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Hamon : Ko-nie deki orderly gunome. The nioi-guchi is bright and thick. There are many ashi and kinsuji can be seen. Some uma-no-ha (horse tooth) shapes are mixed in.
Boshi : Midare-komi with a medium return.
Kitae : Itame nagareru. Light midare utsuri can be seen.
About this sword : This is a wakizashi by Yoshii Bizen Morinori. There were three generations of this line and this blade is by the nidai. He was active around Oei and considered a representative maker of the Yoshii school.
This blade is the exact one published by Fujishiro in the Koto hen. As all should know, Fujishiro's Nihon Toko Jiten Koto and Shinto Hen are considered the "bible" of mei research and probably the most often used reference books among all Nihonto collectors. Published in 1935 and revised in the 1960s. The opportunity to own a blade from the publication is quite rare. These blades are the standard upon which all other mei are judged. As such, they are especially desirable as ideal examples of a given smith's mei.
The entry for this blade is on page 531. It states: "Morninori, Yoshii, (Oei 1394 Bizen) Chukoto Chujosaku. He is the son of Yoshii Yoshinori, he produced mostly wakizashi and tanto. Dated works span from Oei 15 to Eikyo 2." This very blade is the Eikyo 2 (1430) example shown. Apparently, this sword is the last known dated work by this smith.
The blade is out of polish as shown in the photos. There are chips in the ha and a few areas of coarse hada. The mounts are made of old tosogu but the tsuba and seppa are not the correct ones. The saya and tsuka do fit the blade well but the fuchi kashira is not original to this koshirae (judgement based on fit and the shape of the ana on the fuchi).
This sword comes with a NBTHK Hozon paper that states the Yoshii school specifically, in addition to the mei and date. This blade presents a scarce opportunity to own and restore a work from Fujishiro's Koto Hen. We normally do not list works that are out of polish but are happy to make an exception in this case.
