A LATER SOSHU KATANA

Details

A LATER SOSHU KATANA
EDO PERIOD, DATED KANEI 8 (1631), SIGNED HOKI (NO) KUNI KURAYOSHI (NO) JU SAI NO-O SHICHIROSAEMON (NO) JO MORIHIRO SAKU

Configuration (sugata): with longitudinal ridge line (shinogi-zukuri), shallow peaked back (iori-mune) and medium point (chu-kissaki); length (nagasa): 2 shaku, 4 sun, 5 bu (74.6cm.); curvature (sori): torii-zori of 1.5cm.; increase in width of blade (fumbari): 0.8cm.
Forging pattern (jihada): very tight burl (mokume) resembling pear skin (nashiji).
Tempering pattern (hamon): box-shaped clove and irregular patterns (hako-choji midare) with some 'islands', 'swept sands' (sunagashi) and leaf tempering (yo).
Point (boshi): brush tip (hakikake).
Tang (nakago). Shape (keitai): long, slender, slightly tapering and ubu; file marks (yasurime): slanted (katte-sagari); end (nakagojiri): ha-agari kuri-jiri; holes (mekugi-ana): two (one plugged); signature (katanamei): Hoki (no) Kuni Kurayoshi (no) ju Sai No-O Shichirosaemon (no) Jo Morihiro saku; date (jidai): Kanei 8-nen 2-gatsu kichi-nichi (an auspicious day in the 2nd month of Kanei 8 (1631)).

Shirasaya.

Katana-koshirae comprising: a red/black lacquer saya fitted with a horn kurikata and an iron kojiri; the tsuka set with shakudo and gold menuki of branches of flowering plum tied with prayer slips; the dark shibuichi fuchi kashira are molded in relief with waves and minogame with gold highlights, unsigned; the oval iron tsuba with piped rim is deeply carved in excellent detail with a celestial dragon above a tiger and rockwork and with highlights picked out in gold, signed Seiunsai Yukimitsu with kao (fl. 1850, in Edo, but worked in the Mito style of the Nitta family)--length of koshirae 105.3cm.; length of tsuka 29.3cm.; diameter of tsuba 8.6cm..

Silk storage bag.

Provenance

Captain David Craig Collection
Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing

Lot Essay

This smith is listed in Iida Kazuo, Toko soran, as Shichirouemon (no) Jo Morihiro. There is a misprint in the book; the kanji for "hiro" is incorrect as listed and should be the same kanji as used by Soshu Hiromitsu. This smith changed his name from Shichirouemon to Shichirosaemon in approximately Kanei 8, the year this blade was made; because of the similarity of the kanji of "U" and "Sa", it was originally thought that there was a misreading, but that has been proven wrong. See Fujishiro, vol. 2, p. 556, for a similar signature.

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