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Lot Essay
The blade accompanied by a certificate of registration as a Tokubetsu Kicho Token [Especially Valuable Sword] no. 124928 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 15th April 1967, and another certificate of registration as a Tokubetsu Hozon Token [Sword Especially Worthy of preservation] no. 120356 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 8th August 1989
The koshirae accompanied by a certificate of registration as a Hozon Tosogu [Sword Fittings Worthy of Preservation] no. 431003 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 4th August 1995
The kozuka accompanied by a separate certificate of registration as a Hozon Tosogu [Sword Fitting Worthy of Preservation] no. 439958 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 15th April 2000
The tsuba accompanied by a separate certificate of registration as a Hozon Tosogu [Sword Fitting Worthy of Preservation] no. 439956 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 14th June 2000
This fine gassaku (joint work between two smiths) is by the father and son Sukehira and Sukenanga. The smith Sukehira (d.1929) was of the lineage of Shichibei-no-jo Sukesada, and initially signed his work Sukesada. He studied under Oku Motohira of Satsuma around 1788, and there exists a sword by him inscribed that it was made in the house of Motohira in Sasshu. He sometimes inscribed 'the fifty-fifth descendant of Tomonari' on the tangs of his swords. He received the honorific title Ise no Kami in 1790.
Sukenaga (d.1851) was Sukehira's second son, and the most celebrated of the Yokoyama family. He was accorded the title Kaga-no-suke in 1833, and the right to carve the Imperial Chrysanthemum together with the character Ichi on the tangs of his swords. He was the fifty-sixth descendant of Tomonari.
The koshirae accompanied by a certificate of registration as a Hozon Tosogu [Sword Fittings Worthy of Preservation] no. 431003 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 4th August 1995
The kozuka accompanied by a separate certificate of registration as a Hozon Tosogu [Sword Fitting Worthy of Preservation] no. 439958 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 15th April 2000
The tsuba accompanied by a separate certificate of registration as a Hozon Tosogu [Sword Fitting Worthy of Preservation] no. 439956 issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai [Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword] on 14th June 2000
This fine gassaku (joint work between two smiths) is by the father and son Sukehira and Sukenanga. The smith Sukehira (d.1929) was of the lineage of Shichibei-no-jo Sukesada, and initially signed his work Sukesada. He studied under Oku Motohira of Satsuma around 1788, and there exists a sword by him inscribed that it was made in the house of Motohira in Sasshu. He sometimes inscribed 'the fifty-fifth descendant of Tomonari' on the tangs of his swords. He received the honorific title Ise no Kami in 1790.
Sukenaga (d.1851) was Sukehira's second son, and the most celebrated of the Yokoyama family. He was accorded the title Kaga-no-suke in 1833, and the right to carve the Imperial Chrysanthemum together with the character Ichi on the tangs of his swords. He was the fifty-sixth descendant of Tomonari.