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Hamon : Nie deki gunome midare. Hako gunome is mixed in as well as some small togari formations. Some strings of nie fall like ropes, connecting the tops of some of the gunome. This activity looks like a suspended bridge above the nioiguchi. Inazuma can be seen inside the hamon and there are ashi.
Boshi : Midare komi ending in ko maru.
Kitae : Well forged itame hada with ample ji nie.
About this sword : This is a well made katana by the Shodai Hitachi Muneshige. He was a student of the famous smith Tsuda Sukehiro. A flavor of his teachers toranba can be seen in this work. Muneshige used Namban tetsu to make this blade and recorded this on the nakago. Foreign steel was highly regarded and difficult to obtain in the 17th century. Needless to say, the use of Namban tetsu being recorded on this sword is empirically important. This katana has a kiri-komi on the mune about half way up the omote side of the blade. This is actually a cut in the steel made when this blade was used to block a vertical overhead strike from a rear attacker. Such a battle wound is a badge of honor and enhances our appreciation for the battle quality of this blade.
This katana comes with a complete Edo period koshiare. The fuchi kashira and menuki are shakudo with gold highlights in the autum flower motif. The tsuba is a lovley iron Choshu example featuring the moon and wave motif. It has a nice chocolate brown paptina. Silver and gold inlay crerate the ocean spray. The saya has some state side repairs and has been re-lacquered. It has a black metal kojiri with the rest of the fitting being horn and a ishime ji.
NTHK papers accompany this katana. They were issued in 1989 under Kentaro Yoshikawa. The paperers attest to the quality of the blade and the authenticity of the signature. Overall this is a nice complete package by a well regarded Wazamono smith being offered at an atractive price.
Price : $6500
