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Hamon : Ko-nie deki chu suguha. Thick and bright nioi guchi. There are many ashi in the monouchi and kuchigaiba can be seen in the koshi of the blade.
Boshi : Sugu with ko-maru.
Kitae : Konuka hada of the Hizen tradition. There is vibrant ji-nie all over the ji.
About this sword : Hizen katana often have a sugata that is differnt from other shinto swords. The sori is more graceful torii zori with an elegant even taper as we see in this katana. The suguha hamon compliments this sugata perfectly. The control of the smith in making this hamon with no clumping or uneven areas in the nioi-guchi and tightly forged konuka hada, combined with the elegance and grace of the sugata are factors that draw so many to an admiration of Hizen-to.
This is a katana by the 6th generation Hizen Tadayoshi. He is commonly referred to as "Rokudai Tadayoshi" (6th generation Tadayoshi). He is a highly regarded mainline Hizen smith. Ranked Jo Saku by Fujishiro and 2,200,000 yen in the Toko Taikan. Rokudai Tadayoshi was the second son of the 5th generation Tadayoshi. He was born in 1736, received his title in 1790 and passed away in 1815. So this blade was made in that 25 year span.
This sword is in full Japanese polish. The work of the polisher shows remarkably clear jigane and crisp geometry. The bo-hi are well shaped and the keisho treatment of the hamon is well done. There are some minor scratches in the ha and boshi as shown in the photos. There are no kizu or flaws in this sword. There is no shintetsu and the blade is very healthy. This is a Jishin saku work. Made by the smith himself and with his best effort.
This katana received a Kanteisho paper from the NTHK under Yoshikawa Kentaro in 1992 and a NBTHK Hozon paper in 1994. Both papers specify that this work is by the 6th generation Rokudai Tadayoshi.
This is a wonderful katana by Rokudai Tadayoshi showing text-book Hizen workmanship. As mentioned above, it comes with a NTHK kanteisho paper and a NBTHK Hozon paper. It also comes with a silver foil habaki, shira saya and a storage bag. A great opportunity to own a twice-papered, main-line, flawless, signed Jo-saku Hizen katana.
