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About this sword : An outstanding Soden katana by Bizen Morikage. It has a long, powerful, majestic naginata-naoshi sugata with a wide mihaba. The blade has no kizu and it is in Juyo class polish. Morikage is a Jo Saku smith in Fujishiro, ranked at 6.5 million yen in the Toko-taikan and ranked as Ryo-Wazamono by the Yamada family of sword testers. There are two important translations that accompany this presentation. The first is the translation of this blade's entry in the 31st Juyo Token Nado Zufu from 1984. Fourty years later, we have Tanboe Michihiro's sayagak from 2024. This sayagaki adds great insight to the study of this blade by noting how the lineage of this smith is now understood to be Osafune Bizen rather than Omiya Bizen. In addition to the shira-saya with Tanobe's saya-gaki, Juyo Paper and Juyo Nado Zufu presentation, this blade is accompanied by a fine gold foil habaki and a deluxe storage bag.
31st Juyo Token Nado Zufu
Showa 59th year, 10th month, 18th day designated the 31st Juyo Token
Katana Mumei Den Omiya Morikage Tokyo-to Omino Kiyoaki
Measurements: Nagasa 73.0 cm, sori 1.8 cm, Motohaba 2.95 cm, Nakago nagasa 20.8 cm, Nakago sori none.
Sugata Shobu-zukuri, iori mune, narrow fukura, deep sori.
Kitae itame mixed with mokume, running jigane on both sides with ji-nie and chikei.
Hamon The main pattern is ko-notare with gunome mixed in. The tip of the hamon is a combination of choji and midare. Ko-nie tsuki, ashi, and yo are present. There are frequent sunagashi and kinsuji.
Boshi Midare-komi with the tip being yakitsume.
Nakago Suriage, saki kiri, yasurimei kiri, mekugi ana 3, mumei.
Explanation Kunimori was the founder of the Omiya Ha. He moved from Yamashiro kuni Inokuma Omiya to Bizen Osafune. This the origin of how this ha became known as Omiya. There are no swords by Kunimori that have been seen. The earliest existing dated blade is one by Morikage dated Joji 3rd year (1364). Mei are observed till mid Muromachi times and among them there are blades that clearly state “Osafune ju”. The style of Nanbokuchou Morikage is similar to the so-called Soden Bizen in its jiba and nie activities. The hamon is similar to that of the Kanemitsu. For Chogi and his school the hamon tends to be a big pattern midare (therefore this blade is not Chogi school). This katana is Shobu-zukuri with narrow fukura and deep sori. It has strong ji-nie with chikei, and especially the hamon demonstrates clearly that it is the work of Morikage.
Sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro
第三十一回重要刀剣指定 備州長船盛景 磨上ゲテ菖蒲造ナレド大薙刀直トモミラル同工ハ曽テ大宮鍛冶トスル説ガアリシモ近年考究ニ ヨリ近景流ノ長船鍛冶ナルガ判明セリ彼ノ作域ハ廣汎デ長義風ノ山形ノ互乃目が複雑ニ乱レル 者ヤ元重風ノ角互乃目青江風ノ直刃及ビ本刀ノ如キ兼光風ノ大ドカナ湾刃ガ見ラレ兼光ニ比ス ルト湾ノ裾野ガ短カク角度ガ急ナル點ニ個性ガアリ地刃共ニ良ク沸付キ相傳備前ノ面目躍如タ 元優品也 刃長弐尺四寸分有之歲甲辰林鐘探山識 (花押)
Dai sanjuikkai Juyo Token shitei
Bishu Osafune Morikage
Suriagete shobu-zukuri naredo o-naginata-naoshi to mo miraru. Doko wa katsute Omiya-kaji to suru setsu ga arishi mo kinnen kokyu ni yori Chikage-ryu no Osafune-kaji naru ga hanmei-seri. Kare no saku' iki wa kohon de Chogi-fu no yamagata no gunome ga fukusatsu ni midareru mono ya Motoshige-fu no kaku- gunome Aoe-fu no suguha oyobi honto no gotoki Kanemitsu-fu no odoka na notare-ba ga mirare. Kanemitsu ni hi-suru to notare no susono ga mijikaku kakudo ga kyu naru ten ni kosei ga ari jiba tomo ni yoku nie tsuki Soden-Bizen no menmoku-yakujo-taru no yuhin nari.
Hacho ni-shaku yon-sun ichi-bu kore ari, toki ni kinoe-tatsu rinsho Tanzan shirusu + kao
Juyo Token at the 31st Juyo Shinsa
Morikage from Osafune in Bizen Province
Because this blade is shortened and of the shobu-zukuri type, it appears that it was originally a large naginata. In the past, the theory existed that Morikage was an Omiya smith, but recent studies rather suggest that he was an Osafune smith from the lineage of Chikakage. Morikage worked in a wide variety of styles, e.g., in a complex midare with mountain-shaped (yamagata) gunome in the style of Chogi, in an angular gunome in the style of Motoshige, in a suguha in the style of the Aoe School, or, as seen here, in a gently undulating notare in the style of Kanemitsu. Compared to Kanemitsu, however, the bases of the notare elements are typically shorter and more acute-angled. Both ji and ha of this blade are nie-laden, and thus we have here a masterwork that very faithfully follows the approach that is referred to as Soden-Bizen. Blade length ~73.0 cm (28 3/4 in.). Written by Tanzan [Tanobe Michihiro] in June in the year of the dragon of this era (2024) + monogram.
$35,000
Showa 59th year, 10th month, 18th day designated the 31st Juyo Token< br><br>
Katana Mumei Den Omiya Morikage Tokyo-to Omino Kiyoaki< br><br>
<b>Measurements: </b><br><br>
Nagasa 73.0 cm, sori 1.8 cm, Motohaba 2.95 cm, Nakago nagasa 20.8 cm, Nakago sori none. < br><br>
<b>Sugata</b><br><br>
Shobu-zukuri, iori mune, narrow fukura, deep sori. < br><br>
<b>Kitae </b><br><br>
itame mixed with mokume, running jigane on both sides with ji-nie and chikei. < br><br>
<b>Hamon</b><br><br>
The main pattern is ko-notare with gunome mixed in. The tip of the hamon is a combination of choji and midare. Ko-nie tsuki, ashi, and yo are present. There are frequent sunagashi and kinsuji. < br><br>
<b>Boshi</b><br><br>
Midare-komi with the tip being yakitsume. < br><br>
<b>Nakago</b><br><br>
Suriage, saki kiri, yasurimei kiri, mekugi ana 3, mumei. < br><br>
<b>Explanation </b><br><br>
Kunimori was the founder of the Omiya Ha. He moved from Yamashiro kuni Inokuma Omiya to Bizen Osafune. This the origin of how this ha became known as Omiya. There are no swords by Kunimori that have been seen. The earliest existing dated blade is one by Morikage dated Joji 3rd year (1364). Mei are observed till mid Muromachi times and among them there are blades that clearly state “Osafune ju”. The style of Nanbokuchou Morikage is similar to the so-called Soden Bizen in its jiba and nie activities. The hamon is similar to that of the Kanemitsu. For Chogi and his school the hamon tends to be a big pattern midare (therefore this blade is not Chogi school). This katana is Shobu-zukuri with narrow fukura and deep sori. It has strong ji-nie with chikei, and especially the hamon demonstrates clearly that it is the work of Morikage.