Matthew S Posted May 13 Report Posted May 13 Type: Katana Ubu, Suriage or O-Suriage : Ubu Mei : (Mumei, Signature) : Mumei Papered or not and by whom? : NBTHK Hozon Era/Age : Shinshinto Shirasaya, Koshirae or Bare Blade? : Shirasaya with Sayagaki by Bizan Nagasa/Blade Length : 29.3 inches Hamon Type : Suguha Flaws : Some surface corrosion as seen in the photos Sword Location : Tampa, FL Will ship to : CONUS Payment Methods Accepted : PayPal and Venmo Price and Currency : $2,300 USD Other Info and Full Description : oversized large Katana in Shirasaya with Sayagaki, with NBTHk Hozon paper, Mumei unsigned, attributed to: 新々刀 Shinshinto (period) 阿州祐芳 Ashu Sukeyoshi as we all know, the general size and shape of Nihonto blades changes over the history, which reflects how they were intended to be used during that prticular period of time. during Edo period, with the society gradually returned back to peace and the establishment of new law and regulation, the average size of Katana became short and small comparing to their predecessors. However, this situation changed during the turbulent 幕末Bakumatsu period (the last stage of Edo period) when Katana were once again expected to be used on the cruel battlefront. With the introduction of advanced western firearms, those which used to take the dominant rule on the battlefield, Yumi (bow) and Yari (spears), were replaced by firearms and fell into disuse. The Katana became the only primary melee weapon, and the size of blade once again increased due to this reason. ——This particular blade by 阿州祐芳Ashu Sukeyoshi is a perfect sample of such Katana. 祐芳Sukeyoshi, also signed as 阿州吉川六郎源祐芳 Ashu Kikkawa Rokuro Minamoto Sukeyoshi, is a well appreciated Shinshinto period smith who mainly actived during the 幕末Bakumatsu period. Despite Sukeyoshi was born in the country of 阿波Awa (阿波国, today's Tokushima prefectured), it was told that he is the decendent of the 吉川Kikkawa family of the 毛利Mori clan that was originated in the country of 周防Suo (周防国, today's Yamaguchi prefecture). He studied under 横山祐永Yokoyama Sukenaga, the Edo period descendent of the famous 備前長船Bozen Osafune school, and later worked under the 蜂須賀Hachisuka clan of the 徳島藩Tokushima-han domain. Sukeyoshi's work is known for being favored by 近藤勇Kondo Isami, the leader of the famous 幕府Bakufu commissioned elite swordman group 新撰組Shinsen-gumi. As shown in the photos, like many other of his works, this sword is a typical Bakumatsu period "oversized" Katana with an obviously larger size in all aspects: thicker, longer, and wider, with a Moto-gasane of ~8mm and Saki-gasane of ~6mm —— it's a hefty monster in hand. The Shirasaya is very decently made by great quality wave-patterned 朴木Hou-no-ki wood, that's also large and thick as the size of the blade. It has 鞘書きSayagaki written, which reads as: 阿州吉川六郎源祐芳作 made by Ashu Kikkawa Rokuro Minamoto Sukeyoshi 新撰組局長近藤勇愛刀之一口 a blade favored by Kondo Isami, the leader of Shinsen-gumi 但本作生茎無銘也 but this piece is Ubu Nakago, Mumei unsigned 長ニ尺四寸七分 Nagasa 2 Shaku 4 Sun 7 Bu 令和五歳文月吉祥日 an auspicious day of July, 5th year of Reiwa 備山誌之 (花押) recorded by Bizan 4 Quote
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