A Yoshikane Katana (筑前住源信国吉包)

This is a spectacular katana by Nobukuni Yoshikane, a central figure in the Chikuzen Nobukuni school, the official retained smiths of the Kuroda clan of Fukuoka Domain throughout the Edo period. Yoshikane stands as the 14th generation of a distinguished lineage tracing back to the Kyô-Nobukuni tradition, working during the Enpô era when the long Tokugawa peace had settled fully across Japan and the smiths of Chikuzen were producing some of the finest blades of the period. His father was Yoshitsugu and his son Shigekane, who would later be permitted to engrave the Ichiyô-Aoi hollyhock crest on his nakago at the celebrated ceremony held at Mihama Palace in 1721.

The blade is built on a tightly forged ko-itame with ji-nie, chikei and the light utsuri characteristic of the school, and above it blazes a completely dazzling gunome-chôji-midare – the school’s celebrated chôji appearing with tremendous vigour, squid-head forms rising from a hamon rich with active sunagashi, tobiyaki and thick nie. The nioiguchi is bright and clear throughout, concluding in a sugu-komaru bôshi. This is Yoshikane working at the height of his powers, and his sword lights up the room in the most fabulous way. Be sure to check out the hugely chiseled 8-character signature on the nakago, a trademark of Yoshikane. The NBTHK has certified it Tokubetsu Hozon; Tanobe-sensei, whom we took this sword to back in February, called it a healthy, superior masterpiece. Completely agreed.

The koshirae has a fine story in its own right. The Okamoto-school tsuba from Chôshû carries an igeta well-crib crest on the front and a chrysanthemum on the reverse, with gold paulownia and vine scrollwork filling the field – a commission of daimyô quality. The fuchi-kashira, made in Nagasaki during the Meiji period, is carved in the round as a fully three-dimensional flower petal arrangement with fine crosshatched inlay that reveals itself only on close inspection, a product of Nagasaki’s unique fusion of Japanese craft and Western ornamental ambition. The tsuka is wrapped in the distinctly Higo fusube-kawa smoked leather with kiri-mon menuki left in natural black shakudô, perfectly calibrated to the ensemble. And the saya itself is lacquered in kuro ni shu-moyô – deep vermilion swirling through black in patterns that call to mind dragon scales or molten lava. All told, this is an incredible katana with samurai-class that will give its next caretaker a lifetime of pride and joy.