaving small platoons in place to fight until death before the main force retreats. In other words, it is a stalling tactic using sacrificial pawns. If a platoon is wiped out, another platoon fights until death. By repeating this stalling of the enemy army over and over, it was a fierce struggle to allow the general to escape safely. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Mori family had their kokudaka greatly reduced, but Tokugawa Ieyasu, having witnessed this terrifying fighting style of Shimazu Yoshihiro, was unable to reduce the kokudaka of the Shimazu family. Among the works of Naminohira Kiyosuke, a representative of Sue-Naminohira, the beloved sword of the Higo Kumamoto domain lord Hosokawa Yusai, the meibutsu "Yaetatami," is particularly famous; along with the Izumi no Kami Kanesada with its Kasen Koshirae, it is famous as one of the two greatest jewels among Hosokawa Yusai's swords. There are many Naminohira swords designated as Important Cultural Properties or Important Art Objects since ancient times, however, due to the fierce fighting of the Shimazu army, extant works are remarkably few, and while this Sue-Naminohira sword is mumei, it is precious. The Edo period koshirae adds even more flair to this Sue-Naminohira sword. On this occasion, as the owners from an old family have also grown old, we received this on consignment with the request to pass it on cheaply to someone who will cherish it; because this sword from over 500 years ago also has some light rust, we are offering it at a specially discounted price. Please by all means enjoy it.
Offered by Nipponto
This piece has sold
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
The Heian period (794 to 1185)
The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
This work carries older NBTHK “Kichō”-era papers, which the NBTHK no longer issues and largely disavows today. To confirm the attribution, submission to an official Japanese examination body (such as the NBTHK or NTHK) for modern certification could be considered.
For returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.