An Important Juyo Token Higo Hosokawa Daimyō Mitsunao Enju Katana presented to the Nagaoka family Chief Retainers of the Hosokawa

Reserved

This very important sword was an heirloom of the Nagaoka family, Presented to them by the fourth Higo Hosokawa Daimyō Mitsunao, and that the Nagaoka were chief retainers of the Hosokawa.

Mounted In Original Koshirae and Koshirae fitted with tsunagi

 

Jūyō-tōken at the 50th jūyō shinsa held on October 15, 2004
Katana, mumei: Enju (延寿)
Gunma Prefecture, Yokosuka Yasuhiro (横須賀康宏)
Measurements
nagasa 70.8 cm, sori 1.9 cm, motohaba 3.35 cm, sakihaba 2.25 cm, kissaki-nagasa 3.7 cm, nakagonagasa 17.5 cm, nakago-sori 0.15 cm
Description
Keijō: shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, wide mihaba, noticeable taper, thick kasane, relatively deep sori
that tends to toriizori, chū-kissaki
Kitae: rather standing-out itame that is mixed with mokume and nagare and that features ji-nie,
fine chikei, jifu-chō in places, and a shirake-utsuri
Hamon: ko-nie-laden chū-suguha-chō with a bright and relatively wide nioiguchi that tends to a
gently undulating notare in places, that is mixed with ko-gunome in the monouchi area of the ura
side, and that displays a few ko-ashi, some small hotsure on the ura side, and fine sunagashi
Bōshi: sugu with an ō-maru-like kaeri and hakikake, the omote side shows a relatively brief kaeri and
the ura side a wider kaeri
Horimono: on both sides a bōhi that runs as kaki-nagashi into the tang
Nakago: ō-suriage, kirijiri, gently slanting katte-sagari yasurime, three mekugi-ana, mumei
Explanation
The Enju (延寿) School of Higo province was founded by Tarō Kunimura (太郎国村), who is
said to have been a grandson (from a daughter married into another family) of the Yamashiro
master Rai Kuniyuki (来国⾏). The school then flourished from the end of the Kamakura to the
Nanbokuchō period in the town of Waifu (隈府), which was located in the Kikuchi district (菊池
郡) of Higo province. The school gave rise to many skilled smiths, for example Kuniyoshi (国吉),
Kunitoki (国時), Kuniyasu (国泰), Kunitomo (国友), Kunisuke (国資), Kuninobu (国信), and
Kunitsuna (国綱). The workmanship of these smiths is very similar and it can be said that the
Enju style basically resembles the style of the Rai School with the difference that Enju blades show
a more prominent amount of masame in the kitae, a shirake-utsuri, a hamon with a somewhat
subdued nioiguchi, calmer hataraki within the ha, and a bōshi with a relatively large and round kaeri
that runs back in a brief manner.
This blade shows a rather standing-out itame that is mixed with mokume and nagare and that
features ji-nie, fine chikei, jifu-chō in places, and a shirake-utsuri. The hamon is a ko-nie-laden chūsuguha-chō with a relatively wide nioiguchi that tends to a gentlu undulating notare in places, that
is mixed with ko-gunome in the monouchi area of the ura side, and that displays a few ko-ashi, some
small hotsure on the ura side, and fine sunagashi. The bōshi features an ō-maru-style kaeri which
runs back in a brief manner (on the omote side). Thus, the interpretation of the jiba clearly reflects
the typical characteristics of the Enju School. Particularly noteworthy is the ko-nie-laden and
suguha-based hamon with its bright nioiguchi and that the blade is with its relatively deep sori,
whose appearance suggests that it has been originally a toriizori, wide mihaba, and thick kasane
very healthy and of a powerful shape. According to tradition, this blade was once presented by
the fourth Higo Hosokawa Daimyō, Mitsunao (細川光尚, 1619–1650), to the Nagaoka (⻑岡)
family, which were retainers of the Hosokawa

 

Jūyō No 12033
Certificate
katana, mumei: Enju (延寿)
Measurements: nagasa 70.8 cm, sori 1.9 cm
Shape: shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, wide mihaba, thick kasane, relatively deep sori that tends to
toriizori, chū-kissaki
Kitae: rather standing-out itame that is mixed with mokume and nagare and that features ji-nie,
fine chikei, jifu-chō, and a shirake-utsuri
Hamon: ko-nie-laden chū-suguha-chō with a bright and relatively wide nioiguchi that tends to a
gently undulating notare in places, that is mixed with ko-gunome in the monouchi area of the
ura side, and that displays a few ko-ashi, some small hotsure on the ura side, and fine sunagashi
Bōshi: sugu with an ō-maru-like kaeri and hakikake, the omote side shows a relatively brief kaeri
and the ura side a wider kaeri
Horimono: on both sides a bōhi tha

t runs as kaki-nagashi into the tang
Nakago: ō-suriage, gently slanting katte-sagari yasurime, three mekugi-ana
According to the result of the shinsa committee of our society we judge this work as authentic
and rank it as jūyō-tōken.
October 15, 2004
[Juridical Foundation] Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, NBTHK
[President] Hashimoto Ryūtarō (橋本⿓太郎

 

 

Hosokawa Mitsunao (細川 光尚; October 26, 1619 – January 28, 1650) was a Japanese daimyō of the early Edo period. He was the grandson of the famous Christian convert (Kirishitan), Hosokawa Gracia. His great-grandfather was Hosokawa Fujitaka.

His childhood name was Rokumaru (六丸).

Mitsunao was born in 1619 and was  was the eldest son of Hosokawa Tadatoshi.

In 1637, he joined his father in the effort to subdue the Shimabara Rebellion and   fought with distinction.

Succeeding his father in 1641, he became daimyō of the Kumamoto Domain.

Mitsunao’s suppression of the Abe family’s revolt in 1642 is famous, due to its fictionalization by Mori Ōgai.

Family
Father: Hosokawa Tadatoshi
Mother: Chiyohime (1597–1649)
Wife: Shojōin, daughter of Karasuma Mitsukata
Concubines:
Seitai-in
Shimizu-dono
Children:
Hosokawa Tsunatoshi (1643–1714) by Seitai-in
Hosokawa Toshishige (1647–1687) by Seitai-in

 

The Nagaoka family served as chief retainers (karō) for the powerful Hosokawa clan, particularly the Kumamoto branch, during Japan’s Edo period, with some Nagaoka families holding significant administrative roles and managing key castles like Yatsushiro. They were loyal, trusted samurai, exemplified by figures like Okinaga Matsui, a key figure in handling crucial matters, and were deeply involved with the domain’s military and governance, even receiving heirloom swords from the Hosokawa lords.
Key Aspects of the Nagaoka (Matsui) Role:
Karō (Chief Retainers): The Nagaoka, often under the Matsui surname, acted as the top administrators and advisors to the Hosokawa daimyō.
Administrators: They managed domain affairs, held responsibilities for important castles (like Yatsushiro), and oversaw key decisions, including matters concerning other retainers.
Loyalty & Trust: Their position highlights immense loyalty, with the Hosokawa entrusting them with significant power and even bestowing valuable heirlooms, like swords, upon them.
Example: Matsui Family Documents: The “Matsui Family Documents” reveal their direct involvement in executing orders, such as sparing the life of Genya Ogasawara, a Christian retainer, showcasing their administrative authority.
Connection to Miyamoto Musashi: The Nagaoka (Matsui) family also served as fencing instructors to the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi during his time with the Hosokawa.
In essence, the Nagaoka (Matsui) family were pillars of the Hosokawa domain, essential to its smooth operation and governance throughout the Edo period.

The Hosokawa clan (細川氏, Hosokawa-shi; is a Japanese samurai kin group or clan.The clan descends from the Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan, and ultimately from Emperor Seiwa, through the Ashikaga clan.  It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate’s administration. In the Edo period, the clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan. The current clan head Morihiro Hosokawa served as Prime Minister of Japan.

Muromachi and Sengoku periods
Ashikaga Yoshisue, son of Ashikaga Yoshizane, was the first to take the surname of Hosokawa. Hosokawa Yoriharu, a Hosokawa of the late Kamakura period, fought for the Ashikaga clan against the Kamakura shogunate. Another, Hosokawa Akiuji, helped establish the Ashikaga shogunate.The clan wielded significant power over the course of the Muromachi (1336–1467), Sengoku (1467–1600), and Edo periods, moving, however, from Shikoku, to Kinai, and then to Kyūshū over the centuries,

 

The clan was also one of three families to dominate the post of Kanrei (Shōgun’s deputy), under the Ashikaga shogunate. One such individual was Hosokawa Yoriyuki .At the beginning of the Ashikaga’s rule, the Hosokawa were given control of the entirety of Shikoku. Over the course of this period, members of the Hosokawa clan were Constables (shugo) of Awa, Awaji, Bitchū, Izumi, Sanuki, Settsu, Tanba, Tosa, and Yamashiro Provinces.

Hosokawa Tadaoki, retainer of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi
A conflict between Hosokawa Katsumoto, the fifth Kanrei, and his father-in-law Yamana Sōzen, over the shogunate’s succession, sparked the Ōnin War, which led to the fall of the shogunate and a period of 150 years of chaos and war, known as the Sengoku period. Following the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate, which was based in Kyoto, control of the city, and thus ostensibly the country, fell into the hands of the Hosokawa clan (who held the post of Kyoto Kanrei – Shōgun