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Hamon : Nie-deki suguha. The nioi-guchi has dense ko-nie and is luminous.
Boshi : Ko-maru with a short return.
Kitae : Ko-itame hada. There is ji-nie, made up of ko-nie.
This blade is an utsushi of classic Yamashiro workmanship of the Kamakura period.
About this sword : This is a very special tachi by Yoshichika. He was a renowned gendai smith and worked in Tokyo. Yoshichika's given name was Mori Kyusuke. He was active in the Taisho and Showa periods. He invented his own techniques for using Western steel and his blades have the reputation of being great cutters. He is one of the few Gendi makers listed in Fujishiro's Shinto hen and is ranked at 1.5 million yen in the Toko Taikan. Yoshichika was highly active in making blades for elite military personnel. In fact, most of the imperial guards were said to have carried blades by this smith.
This tachi is a very special work. The blade is in prefect condtion with no kizu. There is ubu-ba for about 4 inches above the ha-machi. This blade was registered in accordance with the Culture Property Protection Law (Torokusho) in Showa 26 (1951)as shown on the NBTHK paper. This was the first year of Torokusho. Early registration blades are often from famous collections, but every citizen was instructed to submit their swords at that time.
The tachi-goshirae consists of the famous Go-shichi no Kiri (5-7-5) Paulownia crest and is of the highest quality. 12 of these tachi were made for the ascension of Emperor Hirohito sokui (official ceremonies) in 1928. One of the examples was returned by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan in 2016. It was presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. That blade was made by Takahashi Nobuhide. It was also dated 1928 and has a 63 cm nagasa. The Nobuhide example was on display at the 2017 Dai Token Ichi. Please see the photo of its display at the bottom of this page.
This tachi has a fine paulownia wood storage box that is custom fitted to store the koshirae and the tachi. It features fitted holders at each end as well as cutouts to accept the side of the tsuba so the koshirae can lay flat. There is also a large pillow custom fitted to keep the contents secure. The blade is also accompanied by an NBTHK Hozon paper. A stunning package of high empirical value and top quality in all regards.
