KANEZANE (fss-785)

KANEZANE (fss-785)

by | Jun 9, 2018

KANEZANE (fss-785) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale Item description here Asano Kanesane, also spelled Kanezane, is one of the better documented swordsmiths of the Showa (WW II) Era. He was born Asano Shinichi on December 19th 1910 in the city of Seki in Mino (Noshu) Province and was apprenticed to master swordsmith Kojima Kanemichi in 1923. In April of 1930, he became an independent swordsmith and adopted the art name of Kanesane. He established a school of swordmaking in Seki and began teaching the art in 1933 when he accepted his first students, Kanetada and Michisane. He worked his entire life in Seki. He won numerous awards for swordmaking including the silver medal in the 1934 Fine Art Exhibition, the gold medal at the same exhibition in 1935 and gold medals in each successive exhibition from 1936 to 1941 (Fuller and Gregory). He was ranked “second seat” (quasi national smith) in the 1941 newly made swords exhibition (Slough). In 1942 he received a Special Award at the last Fine Art Exhibition held prior to the end of the war. Also in 1942, Kurihara Hikosaburo, (also known as Kurihara Akihide, the founder of the Nihonto Tanren Denshujo) ranked Kanesane as Joko no Retsu at the Tosho Banzuke (trans. Jinsoo Kim). The Nihon Token Tanrenjo and Nihon Token Shinbunshi swordsmith ranking published in 1943 gave Asano Kanesane the special rank of betseki (trans. Kenji Mishina). In 1942 his swordmaking school came under the direction of the army sword office. He established the East Asia Sword Company at that time to make swords for the war effort. At its...
KANEUJI WAKAZASHI (fss-780)

KANEUJI WAKAZASHI (fss-780)

by | Apr 11, 2018

KANEUJI WAKAZASHI (fss-780) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale KANEUJI (兼氏), Tensho , (1573), Mino – “Kaneuji” (兼氏), “Kaneuji saku” (兼氏作), “Nōshū-jū Kaneuji” (濃州住兼氏), Akasaka school, according to tradition this Tensho-era Kaneuji was the son or the grandson of a Kaneuji who moved from Naoe to Akasaka, wazamono, chū-jō-saku An exquisite late koto blade signed Kaneuji. The Kaneuji line of swordsmiths are famous and date back to the EARLY koto era.  They were known to make fine quality swords that cut very well.  This sword measures in at 15 5/8″ . This blade is a beautiful example of a late koto sword with great activity and a wonderful hada covered in ji-nie. The hamon is a vibrant gunome-midare filled with sunagashi, kinsuji and ko-nie abounds. The hada has beautiful thick nioi guchi that is vibrant and bright, loaded with layers of sunagashi. There is an active itame O-mokume mix with flowing itame throughout the blade. Shirrake utsuri can clearly be seen. There is masame in the shinogi-ji. Chikei can be seen all over as well as being peppered with ji-nie. The blade is signed and papered to Kane Uji and given an approximate date of 1573. The longish kissaki has a boshi that is ko-maru finished in hakikake style with kinsuji. The hada has a perfect burl effect and a pleasure to behold. . AN EXCERPT FROM: Yamanaka’s Nihonto Newsletter:General: No specific Mino section which is in the format of the other books. Instead, In Vol II, two issues were dedicated to discussing the specific characteristics of the key schools and smiths. The key smiths and schools are as follows: Kaneuji and his school, Naoe Shizu (Kaneuji’s followers), Kaneshige (worked...
Fujiwara Kunizumi (fss-779)

Fujiwara Kunizumi (fss-779)

by | Apr 3, 2018

Fujiwara Kunizumi (fss-779) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale An exciting unique sword that was special ordered. The blade is signed: Tōbu Fujiwara Kunizumi saku (東武藤原国住作) and it also has the inscription that it was made for Yasuda-shi Hisaaki (安田氏久明) - who was Hisaaki from the Yasuda family. A samurai family. This blade is a shinshinto beauty. Kunizumi was listed as: KUNIZUMI (国住), Kansei (寛政, 1789-1801), Iyo – “Kunizumi saku” (国住作), “Yoshū Matsuyama-shin Fujiwara Kunizumi” (予州松山臣藤原国住, “Fujiwara Kunizumi, retainer of the Matsuyama fief of Iyo province”), he studied in Edo under Hōjōji Kuniyoshi (法城寺国吉) The sword is wakazashi in size and has a splendid koshirae. The blade is ubu with one hole and flawless. The hada is a well worked itame with ji-nie and masame in the shinogi-ji. The boshi is a wide ko-maru. The hamon is a perfectly controlled slightly undulating sugu-ha that widens on both sides as you reach the mono-uchi area.. There is fine kinsugi that can be seen weaving in and out at the top of the hamon. Hotsure is also seen and the entire blade sparkles with ji-nie. The koshirae is of a mon theme with  matching fuchi / kashira of kirimons and menuki of mons also. The tsuba is a beautiful example of nanako with mons to complete the theme. The kodzuka is of a samurai and scholar and the kodzuka blade is signed kunisada. The saya is a glossy black lacquered finish that has been fully restored with blue silk tsuka-ito over a richly patina’d Same (rayskin). The sageo is a combination of blue and red and greatly adds to...
Koto Tanto (fss-778)

Koto Tanto (fss-778)

by | Mar 7, 2018

Koto Tanto (fss-778) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale This is a very well made tanto that dates back to the koto era(1400’s-1500’s).  The quality is good and no major or fatal flaws are found on this tanto.  The work on this tanto appears to be from the Bizen school of swordsmiths.  This blade is in an older polish and we recommend having it polished to bring out its true beauty.  The mounts are also original to this tanto and fit well.  Its mounted in a good samurai style. It’s straightforward mounts are meant to be honest and not fancy.  This is a great sword at a very reasonable price.  This is even for an entry level collector interested in owning a samurai era antique dating back hundreds of years. This sword should be submitted to shinsa to add to its overall value! Mei: Mumei Date: koto (1400’s-1500’s) Nagasa: 9-3/4 inches Sori: 2.0 mm Width at the ha-machi: 24.8mm Thickness at the mune-machi: 6.4 mm Construction: hira zukuri Mune: Iori Nakago: Ubu Kitae: Itame Hamon: Midare Boshi: Maru Condition: Older polish Click to Enlarge Image Click to Enlarge Image This sword is on consignment. Special Sale Price Sold On Hold Asking price: $1,200.00 (shipping and insurance included) Email us if your interested in this item and remember to include the order number for this item: fss-778. NihontoAntiques@comcast.net How To Order Information Subscribe for the Latest Updates!Join our mailing list to receive the latest News & Updates from Nihonto Antiques. SUBSCRIBE You have Successfully Subscribed! Your email address will be kept private & will only be used to send updates from this site! For Sale Echizen Kanenori (fss-789) Sesshū-jū Norihide (fss-788)...
Echizen Tsuguhiro (fss-777)

Echizen Tsuguhiro (fss-777)

by | Mar 4, 2018

Echizen Tsuguhiro (fss-777) New Item Available Sold On Hold Special Sale According to the Fujishiro Shinto volume, Tsuguhiro is thought to have worked between Genna and Kyoho (1615 and 1716). A hundred years is a large span of time but the lack of dated works is difficult to assign an exact working period. However, other keys in the signature point to earlier than later. Fujishiro notes that around Kanbun (1661) Echizen works commonly have the information “Echizen Ju ” (resident of Echizen) inscribed separately on the ura of the sword, with the rest of the mei (such as title and name) on the omote. This work has the inscription ” Echizen ju shimosaka “on the ura, and contains the mei on the omote specifically including ” Omi no kami fujiwara tsuguhiro ” , a trait which is shared in the example Tsuguhiro mei in Fujishiro Shinto Hen, and is noted there as being quite unusual. Albert Yamanaka notes that Echizen smiths that include “Kuni” in their mei were associated directly with shodai Yasutsugu. Since the Shodai died in the seventh year of Genna (1623), we can surmise that Tsuguhiro’s working life is much closer to Genna than Kyoho, placing this sword in the earlier years of the Shinto period, and this work probably no later than Kanbun. Tsuguhiro is rated as Chujosaku and Wazamono in the Shinto Hen. This work is very robust and bold. Omi no kami Fujiwara Tsuguhiro was a student of the 3rd generation Yasutsugu. He moved to Edo and made a multitude of swords. He made swords like Yasutsugu hamon but sometimes he made  Choji midare and kobushi choji midare hamon similar to Kawachi...