UK
Sword Register No. 86
Type: Shinto katana
Nagasa:
73.6 cm Moto-haba:
3.0 cm
Saki-haba: 2.0
cm
Sugata: Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, chu-kissaki, shallow and quite high koshi-zori.
Jihada: A tight and homogenous ko-mokume hada with ji-nie.
Hamon: Slight notare but based on suguha, ko-nie deki. The boshi is notare komi, slightly pointed ko-maru, with kaeri.
Nakago: Suriage and machi-okuri by approximately 5cm, 2 mekugi-ana. Kiri-yasurime, kaku-mune and kuri-jiri.. Signed under the lower mekugi-ana HOSHU TAKEDA JU FUJIWARA SADAYUKI.
This long blade has a strong and robust sugata with a shallow koshi-zori, the small pattern of the jihada with ji-nie, especially as it also has a suguha hamon, reminds one of Hizen-to. However, the narrow nioi-guchi and notare-komi boshi contradict this and especially the boshi, might point towards the shinshinto period as the time of manufacture. The sword is from the Bungo (Hoshu) Takeda school and signed Sadayuki. The province of Bungo is close to Hizen, both are in Kyushu, which may account for the conservative similarities. During the shinto period, swordsmiths from Bungo province, gained a reputation for making good practical swords, although they tend to have few hataraki within the hamon and are not, therefore, highly esteemed for their artistic properties. Such practical considerations are admirably demonstrated in this example.
The school was active in Koto times, right through shinto, but there were relatively few smiths working in shinshinto times. They worked in the Bizen, Yamashiro and Mino traditions, as well as shinto Tokuden.
Smiths of this school invariably included the character “Yuki” in their mei and always included “Fujiwara” in shinto times. Three smiths of this name and school are recorded in the shinto period. The first, who had the title Yamato Daijo worked in the early shinto period and Shinto Taikan shows an example dated Kanei 16th year (1639) whilst Fujishiro says he worked around the Joo period (1652) and rates him as Chu-saku. The nidai is also in Shinto Taikan, but not in Fujishiro, and also has the title Yamato Daijo, but is undated. However, it is stated here that it was made in Tenwa goro (about 1681-83). The Fujiwara Sadayuki part of nidai’s the mei, closely resembles this present sword, which must have been made before Sadayuki acquired the Yamato Daijo title.
Koshirae:
The sword is contained in a black lacquered saya in which are inserted both unmatched and associated kodzuka and kogai. The mumei kogai has a shakudo-nanako surface with a floral design in the Mino-Goto style. The sentoku kodzuka is embellished with a shakudo tsuru in low relief and a kata-kiri background, also mumei.
The iron tsuba is multi-lobed with a leaf design with raised droplets of rain. Signed Hiro-?tada, probably 18th century.
Tsuba; 9.0cm high x 8.5 cm wide
The tsuka has black ito over white samé, the menuki of a floral design in shakudo with gilt highlights. The good mumei fuchi-kashira are in plain shakudo with trees and boats under Fujiyama.
An NTHK paper from the Heisei 13th year (2001) shinsa in London accompanies this blade.
NB: It was said that the retainers of the neighbouring Satsuma province, would secretly make the difficult journey over the mountains into Bungo province, to buy quantities of swords from the Bungo Takeda swordsmiths. These they considered better and cheaper than the swords made by their own Han retained swordsmiths.
Clive Sinclaire
Bexley, Kent,
May 2007
