Katana: Signed. Hizenkoku ju Omi daijo Fujiwara TADAHIRO Kinzogan mei Odagiri Shotanosuke shoji Manji 3 kanoe ne 7 gatsu 18 nichi Tatsu Ryodo tsuchi iri 7 sun Setsudan kore Asahina Tozaemon no jo Tadatoshi(kao) (O Wazamono)
Hizen province Manji 3 (A.D. 1660, early Edo period) Hacho (Edge length) : 70.2cm Sori (Curvature) : Approx. 1.21cm Moto-haba (Width at Ha-machi) : Approx. 3.15cm Saki-haba (Width at Kissaki) : Approx. 2.21cm Kasane (Thickness) : Approx. 0.7cm Shu urushi kizami koshi cha urushi kaede nuki mon nuri saya, uchigatana koshirae Whole length : Approx. 99.1cm Hilt length : Approx. 20cm Gold foil double Habaki Sayagaki on the Shirasaya, written by Dr. Sato Kanzan “Owari koshirae tsuki chincho shikarubeki nari”
Published in “Hizento taikan Tadayoshi hen”
Blade has （Tokubetsu hozon） Koshirae has （Tokubetsu hozon）
Tadahiro-Sayagaki Tadahiro-CuttingTest Katana, mei: Hizen no Kuni-jū Ōmi Daijō Fujiwara Tadahiro (肥前國住近江大掾藤原忠廣) Kinzōgan-mei: Odagiri Shōdayū shoji (小田切庄太輔所持) – “Owned by Odagiri Shōdayū” Manji san kanoe-ne shichigatsu jūhachinichi, tatsu ryōdō Tsuchi hairi shichi-sun kore o setsudan, Asahina Tōzaemon no Jō Tadatoshi + kaō (万治三庚子七月十八 日、裁両胴圡入七寸切断之 、朝比奈藤左衛門尉忠利「花押」) – “Asahina Tōzaemon no Jō Tadatoshi cut with this blade on the 18th day of the seventh month Manji three (1660), year of the rat, through two bodies and ca. 21 cm into the earthen mound below + monogram” Samurai of the Edo period were very concerned about the sharpness (cutting ability) of their swords and therefore cutting tests were carried out by specialized sword testers, whose results were inlaid on the tangs of the blades. Famous sword testers were, i.a., Nakagawa Saheita (中川 左平太), who was active around the time of the Ōsaka campaigns, Yamano Ka’emon Nagahisa (山野加右衛門永久), who tested swords made by Nagasone Kotetsu (⻑曽祢⻁徹), and Yamada Asa’emon (山田浅右衛門), who was active in the late Edo period. The blade described here was made by the famous early Edo period Hizen master Ōmi Daijō Tadahiro (近江大掾忠廣) in his late fourties when he was at the prime of his life. It is of an outstanding shape and displays a kitae in ko-itame with very uniform ji-nie, and the steel is very bright. The hamon is a gently undulating notare in ko-nie-deki with a bright and very clear nioiguchi that is mixed with ko-gunome and with plenty of ashi and yō. The accompanying koshirae features a striped red-lacquer saya with glossy brown base, a gold fuchi decorated with paulownia and cherry blossoms, a tsuba with paulownia décor and a gold fukurin, and fittings depicting triple comma and paulownia crests, cherry blossoms, and other elements. The koshirae is flamboyant and is interpreted in the style popular in the Momoyama period. The kurigata is positioned at an about three-finger distance from the sayaguchi, which allows an instant drawing of the sword when picked up with one hand in this area. Thus, the koshirae is an outstanding work that combines aesthetics and practicality, much to the liking of the Samurai. As quoted above, the tang records a cutting test carried out by Asahina Tōzaemon Tadatoshi on the 18th day of the seventh month Manji three (1660) by cutting through two bodies and ca. 21 cm into the earthen mound below. Asahina was a Hatamoto and was born in Genna five (元和, 1619). His residence was located in the Kanda-Sarugaku (神田猿楽町)*1 neighborhood of Edo, and he had studied sword testing with Yamano Nagahisa and Nakagawa Saheita.*2 On the 26th day of the tenth month Kanbun two (寛文, 1662), he was appointed Koshimono-Bugyō (Sword Magistrate), meaning that he was in charge of the sword collection of the family of the Shōgun. It is likely that he tested this blade on request of Odagiri Shōdayū (小田切庄太輔),*3 who also served the Shōgun as a Hatamoto. *1 Present-day Sarugaku-chō 1 chōme, Chiyoda-ku. *2 See Nihontō Wazamono Nyūmon (日本刀業物入門). *3 The Kansei Chōshū Shokafu (寛政重修諸家譜) lists an Odagiri Shōzaburō Tomoyoshi (小田切庄三郎知義) serving as a member of the Shōgun’s bodyguards, who was rewarded for his diligent duty in Kanbun nine (1669). It is possible that Odagiri Shōdayū was a different name of this person, or a member of the same family.
