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Hamon : Nioi deki with some ko nie gunome midare based on suguha. A great many nezumi ashi can be seen and there are small togari formations mixed in throughout. There is nijuba and in some areas the gunuome becomes an orderly hako midare. Yakiotoshi can be seen just in front of the hamachi.
Boshi : Midare komi with a pointed return on the ura and wide yakizume on the omote.
Kitae : Vivid and tight itame hada that is covered in ko-nie and chikei. The jigane looks "moist". Some tobiyaki is present. There is clear utsuri running the length of the blade. Utsuri in the monouchi is midare utsuri and this becomes shirake utsuri in the mid and lower portions of the blade.
About this sword : This is a very exciting Koto sword that is singed by Sadahiro. This is accompanied by a precious sayagaki by Honami Koson that he did in October of 1940. Honami Koson attibuted this blade to Bungo Sadahiro. There is very little information available on Bungo Sadahiro and therefore this zaimei blade becomes extremely important to preserve and study. The following three books list Bungo-no Kuni Sadahiro as follows:
1. Noboru Kawagichi’s “Toko Soran” p.227
Sadahiro Saku Bungo, Jidai (age) unknown
2. “Bungo To” by Masatou Yamada, published by Yuzan-Kaku (1974)
Two Sadahiro are listed:
1. Sadahiro Saku; Bungo Takada-ju Sadahiro Saku
2. Sadahiro Saku;
On both smiths, no information is given (Jidai not specified).
3. Hawley’s “Japanese Swordsmiths” 1981 edition contains one Sadahiro in Bungo-no Kuni, who signed two ways, namely, Sadahiro Saku and Bungo Takada-ju Sadahiro saku. This smith appears to be the same as the first smith listed in Yamada’s “Bungo-to.”
It is easy to see that the mei is genuine and the sword is certainly koto and quite old. However, there is no reference information to verify the working period of Sadahiro. As with all swords, to know exactly what jidai this blade dates from we have to study it. The old shape is easy to identify right away and it is important to note that this blade is highly curved in the lower area but nearly straight in the monouchi, a trait of Kamakura jidai tachi. The hamon width in the boshi and near the yokote, in comparison with the rest of the hamon, indicates that this had a fat ikubi kisskai when it it was ubu and would have also had a wider mihaba in the monouchi. This sword shows the sugata of late Kamuraka times.
The style of the jigane and hamon are exacly that of Kamakura jidai Bungo work. One can easily see that Bungo works of the Muromachi period have hadatachi jigane very different that this blade. Also, Muromachi period Bungo have a more spartan hamon and show the sakizori uchigatana shape that period. In this work, one can observe yakiotoshi of ealy Bungo right ahead of the machi and kantei mei common to Kamakura Jidai Bungo works such as those by Sadahide and Yukihira. The mei shows age consistent for ealy koto as does the extremely old looking ( note the hour glass cross section ) of the ubu mekugiana. It should also be pointed out that workmanship on this level- with profuse chikei, ji-nie, midare utsuri and such a delightful softly tempered hamon with abundant hataraki are simply not seen in sue koto Bungo.
This sayagaki by Honami Koson was done in October of 1940. It states "Bungo-no Kuni Sadahiro Length: 2 shaku 2 sun 0.5 bu, Signed; Price: 200 pieces of Gold October 1940, Honami Koson (Kao)" We need to take special note of the vaule given. Looking at other swords with sayagaki by Honmai Kosan from this time, values of 100 pieces of gold are some times seen for top level shinto work. A sum of 200 gold pieces is reserved for first class main line koto such as Rai, Shizu, Osafune etc.... So, the sayagaki with a high value of 200 gold pieces confirms what the sugata and jiha are telling us: This is a an important zaimei work from the Kamakura period.
Because this sword does not have a paper, the owner has decided to price it the sames as mumei late koto work. We can not predict a shinsa result or offer a return policy beyond our standard 3 day inspection. Therefore, the idea behind this low pricing is to represent the fact that the sword is being offered with no guarantee of future shinsa result and allow someone to opportunity to buy it "safely".
This jigane of the sword shows remarkable health and has been well preserved. The polish may very well be by the hand of Koson. It is such a joy and a rare treat to see well preserved top level old polish such as this. The blade is accompanied by a gold foil habaki and a strong bag in addtion to the shirasaya with Honami Koson's saya-gaki as mentioned above. Overall, an exciting and important zaimei koto blade with very high quality and equally high study value.
- SOLD -
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