Kazusa no Suke Fujiwara Kaneshige Katana with NBTHK Hozon Certificate, Beautiful blade with Excellent Horimono. With Koshirae and Shirasaya.
KANESHIGE (兼重),
2nd gen., Kanbun (寛文, 1661-1673), Musashi – “Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige” (上総介兼重),
“Kazusa no Suke Fujiwara Kaneshige” (上総介藤原兼重), “Tsuji Kazusa no Suke Fujiwara Kaneshige” (辻上総介
藤原兼重), “Kazusa no Kami Kaneshige” (上総守兼重), “Kazusa no Kami Fujiwara Kaneshige” (上総守藤原兼重),
real name Tsuji Suke´emon (辻助右衛門), son of the 1
st gen. Kaneshige, he temporarily worked in Anotsu (阿濃津) in
Ise province, there exist joint works with the 3rd gen. Yasutsugu (康継) and Hōjōji Masateru (法城寺正照), the
workmanship is similar to Kotetsu (虎徹), it is said that he also matched his meiburi to that of Kotetsu, he was granted
the honorary title Kazusa no Suke which was later raised to Kazusa no Kami, but there are only a few blades extant
which are actually signed with Kazusa no Kami, there is the theory that this has something to do with the right that the
post of governor (kami) of three provinves Hitachi, Kazusa and Kōzuke was always granted to the Imperial Prince, this
right started in the 9th century but was officially never abandoned, that means Kaneshige returned to sign with his
former honorary title Kazusa no Suke out of respect for the prince´s title, the workmanship is similar to his father but
he also hardened a suguha or gunome mixed with the typical ashi of Kotetsu, the jigane is strong but not that bright as at
Kotetsu, we know date signatures from the eighth year of Kanbun (1668) to the fifth year of Tenna (天和, 1685), ryō wazamono, jō-saku
