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Hamon : Ko-nie-deki notare-ba. The nioi guchi is bright, vivid and consistent. Many ko-ashi can be seen.
Boshi : O-maru with a short return.
Kitae : Ko-mokume. Ji-nie is abundant. It is made up of ko-nie and covers the entire ji.
About this sword : This is a katana by the 2nd generation Okudaira Motohira. He was a Satsuma smith and active around Ansei-Keio. His common name was Oku Jirobei. He is a well-regarded smith. Ranked Chu Jo Saku by Fujishiro and rated at 3,500,000 yen in the Toko Taikan. The nidai Motohira was the grandson of the Shodai Motohira. This came about due to his father passing away at a young age. Oku Jirobei was only 10 years old when he succeeded as the Nidai Motohira. He became a large man and had the nick name of "Buta-Motohira“ or "Pig Motohira". He passed away in 1905 and the age of 73.
Shinto and Shinshinto Satsuma blades often have a sugata that is different from other schools. This is a wide mihaba, lots of hira-niku, only slight taper toward the kissaki and gentle sori. This is a reflection of the fighting style that was taught in Satsuma, which preferred this bold and stout sugata. This katana is a classic example of the Satsuma shape. Please note that the mihaba of the blade is nearly 4 cm at the ha machi and 3 cm at the yokote. The enormous width and weight of this blade conveys a powerful feeling in hand.
This sword is in full Japanese polish. There are some minor scratches and blemishes as shown in the photos. There are no kizu and the blade is very healthy.
This is a wonderful ubu and dated katana by the nidai Okudaira Motohira. Its powerful shape, excellent yakiba and dated nakago are important points of appreciation. This blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper. It also comes with a solid silver habaki, shira saya with horn insert, horn fuchi/koiguchi and a storage bag. A great opportunity to own a Tokubetsu Hozon, signed and dated Satsuma katana.
