Etchu Norifusa
SCHOOL Soshu - Etchu Norishige Mon
PAPER/CLASSIFICATION NBTHK Hozon 2006
PERIOD Shinto - Meireki (1655-1658)
HAWLEY RANKING 15 points 
TOKO TAIKAN RANKING 3.5 Million yen
MEI "Etchu Kuni Fujiwara Noirfusa"
FORM Wakizashi
NAGASA 17.09 inches, 43.41cm
SUGATA  Shinogi-zukuri
SORI Tori-zori with slight saki-zori
SORI MEASUREMENT 1.5cm
KISSAKI Chu 
KISSAKI LENGTH 3.5cm
MUNE Iori
KASANE 5mm
MOTOHABA 2.9cm
SAKIHABA 2.2cm
NAKAGO LENGTH 13.97cm
NAKAGO CONDITION ubu
NAKAGO SHAPE Standard with kuri-jiri and maru mune 
MEKUGIANA Two
YASURIME  Sujikai (Cut one line at a time)


Hamon :   Hitatsura of the Soshu tradition mixed with choji-midare. The nioi-guchi is deep and very thick. Hataraki such as ko-nie, kinsuji and sunagashi are plentiful.

Boshi :   Midare komi with kinsuji, inazuma, sunagashi and abundant ko-nie

Kitae :   Stunning matsukawa hada mixed with uzumaki hada that becomes masame hada below the shinogi. Ji-nie and chikei can be seen everywhere.

Horimono :  Goma hashi on the omote and a koshi bi on the ura.

This is a fantastic blade. Gorgeous hitsura(full temper)and vivid matsukawa hada. The ji is packed with chikei and ji-nie. Horimono of goma hashi on the omote and a koshi bi on the ura. Top level polish by Jimmy Hayashi. Habaki and shira-saya by Brian Tschernega. No kizu. This is the quality of blade and restoration that make Nihonto such a joy to study. Ubu nakago and full mei of "Etchu Kuni Fujiwara Noirfusa " Comes with habaki, shira-saya, storage bag and NBTHK Hozon paper.

The following is a translation of the Norifusa information on pg 501 of the Tokotaikan:

Norifusa Jidai: Meireki (1655), Area: Musashi, Ranking 3.5 million Yen [Etchu Kuni Fujiwara Norifusa] [Setsu Ju Fujiwara Norifusa, Ite Bushu saku kore] [Etchu Kuni Fujiwara Norifusa Fuji] Native country: Etchu. Norishige's 15th generation descendent. He made swords in Setsu, Tosa and became retained smith for the Mito-han making swords at the lord's estate of Koishikawa of Edo. His work style was dominantly Soshu with strong chikei that looks like Norishige's matsukawa hada and inside the ha a clear hada pattern can be seen. His hamon is of toranba style with big gunome midare. The nie and nioi are deep and the result of an expert smith (Jote) making gorgeous work. Active from the later part of Kanei (1624-1644) to Tenna (1681- 1684).



Note : Hitatsura (full temper) hamon with abundant nie hataraki




The Lineage of Norishige. The information below was painstakingly extracted from the Tokotaikan and Token Bijutsu #498, July 1998. A genealogy chart showing the important relationship of Norishige to the listed smiths has not previously been published in any book. This sword is by the second smith on the list, Norifusa, he is the 15th generation direct decendant of Norishige.

Please reference the article"Ura Nihon no Toko" by Yoshikawa Kentaro and make special note of the section concerning Kashu Yukimitsu and Hata Nagayoshi. The hamon of this Norifusa is fully tempered in the same way. The polisher's hadori skill presents this hamon with the flavor of a stunning gunome midare. This Norifusa is highly representative of the Soshu style smiths of Ura Japan in every way. Yoshikawa's article makes a wonderful compliment to its appreciation.


Oshigatas of blades with a jiha like this Norifusa. These are from various NTHK magazines.



Page 501 from the Tokotaikan. The two highlighted areas are the entry for Etchu Norifusa.





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