OWARI NOBUTAKA (fss-866)
OWARI NOBUTAKA (fss-866) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale The Original Nobutaka line of smiths starts with the 1st or Shodai who received the title of Hoki no Kami around 1581. A title which was carried by a total of five generations of smiths with this same name. The Shodai Nobutaka worked during the dawn of the Shinto period from warring states period through the Keicho era and into the the early 16th century under the Tokugawa Shogunate. He resided in Owari in 1610. He was the approx.50 years of age at this time. He was originally in Mino provence. Tokugawa Yoshinao was placed as the ruler of Owari, and head of the Owari Tokugawa branch at this time so Nobutaka knew that this area would be in need of a smith base. The demand for Nobutaka smiths swords arose as the Owari Tokugawa placed them under direct employment, and they made swords for the Tokugawa Kenjutsu instructor, Yagyu Renyasai Shigekane. For this reason, most Nobutaka works are gassaku (jointly made work) between the generations as they came of age and then passed the school on to the next. The style of the Nobutaka smiths are referred to as “Owari Seki” due to their Mino origins and characteristics. Swords by the second and third generation have a distinct shape and are referred to as “Kanbun Shinto”. The Kanbun era was relatively short lived and the shape of the swords were with a shallow sori and a prevalent taper their entire length. This was an effort to capitulate on the style of swordsmanship of the times as well as the...
Koto Mihara (fss-865)
Koto Mihara (fss-865) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale A well made koto blade of the Mihara school. This blade is believed to be from the Tenmon era of thev 16thcentury. The hada is a beautiful Itame nagare with mokume and much ji-nie. Utsuri appears on the ji. The hamon is a rich wavy Sugu-ha with much hataraki for your viewing pleasure. The undulating hamon is sprinkled with nie the entire length of the blade and there are mountainous wisps of sunagashi throughout. The boshi is ko-maru. The Mihara School started in Bingo Province around the Shochu era (1324 - 1326), according to Yamanaka, “Descendants of the late Mihara School and of the Goami School made a few blades.” Bingo is on the Sanyodo Highway, on the south side of the western portion of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It faces the inland sea, beside Bitchu province. Mihara school had been prospered from late Kamakura to late Muromachi period in Bingo province present Okayama prefecture. The representative swordsmiths were Masaie and Masahiro. Especially the works of last Kamakura period to Namboku-cho period are called Ko-Mihara, and are distinguished from the later period.Rising above the times, the school had been influenced by the Yamato School. There had been many shoen; manors in medieval Japan in Bingo province ruled by the shrines and temples of Yamato province. As the features of Mihara school, elegant suguha-hamon with slight midare-ba and smooth Itame-hada. The sword comes mounted in beautiful koshirae with stylized fuchi/kashira . The menuki are turtles and very nice quality. Meanings derived from a turtle/tortoise...
Kashu Katsukuni (fss-864)
Kashu Katsukuni (fss-864) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale Item description here: This sword has been fully restored and is in a fresh sashikomi polish. The workmanship in this katana is excellent and the hamon is very active and beutiful. The sword has no flaws and is in interesting mounts that are in a waves and crabs motif. The tsukamaki silk is brown and the saya has stone texture. The sword is not signed, however the NTHK attribution is to 1st Generation Katsukuni. KATSUKUNI (勝国), 1st gen., Kanbun (寛文, 1661-1673), Kaga – “Kashū-jū Fujiwara Ieshige saku” (加州住藤原家重作), “Kashū-jū Iyo no Daijō Darani Tachibana Katsukuni” (加州住伊予大掾陀羅尼橘勝国), “Iyo no Daijō Tachibana Katsukuni saku” (伊予大橘勝国作), second son of the 1st gen. Ieshige (家重), real name Matsuto Zenzaburō (松戸善三郎), in Kanbun one (寛文, 1661), he received through the agency of his employer, the Maeda family (前田), from chancellor Yotsuji Yoshiie (四辻吉家) the honorary title Iyo no Daijō (伊予大掾), the clan name Fujiwara used by him so far was changed with this to Tachibana (橘) and the smith name to Katsukuni (勝国), with this he was the 1st gen. Darani Katsukuni but counted himself also as 17th gen. Rai Kuniyoshi (来国吉), he died in the twelfth year of Kanbun (寛文, 1672), itame mixed with masame and a Kanemoto-like sanbonsugi, the interpretations of Ieshige/Katsukuni are insofar different from that of Kanemoto as that they show nie in the valleys between the sanbonsugi elements, kata-sujikai yasurime, jō-saku Mei: Mumei Date: Edo (1600’s-1700’s) Nagasa: 25-1/2 inches Sori: 15.0 mm Width at the ha-machi: 31.5 mm Width at the yokote: 21.3 mm Thickness at the mune-machi: 6.5 mm Construction: Shinogi zukuri Mune: Iori Nakago: Ubu...
(Bizen) Sukesada (fss-863)
(Bizen) Sukesada (fss-863) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale Item description here: This is a wonderful example of a Bizen school sword that is signed and dated. This is a legitimately signature. A signed and dated blade is very interesting for a collector. It reads Bishu Osafune Sukesada, the date is very difficult to make out. This sword should be submitted to shinsa someday in the future to add to its overall value. We feel it dates from the1500’s or a bit later from the look and patina of the nakago and the blade itself. The hamon is a wide suguba with good hataraki/activity. The hada is mokume. The sword has bohi, that are well carved. This is a very well balanced sword and should also be considered for a quality iaido sword because of the Bohi carvings. The sword has original koshirai and the fuchi/kashira is a married set. The menuki are dragons and the tsuba is iron tsukashi with inlayed brass. The mounts have some wear from age as the handle wrapping is old silk and the koiguchi has minor damage that restorable. The overall look and feel of this sword and its mounts is of a serious samurai sword not meant to be flashy. The history of Bizen swords During the latter half of the Heian period (794–1185) the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan emerged as the two major warrior clans, with the tachi sword rapidly becoming their weapon of choice. More and more swordsmiths producing various tachi sword styles began to appear in the province of Bizen, which is also the location for quality iron...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.