Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchHamon : Ko-nie deki gunome midare. Hako midare formation are mixed in. There are ashi and sunagashi. The hamon begins with a subtle yakidashi and there is mizu-kage, a trait of this smith. Boshi : Midare-komi with a short return. The nioi-guchi is clear and there is hataraki. Kitae : Itame hada with a clear and flowing forging pattern. Masame is mixed in and there is plentiful ji-nie. About this sword : A fine wakizashi by Musashi Taro Yasukuni with an exciting Higo koshirae. Yasukuni was most active around Genroku (1688-1704). He is a famous smith, ranked as Jo Saku by Fujishiro and 3.5 million yen in the Toko-taikan. Yausukuni was born in 1650 and his common name was Yamamoto Tota. He was the son of Fujita Hiroshige and the grandson of Yamamoto Kinzaemon Hiroshige. They lived in the Hachioji area of Musashi. He studied under Omura Kaboku and was commissioned to make swords for the Mito Daimyo, Tokugawa Mitsukini and in Edo for Togawa Michitomi. Yasukuni is known for recording his forging method on the nakago of his work. That is the case with this example. The ura mei states: 真十五枚甲伏作 "made in kobuse technique by using steel folded 15 times". He passed away in 1730 at the age of 81. This ubu blade is finely crafted and has no kizu. It is quite healthy and has a kasane of 8mm. There are a couple of inactive rust spots but overall, the blade is in nice old polish. The koshirae is a Higo example with a special secret feature. The saya has a removable liner that conceals a brass hinged money box. The same-gawa is in perfect condition and with the black leather ito, makes a striking visual impression. The fuchi kashira set is a fine early Higo Nishigaki example. The shakudo menuki features the Hosokawa mon. The iron sukashi tsuba is in a pine tree motif. There is an iron kozuka and a wari-kogai. The ko-jiri is shibuichi and has a wonderful taka-bori of a Hannya (female demon) with fine inaly work of shakudo, copper and gold. The entire koshirae is a collection in and of itself. Here we have a historical snap shot of what a man of means would have worn in the Edo period and how provisions to keep secret resources were needed. The tsunagi (hand made place-holder wooden blade) has some information as well as the saya sleeve. The kanji on the tsunagi nakago states it was made for the 清水清一 (Kiyomizu Kiyoichi) family in Showa 55 (1980), by the Sakura bridge of Musashi. It also states 研出鮫拵記念"polished same koshirae commemorate". The hinged saya sleeve has the name of three gods on one side. The other side states it was made by Musha Naoden Eishin-ryu (a school of Iai-do), Tougou Kiyoken saku, Iai instructor at 7th dan. 無雙直傳英信流 居合道教士七段 東鄉清剣造 The coin box has the direction of the box (for fitting it inside the end of the saya) stated on one side. Specifically, the direction it should face the kissaki切先方. The other side states "Kiyomizu family generations to keep "清水家 .. 重代 .. ". The inside of the ki habaki (damaged) is dated Showa 55. The commission or conservation of this koshirae would have cost a handsome sum and the records left are wonderful to study and preserve. A fantastic opportunity to own a wonderfuly mounted blade by a famous smith. This is an ubu and zaimei work and quite high quality. It comes with a NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers for the blade, storage bags and tsunagi for the koshirae.
Offered by Nihontocraft
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Shinto · Musashi
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The Shitahara group (下原) worked at Hachiōji in Bushū, the old province of Musashi, from the end of the Muromachi period and carried its forge on into the Edo period. The setsumei place the lineage among the swordmakers of Musashi in the kotō age and name Terushige, Yasushige, Hiroshige, and Chikashige as its leading hands, with the meikan recording Terushige across three generations: a shodai in Kyōroku, a nidai in Eiroku, and a sandai in Tenshō. " That same blade was made to order, in this case from Hagiwara Kaminao of Kōshū, marking the group as a working provincial forge serving its region. In the forging the setsumei return repeatedly to an itame-hada freely mixed with mokume that stands up rather than lying flat, the grain described as hada-datsu, often running to nagare near the edge and taking on an ayasugi-like, whorled or vortex-like cast in the jigane. The temper is a moderately undulating notare into which gunome enter, frequently in regular paired sequences, with pointed togariba, a chōji-like feeling at times, and ko-nie clinging along a nioiguchi that can settle into a subdued shizumi tone; sunagashi and ashi appear within the ha, and the bōshi tends to run midare-komi and turn back in maru. One katana sets gunome, ō-midare and angular elements into a notare, its bōshi sweeping off in hakikake.
The setsumei read this hand as a synthesis drawing on late Sōshū and the Muramasa line together with late Mino tendencies, which together account for the standing grain and the paired gunome. For kantei the markers are consistent: the risen mokume with its ayasugi turn, the regularly paired gunome, and a build suited to the uchigatana of the closing Muromachi years, often with pronounced sakizori and an extended chū-kissaki. Carving recurs, including bō-hi, bonji, gomabashi, and a deeply cut kurikara-ryū whose coiling tail the NBTHK singles out as characteristic. Named and dated pieces anchor the group: the Yamamoto Genjirō Terushige naginata, uncommon as a double-edged ryōba form, and a Terushige katana appraised between Eiroku and Tenshō that the register calls the hakubi of the school. The setsumei note that Shitahara work survives in number into the shintō period while outstanding examples remain few, which sets these designated blades apart within the lineage. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Terushige照重 | 1558-1570 | 2 |
| Terushige照重 | 1596-1615 | 1 |
| Yasushige康重 | 1558-1570 | 1 |
| Morishige盛重 | 1661-1673 | 0 |
| Yasushige康重 | 1661-1704 | 0 |
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
A Hozon-certified blade judged to show notably superior workmanship and a better state of preservation. The bar is higher: re-tempered blades and most unsigned Muromachi/Edo works are excluded.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official site3 day inspection period on all sales. Items can be returned for any reason for a full refund, less return shipping cost. Returned items must be in the same condition as when purchased.
$6,000