MINO DEN KATANA (fss-908)
MINO DEN KATANA (fss-908) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale 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...
TAKEDA MUNEYUKI (FSS-906)
TAKEDA MUNEYUKI (FSS-906) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale A beautifully mounted shinto katana in the takada tradition. This blade is signed “ TAKADA JU FUJIWARA MUNEYUKI”. The NBTHK awarded this Hozon origami attesting to the authenticity of the signature. The blade is katana length and well balanced. This sword shows good hataraki, there are ashi and yo and the hamon is choji/gunome. The hada is itame. This Katana is a work of Muneyuki, It is understood the technical exchanges between Tadayoshi school in Hizen domain became very active during 17th C. This katana shows a resemblance to some works of Hizen. The blade is well made and has an elegant shape. Slightly machi-okuri the signature is authentic and adds to this work by MUNEYUKI. The mounts are attractive with its large double phoenix menuki.. The Tsuka-ito is a silk wrapped cord in a whitish crème color. The scabbard/saya is red lacquer finished. The Tsuba is of the Heianjo style with brass inlay on a sukashi plate. The fuchi/kashira are of gold inlay waves. There is a silver foiled habaki, all the koshirai is antique and original. Takeda school information: [Bunshu Takada-ju], the name of clan [Fujiwara] and smith name [MUNEYUKI] . The founder of Takada lineage in Kenmu (1330’s) in Bungo domain was TOMOYUKI who was a disciple of SAMONJI in Chikuzen domain. During the Sengoku Warning States period, The sword makers of Takada school had worked for a feudal lord Ōtomo Sōrin exclusively. It’s workmanship covers wide range such as Sōshu Bizen, Mino or Yamashiro schools. The subject blade is distinguished as a work of the Muneyuki It is understood the...
(MINO) DAIDO (fss-905)
(MINO) DAIDO (fss-905) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale Shodai Daido was a smith working in the Mino tradition, and achieved the title of Mutsu no Kami in 1574. His work period dates to the transition years in the Keicho era where Koto gave way to Shinto. His history states that he was the personal swordsmith to Oda Nobunaga who employed smiths of the Mino tradition (the rise of his armies contributed to the spread of the Mino style throughout Japan, and its large contribution to what would become the Shinto style). He reportedly moved to Kyoto with his sons Iga no Kami Kanemichi (Jo-saku), Rai Kinmichi (Jo-saku), Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi (Jo-saku), and Etchu no Kami Masatoshi (Jo-jo saku) making swords for Nobunaga. They would become the Kyoto Gokaji, or the Five Swordsmiths of Kyoto. All of them have sharpness ratings of at least wazamono, so they made blades well in keeping of the warrior tradition of Mino, and from the success and fame of his sons it would seem that Daido was a very good teacher. Daido began his career with the name of Kanemichi, which explains the names of several of his sons. He was granted the “O” character 大from emperor Ogimachi. After using the name O-Kanemichi, he later changed to “Daido”, using the alternate reading of the 大 character. Fujishiro seems to interpret the two signatures as two different smiths, though he records this story under Kanemichi. Kanemichi is dated to 1558 (Eiroku) and listed at Chu-jo Saku and Daido to 1596 (Keicho) at Jo-saku so there was an improvement in skill over time. SHIN-GUNTO SWORDS...
SEKI KANEKADO (fss-904)
(SEKI) KANEKADO (fss-904) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale This is a very interesting signed katana in the Koto Mino tradition and of the late muromachi era. It is in an original polish. The overall sugata of this sword is impressive and the hamon is loaded with activity. The hamon contains plentiful nie and togare-ba. The hada has a milky slick looking finish and forged very well with some areas of O- hada mixed in. This blade comes in mountings. The furniture are made of silver and in good condition. The fuchi kashira are modern and of waves with dragon menuki. Many Chinese believed the dragon held, or at least chased, the sun, and many drawings depict this as a flaming red ball. However, over the years, this sun changed color from red to a silvery-pearl color, and gradually the ball came to be considered a flaming pearl, known as the night shining pearl. It is with this that the dragon is almost invariably associated in art.The link between serpentine shaped dragons and the pearl is reflected in a legend that states that Chi Liang, the Marquis of Sui, who was a Minister of State, was out walking one day, and found a wounded snake to which he gave medicine and saved its life. Sometime later, he saw the snake with a brilliant pearl in its mouth. The snake said ‘I am the son of His Majesty the Dragon, and I am indebted to you for the preservation of my life, and I have brought this pearl to thank you for your kindness.’ The Minister accepted the...About Moses Becerra
With over 30 years of experience and dedication to this art you can count on his integrity, professionalism, passion and honesty to work with new and old clients every day.