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Hamon : Ko-nie deki ko-midare in a suguha tone. There are nijuba and uchinoke. Ko ashi can also be seen.
Boshi : Midare-komi with a medium kaeri.
Kitae : Itame with ji-nie.
About this sword : This is a shinto tanto by Munesada. Munesada worked in Harima circa Enpo(1673-1681)and was a student of Tsuda Sukehiro. This blade has horimono of Hannya Shingyo (The Heart Sutra) on both sides of the blade in triple hi. This was added to the blade in February of 1691. The ura mei was recorded on this occasion and it includes the name of the craftsman that did the hori-mono as well as the name and family of the blade's owner. A translation of the ura mei is as follows:
"Owned by the eldest son of the Hori family which was descended from the Hosokawa family. Engravings by Kunimasa of the Higaki family. A day in February of 1691".
The blade is in old polish with some surface scratches and blemishes. One can see all of the workmanship of the blade in its current polish. There is one ware in the hori-mono/hi area of the omote. Overall the blade is in good condition and well made.
This tanto comes with its mid/late Edo period Higo koshirae. The koshirae is in nice condition with a few minor chips in the urushi. The gold washed kojiri of chidori and waves with kaeshizuno make a pleasing contrast to the ishime black urushi saya. The tsuba features takabori of a dragon clutching a wave. There is fine nanako work and inlay of waves on the fuchi with a key fret inlay design on the kashira. The menuki are iron dragons. There is a kozuka and blade present that would have been added later. The koshirae gives an overall feeling of classic dignity.
This blade is a signed and papered tanto with a precious ura mei. Its difficult to find blades with this kind of provenance recorded on the nakago. The koshirae is a nice example and finishes off this tanto as a complete package.
$4750
SALE :$4275
