Masanori Katana with NBTHK Hozon Certificate. Mounted in very nice original Koshirae also with Shirasaya
MASANORI (正則), 1st gen., Keichō (慶長, 1596-1615), Echizen – “Yamato no Daijō Fujiwara Masanori”
(大和大掾藤原正則), “Yamato no Daijō Fujiwara Masanori” (大和大掾藤原正法), Yamada family (山田), he signed
his name in early years with the characters (正法), he came originally from Miyatsu (宮津) in Tango province and was a
late smith of the lineage of Sanjō Yoshinori (吉則), via a stopover in Yamashiro, he moved to Fukui (福井) to Echizen
province where he became a student of Kanenori (兼法), therefore his workmanship is strongly influenced by the Seki
style of his master, the jigane is an itame mixed with masame and ji-nie, the hamon is mostly a notare mixed with gunome but he
also hardened a suguha that reminds of Hizen Tadahiro (忠広), we also know interpretations in gunome-midare with
sunagashi and hakikake which on the other hand remind of works of the Horikawa school (堀川), some gunome variants
are rather roundish and are mixed with yahazu elements, we know date signatures from the 13th year of Keichō (1608) to
the fourth year of Keian (慶安, 1651), ryō-wazamono, jō-saku
