Description:

This is an exquisite katana from the kanbun era (1661-1673).  Fujiwara Takeda school swords were well known to be very good cutting swords and were desirable for samurai.  This unique example is almost 33″long and has a very slight curvature.   During the Kanbun era straighter swords became the fashion as sword fighting styles were always evolving and changing.  One would think this blade to be heavy and difficult to use but just the opposite is true.  This long sword is very well balanced and sound.  Even a novice can feel how well balanced and usable this blade is.  The ji is extremely well forged and is tightly made showing great activity.  The hada is in the itame style of forging and has a rich and deep look to it in hand.  The hamon also is very well done and shows the excellent skill of the smith.  The abundance of hataraki/activity in the hamon also makes for a very interesting blade.  The hamon is in Gunome style and ungulates with a pleasant and relaxing look overall.  This sword is not flashy but looks much more deep and serious.  We come across many very fine swords that were never signed.  We are always intrigued by this but its obvious that not all great swords were signed and a great many signed swords were signed with fake signatures.  Therefore quality should be noted and respected even on unsigned sword.

The fittings are also of good quality to match this sword.  The soft metal fuchi/kashira have a mythological motif.  The menuki appear to be of merchants involved in there daily business.  The fittings are all made using a mixture of shakudo/silver/copper and gold.  The tsuba is iron and is also in a interesting design to keep with the overall feel of this blade.  Its not flashy but its carved nicely in a visually interesting pattern.  The sword is in a newly restored saya in crushed abalone shell inlayed into the lacquer. This is a very expensive saya.   The original saya on this sword was completely damaged beyond repair but traces of the original finish were visible.  So when the sword was fully polished the saya was made like the original.  The handle is wrapped in blue silk and set off all the fittings great as well as the saya.  This is one of this finest example of a real antique Japanese sword.  Its in excellent shape with accompanying papers attesting to the quality, date and school of production.