{"product_id":"katana96","title":"Japanese Katana by Hizen Tadatsugu dated 1940 with Suguha Hamon, Dragon Fittings and Red Lacquer Saya - NBTHK Hozon","description":"\u003c!-- Katana 96 — Hizen no Kuni ju Tadatsugu, dated Koki 2600 (February 1940) — NBTHK Hozon 3035209 — Showa gendaito — Tokyo Nihonto --\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"product\"\u003e\u003cheader\u003e\u003c\/header\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"specs\"\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignature (Mei):\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e肥前國住忠次追造之\u003c\/span\u003e (Hizen no Kuni ju Tadatsugu oi-tsukuru kore) · dated \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e皇紀二千六百年二月日\u003c\/span\u003e (a day in the second month of Koki 2600) · reverse \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e丸鍛肥前國忠吉\u003c\/span\u003e (maru-kitae, Hizen no Kuni Tadayoshi)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSwordsmith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tadatsugu \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e忠次\u003c\/span\u003e of Hizen Province\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hizen tradition, Saga · a declared homage to the Tadayoshi \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e忠吉\u003c\/span\u003e line\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Showa, dated February 1940 · Hizen (modern Saga Prefecture)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e NBTHK \u003cem\u003eHozon Token\u003c\/em\u003e no. 3035209, issued 23 August 2024\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Complete \u003cem\u003ekatana koshirae\u003c\/em\u003e with red-brown lacquered \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e and dragon \u003cem\u003efuchi-kashira\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 68.8 cm (2 \u003cem\u003eshaku\u003c\/em\u003e 2 \u003cem\u003esun\u003c\/em\u003e 7 \u003cem\u003ebu\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 2.0 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMekugi-ana:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 (\u003cem\u003eubu\u003c\/em\u003e, unaltered)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShape (Sugata):\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eShinogi-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eiori-mune\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003echu-kissaki\u003c\/em\u003e, deep and even \u003cem\u003etorii-zori\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJihada:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tightly forged \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eji\u003c\/em\u003e reading dark and uniform under a \u003cem\u003esashikomi\u003c\/em\u003e polish\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eSuguha\u003c\/em\u003e in \u003cem\u003enioi-deki\u003c\/em\u003e, narrow and continuous from \u003cem\u003emachi\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003ekissaki\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBoshi:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eSuguha\u003c\/em\u003e with a \u003cem\u003eko-maru\u003c\/em\u003e turnback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHabaki:\u003c\/strong\u003e Single-piece copper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis \u003cem\u003ekatana\u003c\/em\u003e carries one of the most explicit signatures a collector can hope to read. On the \u003cem\u003eomote\u003c\/em\u003e the smith cut \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e肥前國住忠次追造之\u003c\/span\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eTadatsugu, resident of Hizen Province, made this in emulation\u003c\/strong\u003e, followed by the date \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e皇紀二千六百年二月日\u003c\/span\u003e: a day in the second month of the \u003cstrong\u003e2600th year of the imperial calendar\u003c\/strong\u003e, which is \u003cstrong\u003eFebruary 1940\u003c\/strong\u003e. On the reverse he named exactly what he was emulating, \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e丸鍛肥前國忠吉\u003c\/span\u003e, the \u003cem\u003emaru-kitae\u003c\/em\u003e work of \u003cstrong\u003eHizen no Kuni Tadayoshi\u003c\/strong\u003e. The blade was submitted to the \u003cstrong\u003eNBTHK\u003c\/strong\u003e and papered \u003cem\u003eHozon Token\u003c\/em\u003e under \u003cstrong\u003ecertificate no. 3035209 on 23 August 2024\u003c\/strong\u003e, the mei accepted as cut and recorded in full.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade measures \u003cstrong\u003e68.8 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cem\u003enagasa\u003c\/em\u003e (2 \u003cem\u003eshaku\u003c\/em\u003e 2 \u003cem\u003esun\u003c\/em\u003e 7 \u003cem\u003ebu\u003c\/em\u003e) with \u003cstrong\u003e2.0 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cem\u003esori\u003c\/em\u003e. It is \u003cem\u003eshinogi-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e with an \u003cem\u003eiori-mune\u003c\/em\u003e and a compact \u003cem\u003echu-kissaki\u003c\/em\u003e, the curvature generous and evenly distributed rather than pushed toward the hilt. The \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cem\u003eubu\u003c\/em\u003e with a \u003cstrong\u003esingle \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e: nothing about this sword has been shortened, redrilled or re-signed since the day it left the forge in 1940.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cem\u003esuguha\u003c\/em\u003e, deliberately narrow, run in \u003cem\u003enioi-deki\u003c\/em\u003e and held to the same width from the \u003cem\u003ehamachi\u003c\/em\u003e to the \u003cem\u003eyokote\u003c\/em\u003e before turning back as a tight \u003cem\u003eko-maru\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eboshi\u003c\/em\u003e. This is the hardest \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e a smith can attempt in public: a straight temper line hides nothing, and any wavering of the quench shows instantly. It is also precisely the temper that defined Hizen work from the early Edo period onward, which is why a smith paying homage to the Tadayoshi line chose it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eji\u003c\/em\u003e is forged tight, reading as close \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e, and the blade is finished in a dark \u003cem\u003esashikomi\u003c\/em\u003e-style polish that sets the whitish \u003cem\u003eha\u003c\/em\u003e against a deep steel ground. The mention of \u003cem\u003emaru-kitae\u003c\/em\u003e in the signature is a technical statement: the blade is forged from a single homogeneous steel rather than a hard skin folded over a soft core, the same construction used on the early Hizen blades this sword answers to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sword is in good overall condition, complete with its \u003cem\u003ekoshirae\u003c\/em\u003e, its copper \u003cem\u003ehabaki.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"koshirae\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKoshirae Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e is lacquered in a deep red-brown, polished to an even gloss with no decoration at all. It is a restrained choice that leaves the metalwork to carry the mounting, and it sets off the warm copper of the \u003cem\u003ekoiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ekurikata\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003etsuba\u003c\/em\u003e is iron, round, with a broad symmetrical \u003cem\u003esukashi\u003c\/em\u003e opening a pair of crescents on either side of the \u003cem\u003enakago-ana\u003c\/em\u003e. There is no inlay and no signature; the piece relies entirely on the balance of solid and void and on the dark, softly textured surface of its forged iron. Two gilt copper \u003cem\u003eseppa\u003c\/em\u003e sit on either side.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003efuchi\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ekashira\u003c\/em\u003e form a matched pair, worked in copper alloy with \u003cstrong\u003edragons in high relief\u003c\/strong\u003e coiling through clouds, the raised detail gilded against a stippled ground. The chiselling is deep and the scales, claws and whiskers are individually cut rather than cast flat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003etsuka\u003c\/em\u003e is bound in black \u003cem\u003eito\u003c\/em\u003e over white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e of good large grain, each opening revealing the nodes of the ray skin. Beneath the wrap sit \u003cstrong\u003egilt dragon \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e that answer the \u003cem\u003efuchi-kashira\u003c\/em\u003e, so that the entire mounting carries a single theme. A black \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e completes the assembly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade sits in a plain single-piece copper \u003cem\u003ehabaki\u003c\/em\u003e cut with file marks, the workmanlike foundation the rest of the mounting is built on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Swordsmith: Tadatsugu \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e忠次\u003c\/span\u003e of Hizen\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe signature \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e肥前國住忠次\u003c\/span\u003e places the smith in Hizen Province, modern \u003cstrong\u003eSaga Prefecture\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the date places the work in \u003cstrong\u003eFebruary 1940\u003c\/strong\u003e. The name is generally identified with \u003cstrong\u003eNakao Tadatsugu\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e中尾忠次\u003c\/span\u003e, civil name Nakao Sanjiro, born in 1910 and working from Saga; he trained under \u003cstrong\u003eHorii Toshihide\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the leading Showa masters, and was a \u003cem\u003ekaigun jumei tosho\u003c\/em\u003e, a swordsmith commissioned by the Imperial Navy. He had founded a forge in Saga City in 1937 with his brother, which places a blade of February 1940 squarely in his early independent period. We record this identification as the reading accepted in the literature rather than as a documented fact of this blade: the NBTHK certificate authenticates the signature, not a biography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat the sword states for itself is unambiguous. The smith did not claim to be a Tadayoshi. He cut \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e追造之\u003c\/span\u003e, made in emulation, and then named his model on the other face of the \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e. That is the signature of a craftsman working with his sources open, and it is far rarer, and far more honest, than the flattering signatures of the same decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHizen Steel in the Year 2600\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hizen tradition begins with \u003cstrong\u003eHashimoto Shinzaemon\u003c\/strong\u003e, the first \u003cstrong\u003eTadayoshi\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e忠吉\u003c\/span\u003e (1572–1632), who studied under Umetada Myoju in Kyoto and returned to Saga as official swordsmith to the \u003cstrong\u003eNabeshima\u003c\/strong\u003e clan. His line ran through nine generations and trained more than a hundred smiths, and it was known above all for two things: a flawless, densely forged \u003cem\u003eji\u003c\/em\u003e and a clean \u003cem\u003esuguha\u003c\/em\u003e in \u003cem\u003enioi-deki\u003c\/em\u003e. Hizen blades were made for daimyo service, and they were judged on precision rather than on drama.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1940 was the year Japan celebrated \u003cstrong\u003eKoki 2600\u003c\/strong\u003e, the 2600th anniversary of the mythical founding of the empire by Emperor Jimmu. Smiths across the country dated their best work to that year and signed it with the imperial calendar rather than the Showa era, exactly as this blade does. The period had also brought traditional swordmaking back from near extinction: the great majority of blades produced in the 1930s and 1940s were oil-quenched factory work, and \u003cstrong\u003eonly those forged from \u003cem\u003etamahagane\u003c\/em\u003e and water-quenched in the traditional manner are accepted for NBTHK papers today\u003c\/strong\u003e. This sword holds \u003cem\u003eHozon\u003c\/em\u003e, which is the practical proof that it is a true \u003cem\u003egendaito\u003c\/em\u003e and not a wartime production blade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is on offer here is a fully signed and dated blade, papered by the NBTHK, \u003cem\u003eubu\u003c\/em\u003e with one \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e, cut with an honest emulation signature naming both its model and its forging method, and complete in a matched dragon-themed \u003cem\u003ekoshirae\u003c\/em\u003e over a red-brown lacquered \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57235606602052,"sku":"KATANA96","price":4400.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana96_320K_0041_GenerativeFill3.jpg?v=1789134334","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/products\/katana96","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}