Item description:

This fine wakazashi has great workmanship and a beautiful gunome/choji midare hamon almost hitatsura on one side especially. This blade is ubu and signed and dated. A spectacular collection of activity with Yubashiri, Tobyaki, Sunagashi, Kinsuji, chikei and much more. Ji-nie and utsuri can be seen. A fine example of almost every activity can be seen and appreciated within this blade in the Bizen tradition.  It is in a very nice polish with a very nice set of koshirae. Look at the pictures, they not do justice to this sword.  The hamon is very nicely done with a thick nioi-guchi.  It has many hataraki and ara-nie appear.  The hada is very well forged with a milky looking color of itame with mokume. Some minor coarseness visible in the Jihada.  The boshi is ko-maru with kaen like finish. This early wakazashi is signed and dated and also has an elegant shape and is very well balanced.  The mounts are in very good shape and add to the overall value of this sword.  The fittings are sound and have a more simple and traditional look and display very well.  Overall this is a fine Japanese wakazashi.  The Fuchi-Kashira are a neutral shakudo. The menuki and kodzuka are of a floral motif.

The mounts are of good quality from tsuka to saya. The floral theme of the menuki and kodzuka beautifully finish the tsuka and saya with an exceptional deep blue tsukaito wrap. The saya is an exquisite black lacquer . The floral motif was often used as a theme for Asian art. Mythological subjects and auspicious symbols were sometimes used as motifs for Japanese sword furniture. Motifs could stand alone as designs unto themselves, particularly if they had seasonal or symbolic associations, but they were also used as decorative patterns surrounding or backing more pictorial motifs such as this. The habaki is an open work style and finished in gold. The tsuba is iron and of open work or sukashi style with a unique design.

This is a wonderful BIZEN sword for a collector who wishes to view and study the multitude of activity within a BIZEN blade!