This is a very long sword at almost 30″.  Its a very strong and functional sword and shows good workmanship from the sue-seki line of smiths.  Some utsuri can be seen along with many active hataraki.  It’s in a good polish and is also mounted in a dragon motif.  The mounts have been restored and are also sound.  This sword is from the 1500 or so and overall is a fine sword.

About the school:

Sue-seki refers to the sword makers who forged swords from Mino province at the end of the Muromachi Period.The MINO swordsmiths style, also known as MINO-DEN, has the TOGARI(Pointed shapes protruding from the Hamon )in a classic straight line and random temper line with some white Utsuri. MINO-DEN had its origin from YAMATO-DEN in the late KAMAKURA period(1280-1330). It flourished in the MUROMACHI period(1333-1573) and continued until the EDO period(1603-1868).

 MINO-DEN especially prospered during Sengoku Jidai(Warring State period) due to the high demand for weapons. And the location of Mino province was better than other schools. Akechi Mitsuhide controlled Mino province, and Nobunaga Oda ruled Owari province, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was the lord of Suruga (Neighboring areas). There was high demand from those powerful feudal lords and their retainers. Furthermore, so many wars occurred between the Kanto region and the Kyoto area, and Mino is located in the middle, making feudal lords feel convenient to order swords from MINO-DEN. The blades forged in MINO provinces also had the reputation of its practical design and sharpness. Many feudal lords demanded swords forged in the Mino province.

  This sword has a Hozon certificate issued by NBTHK. This authentication paper was only given to Japanese swords, worth preserving by Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai(the Japanese Sword museum for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword).