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Hamon : Nie-deki notare with ko gunome and hako gunome. The nioi-guchi is thick and bright. There are thick ashi mixed in. Kinsuji and sunagashi are present.
Boshi : Ko-maru and slight hakikake with a short return.
Kitae : Strong masame hada mixed with Ko-itame hada. Ji-nie and chikei are present. The pattern of folding is also clear to see on the shinogi-ji. Yubashiri and muneyaki are present.
About this sword : An outstanding wakizashi by Takahashi Naganobu. A highly ranked maker, Jo Saku by Fujishiro and 4.5 million yen in the Tokotaikan. This blade was made in 1856 when Takahashi Naganobu was 40 years old and in his prime. He was born in the city of Izumo in 1817. At the age of 13, he became a student of the 15th generation Fuyuhiro. He was adopted into the Fuyuhiro family and eventually became the official smith in service of lord Matsudaira Sadayasu. He studied under Chounsai Tsunatoshi for a few years and then opened his own forge in 1841, changing his name to Takahashi Naganobu. Some of his later works are signed stating that he was deaf. He was also said to be left-handed, as shown by the Gyaku-sujikai filemarks on this work. He passed away in 1876 at the age of 63.
This blade is remarkably wide and has a high shinogi. It is much wider(3.4 cm)than even a standard katana and has only slight taper over its length. The blade feels powerful in one's hands and has a robust personality. It is in full polish, done in Japan. The polish is high-quality work, hataraki is clear to observe, the hadori follows the nioi-guchi and the geometry of the blade is crisp. This blade was registered in accordance with the Culture Property Protection Law (Torokusho) in Showa 26 (1951). The registration is still affixed to the shira saya. 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.
This wakizashi retains its original Edo period chisa-katana koshirae. This is important to preserve. At sword gatherings we see mostly blades that have lost their koshirae or that have contrived furniture. This a charming koshirae, in excellent condtion and visually stunning. The red urushi on the ribbed section makes a striking contrast to the deep green urushi of the rest of the saya and black leather ito. The fuchi kashira, koikuchi, ura-kawara and kojiri are kinko made of shibuichi with gold wash in arabesque motif. The menuki are large lions in gold wash over copper. The kurikata is takabori of a lion's head with gold wash. The tsuba is shibuichi with a sayagata (manji design) in gold on the mimi. It is signed signed Buto (kao) made at 77 years of age. The kozuka is signed as Yasuchika which is not verified.
An exciting and fine Josaku work in full polish and with its orginal koshirae. Accomponed by a NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and its 1951 Torokusho.
$7900
