Lot Essay
The smith Norifusa is said to have been the son of Nobufusa of the Fukuoka Ichimonji group, and the characteristics of this blade are close to those of the Fukuoka group. The smith moved either to Katayama close to Fukuoka, or to Katayama in neighboring Bitchu province (Okayama Prefecture) as one of the first generation of the Katayama group, which continued into the Nanbokucho period. Together with the work of Sukezane and Yoshifusa, the hamon of Norifusa are the most exuberant among middle Kamakura-period work, and similarities with those smiths suggest that Katayama was the place near Fukuoka. This sword is very similar to the National Treasure blade by Norifusa that was handed down in the house of the Tokugawa shoguns.
The blade was formerly in the collection of the painter and avid sword collector Hashimoto Dokuzan (1869-1938), and the Tokubetsu juyo certificate records a gold-lacquer inscription Tenka daiichi (Foremost under the heavens) said to have been written by Dokuzan, but which is no longer discernable.
The blade was formerly in the collection of the painter and avid sword collector Hashimoto Dokuzan (1869-1938), and the Tokubetsu juyo certificate records a gold-lacquer inscription Tenka daiichi (Foremost under the heavens) said to have been written by Dokuzan, but which is no longer discernable.