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Hamon : Ko-nie deki ko-gunome midare based on suguha. The nioiguchi is soft. There is abundant ashi and togari is also present.
Boshi : Jizo style on the omote and the ura with a medium long return.
Kitae : Masame with itame mixed in. Clear shirake utsuri is present. The jigane is dark and ji-nie is abundant.
Aboout this sword : This is a wonderful koto tanto by the Oei period (1394-1428)Uda smith Tomohisa. It is not common to find such an old blade with a mei. The signature on this blade is important and it adds substantial empirical value to the work. This sword is healthy for its age. The hamon is fully intact and there are no kizu. The workmanship is quite impressive. Its the kind of sword one can study over and over again and still see new things. It is in old polish with some surface scratches and blemishes. All the activities and details can be clearly seen regardless.
The koshirae for this tanto is equally exciting, It is a fully intact Edo period example that would have been made for an older samurai in the sunset of his life. It is in the theme of an old Chinese poem. An abbreviated verison : "Sun sets in the Western sky, Moon rises in the Eastern sky and shines on the entire world many times again, but man (poet) is reaching the end of his life....." We can see the sun and moon on the tsuka and the kanji of "nin" or "man" on the saya. The meaning of the poem adds an extra level of appreciation to the sword as a whole and makes one wonder about the gentleman for which this koshirae was made so many years ago. The kashira and kojiri both have eyelets and retain original Edo period doe skin ties. The brown urushi is in good condition with some slight chipping. The tsuka is done in a cloud pattern urushi that is well preserved. We often see koshirae that are modern composites of old parts etc... This is a real Edo period koshirae in well preserved condition. It would stand alone as a fine collectible item in and of itself. The fact that the koshirae is original to this Tomohisa blade and remains with it today is really fantastic.
Finally, this blade is accompanied by a rare orgami issued in 1951 by the Oriental Arts Museum (Sword section). A nice sword bag is also included. Overall this is a wonderful tanto and an exciting opportunity to own an ubu zaimei Oei jidai sword with an original koshirae.
