Excellent Mumei Wakizashi Attributed to Hizen Musashi Daijo Tadahiro.
Superb well forged Shinogi Zukuri blade with beautiful Hizen Konuka Hada large undulating active bright Gunome Hamon. Large Okissaki .
Mounted in very good quality Koshirae.
TADAHIRO (忠広), 1st gen., Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Hizen – “Hizen no Kuni-jū Fujiwara Tadahiro”
(肥前国住藤原忠広), “Hizen no Kuni-jū Musashi no Daijō Fujiwara Tadahiro” (肥前国住武蔵大掾藤原忠広),
“Musashi no Daijō Fujiwara Tadahiro” (武蔵大掾藤原忠広), this is the late signature of the 1st gen. Tadayoshi (忠吉)
after he received the honorary title Musashi no Daijō in Genna ten (元和, 1624), see “TADAYOSHI (忠吉), 1st gen.”
“Hizen no kuni-jū Musashi no Daijō Fujiwara Tadahiro” (肥前国住武蔵大掾藤原忠広) signature is by the first-generation Tadayoshi (忠吉) and also was used by the second-generation Tadahiro (忠広), two renowned swordsmiths from the Hizen province (present-day Saga prefecture) during the Edo period.
The title “Musashi no Daijō” (武蔵大掾) refers to an honorific official title that these smiths received from the shogunate.
- First Generation Tadayoshi (Shodai Tadayoshi): Born Hashimoto Shinzaemon in 1572, he was a highly regarded swordsmith. He received the title Musashi Daijō in 1624 and subsequently changed his name to Tadahiro, using this name until his death in 1632. Signatures bearing this full inscription can be from his later life.
- Second Generation Tadahiro (Nidai Tadahiro): The son of the first-gen Tadayoshi, he was born in 1614. He took over the school at the age of 19 after his father’s death in 1632. He signed his early works with signatures similar to his father’s, including “Hizen no kuni-jū Musashi no Daijō Fujiwara Tadahiro”. He later received the even higher title of Omi Daijō in 1641, which is the signature most associated with his long and prolific career.
