Lot Essay
The Ukai School, comprising mainly Unsho and his brother Unji, was a variation of the mainline Bizen tradition; both smiths used two distinct forging patterns- a very fine tight-grain texture (of which this tachi is an outstanding example) and a rather coarse texture- both of which allowed the actual structure of the metal to be more visible.
This blade is a representative example not only of the broad, weighty tachi of the late Kamakura period but also of the fine-grain forging style of the Ukai school. In almost pristine condition, the blade has lost no more than approximately 0.5 mm of its original thickness, being 8.0mm. at the mune-machi and 8.5mm. at the broadest part of the nakago. The almost patternless texture commonly is seen copied at a later date in the shinshinto of Osaka smiths such as Koyama Munetsugu and Suishinshi Masahide.
The sophisticated use of the strongly slanted 'legs' reaching deeply into the tempering (saka-gokoro nioi-ashi), however, is typical of the muted and subtle patterns one would expect in the works of Unsho and related smiths of the early 14th century.
This sword was presented to General Juan Peron by the Japanese government in the l940's and it was auctioned by the Argentine government after Peron's fall at the Automobile Club of Argentina. It is rare to have such a complete koshirae by a well-known artist of the early 19th century in almost perfect condition.
Egawa Sorin (1774-1832) was the adopted son and heir of Katsura Eiju, carver to the daimyo of Kurume in Fukuoka. He was a student of Hitotsuyanagi (Ichiryu) Tomoyoshi I of Mito (fl. second half of the 18th century). He later studied under Hirano Tomomichi. He was also a student of Yokoya Soyo III (fl. first half of the 19th century) and took the So (Mune) kanji of his name (Sorin) from Soyo. He was able to use and combine all the styles of these schools as his own. In his later years he became a retainer to the daimyo of Kurume and at the same time made fittings for the Tokugawa bakufu. He changed his name over the years from Egawa Toshimasa to Egawa Sorin and Soei and, later, to Katsura Sorin. His work is very fine, no matter what style or in what period he was working. He died in 1856 at the age of 82.
This blade is a representative example not only of the broad, weighty tachi of the late Kamakura period but also of the fine-grain forging style of the Ukai school. In almost pristine condition, the blade has lost no more than approximately 0.5 mm of its original thickness, being 8.0mm. at the mune-machi and 8.5mm. at the broadest part of the nakago. The almost patternless texture commonly is seen copied at a later date in the shinshinto of Osaka smiths such as Koyama Munetsugu and Suishinshi Masahide.
The sophisticated use of the strongly slanted 'legs' reaching deeply into the tempering (saka-gokoro nioi-ashi), however, is typical of the muted and subtle patterns one would expect in the works of Unsho and related smiths of the early 14th century.
This sword was presented to General Juan Peron by the Japanese government in the l940's and it was auctioned by the Argentine government after Peron's fall at the Automobile Club of Argentina. It is rare to have such a complete koshirae by a well-known artist of the early 19th century in almost perfect condition.
Egawa Sorin (1774-1832) was the adopted son and heir of Katsura Eiju, carver to the daimyo of Kurume in Fukuoka. He was a student of Hitotsuyanagi (Ichiryu) Tomoyoshi I of Mito (fl. second half of the 18th century). He later studied under Hirano Tomomichi. He was also a student of Yokoya Soyo III (fl. first half of the 19th century) and took the So (Mune) kanji of his name (Sorin) from Soyo. He was able to use and combine all the styles of these schools as his own. In his later years he became a retainer to the daimyo of Kurume and at the same time made fittings for the Tokugawa bakufu. He changed his name over the years from Egawa Toshimasa to Egawa Sorin and Soei and, later, to Katsura Sorin. His work is very fine, no matter what style or in what period he was working. He died in 1856 at the age of 82.