{"product_id":"katana97","title":"Antique Japanese Katana by Shitahara Teruhiro with Suguha Hamon, Iron Openwork Tsuba and Shirasaya - NBTHK Hozon","description":"\u003c!-- Katana 97 — Bushu Shitahara ju Teruhiro — NBTHK Hozon 367129 — Edo shinto — 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武州下原住照広\u003c\/span\u003e (Bushu Shitahara ju Teruhiro) · \u003cem\u003eomote\u003c\/em\u003e only, the \u003cem\u003eura\u003c\/em\u003e left unsigned\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSwordsmith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Teruhiro \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e照広\u003c\/span\u003e, resident of Shitahara in Musashi Province\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shitahara \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e下原\u003c\/span\u003e school, the smiths of Hachioji\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Edo period · Musashi Province (present-day Tokyo)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e NBTHK \u003cem\u003eHozon Token\u003c\/em\u003e no. 367129, issued 31 March 2004\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Complete \u003cem\u003ekatana koshirae\u003c\/em\u003e with black lacquered \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e, iron openwork \u003cem\u003etsuba\u003c\/em\u003e and gilt \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e · supplied with a fitted \u003cem\u003eshirasaya\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 67.5 cm (2 \u003cem\u003eshaku\u003c\/em\u003e 2 \u003cem\u003esun\u003c\/em\u003e 3 \u003cem\u003ebu\u003c\/em\u003e, as recorded on the NBTHK certificate)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMekugi-ana:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2\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, shallow curvature\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJihada:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eItame\u003c\/em\u003e mixed with \u003cem\u003emokume\u003c\/em\u003e, standing clearly, with \u003cem\u003eji-nie\u003c\/em\u003e and the swirling ring-like figure associated with Shitahara steel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eSuguha-cho\u003c\/em\u003e with gentle undulations, \u003cem\u003enioi-deki\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eko-nie\u003c\/em\u003e and fine \u003cem\u003esunagashi\u003c\/em\u003e along the \u003cem\u003ehabuchi\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 is signed \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e武州下原住照広\u003c\/span\u003e on the \u003cem\u003eomote\u003c\/em\u003e of the \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eTeruhiro, resident of Shitahara in Bushu\u003c\/strong\u003e, the province of Musashi that today covers Tokyo and its western valleys. The blade was submitted to the \u003cstrong\u003eNBTHK\u003c\/strong\u003e and papered \u003cem\u003eHozon Token\u003c\/em\u003e under \u003cstrong\u003ecertificate no. 367129 on 31 March 2004\u003c\/strong\u003e, the signature accepted as cut and recorded exactly as it reads. It is registered in Japan under \u003cem\u003etorokusho\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eHokkaido no. 36888\u003c\/strong\u003e of 25 May 2000, and is accompanied by both its \u003cem\u003ekoshirae\u003c\/em\u003e and a fitted \u003cem\u003eshirasaya\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003enagasa\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cstrong\u003e67.5 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e (2 \u003cem\u003eshaku\u003c\/em\u003e 2 \u003cem\u003esun\u003c\/em\u003e 3 \u003cem\u003ebu\u003c\/em\u003e) for only \u003cstrong\u003e0.8 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cem\u003esori\u003c\/em\u003e, a proportion that places the sword firmly in the Edo period rather than in the deeply curved sword-making of the preceding centuries. 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: a short, nearly straight, thick-spined fighting blade, built for the indoor distances and the daily wear of a townsman-era samurai, not for the battlefield sweep of a \u003cem\u003etachi\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e carries \u003cstrong\u003etwo \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, the mark of a sword that was remounted at least once during its working life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e runs as \u003cem\u003esuguha-cho\u003c\/em\u003e, a straight temper line that breathes rather than holds rigid: it rises and falls in slow undulations along the length of the \u003cem\u003eha\u003c\/em\u003e, tempered in \u003cem\u003enioi-deki\u003c\/em\u003e with a scattering of \u003cem\u003eko-nie\u003c\/em\u003e. Fine \u003cem\u003esunagashi\u003c\/em\u003e streak through the \u003cem\u003ehabuchi\u003c\/em\u003e where the quench caught the grain, and the line carries into the \u003cem\u003ekissaki\u003c\/em\u003e to turn back as a tidy \u003cem\u003eko-maru\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eboshi\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cem\u003enioiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e is soft-edged and slightly subdued, which is exactly how Shitahara blades read: this school tempered for toughness, not for theatre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eji\u003c\/em\u003e is where this blade declares its origin. The \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e stands up openly across the whole surface, \u003cem\u003eitame\u003c\/em\u003e shot through with \u003cem\u003emokume\u003c\/em\u003e, the grain curling into concentric rings and whorls under a generous scattering of \u003cem\u003eji-nie\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003echikei\u003c\/em\u003e. Japanese connoisseurs call this figure \u003cem\u003enyorin-moku\u003c\/em\u003e, ring-grain, and it is \u003cstrong\u003ethe single most reliable identifier of Shitahara work\u003c\/strong\u003e: no other Kanto school produced a surface that reads quite like it. On this \u003cem\u003ekatana\u003c\/em\u003e it is visible along the entire blade in ordinary light, with no need for a raking lamp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade is in honest, well-preserved condition, polished so that both the ring-grain and the \u003cem\u003ehabuchi\u003c\/em\u003e are legible. The \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e retains a settled dark patina with the signature still cleanly readable, the \u003cem\u003eyasurime\u003c\/em\u003e and the \u003cem\u003ekiri\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003enakago-jiri\u003c\/em\u003e intact. This is a papered, signed, unaltered-length Edo sword with its original working character still on the surface.\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 finished in plain black lacquer, high-gloss and unbroken by decoration, with the small chips and surface scratches of genuine period wear rather than the flat uniformity of a modern refinish. A braided tan \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e is tied at the \u003cem\u003ekurikata\u003c\/em\u003e, its colour deliberately set against the black: this is the restrained scheme a working retainer would have carried, not a display mounting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003etsuba\u003c\/em\u003e is iron, round, and worked in bold \u003cem\u003esukashi\u003c\/em\u003e: a leafy vine cut on one side and a blossom enclosed in a broken ring on the other, framed by a heavy raised rim. The plate shows the dark forged surface and pitting of an aged iron guard, with copper \u003cem\u003esekigane\u003c\/em\u003e fitted into the \u003cem\u003enakago-ana\u003c\/em\u003e to seat it precisely on this blade. It is unsigned, as the great majority of provincial iron guards of this type are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003efuchi\u003c\/em\u003e is dark, finely granulated in \u003cem\u003enanako\u003c\/em\u003e and bordered by a gilt \u003cem\u003efukurin\u003c\/em\u003e, the one clear touch of gold on the hilt; the \u003cem\u003ekashira\u003c\/em\u003e answers it in plain black horn. Two pairs of copper \u003cem\u003eseppa\u003c\/em\u003e complete the assembly, and the blade seats in a \u003cstrong\u003esingle-piece copper \u003cem\u003ehabaki\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, unadorned and file-finished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003etsuka\u003c\/em\u003e is bound in black silk \u003cem\u003eito\u003c\/em\u003e over white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e in \u003cem\u003ehineri-maki\u003c\/em\u003e, each turn twisted at the diamond so the nodules of the ray skin show through cleanly. Beneath the wrap sit gilt copper \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e modelled in high relief as lion-dogs among foliage, the gilding worn back to the copper on the raised points where generations of hands closed on the grip. The wrap is tight and complete, with no slack or replacement sections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sword also comes with a plain \u003cem\u003eshirasaya\u003c\/em\u003e in white wood with its own copper \u003cem\u003ehabaki\u003c\/em\u003e collar, so the blade can be stored out of its lacquered mounting: the standard and correct way to keep a Japanese sword long-term without trapping moisture against the steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Swordsmith: Teruhiro \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e照広\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTeruhiro signed himself \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e武州下原住照広\u003c\/span\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eresident of Shitahara in Bushu\u003c\/strong\u003e, the standard formula of the Shitahara smiths and the one the NBTHK accepted on this blade. He is recorded as a Shitahara smith of the late Momoyama to Edo period; unlike the school's headline names, he is not the subject of a detailed published genealogy, and we make no claim about a specific generation or master.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe name itself is informative. The Shitahara lineage is built on two characters: \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e照\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cem\u003eteru\u003c\/em\u003e, granted to the smith Terushige by \u003cstrong\u003eHojo Ujiteru\u003c\/strong\u003e, lord of Hachioji Castle, and \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e広\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cem\u003ehiro\u003c\/em\u003e, carried by the Hiroshige line that became the school's most celebrated branch in the Edo period. A smith signing \u003cem\u003eTeruhiro\u003c\/em\u003e is writing both of those inheritances into his own name, which is how the Shitahara workshops recorded descent and affiliation in an era with no other register.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat the blade says about him is more useful than any list of dates. He worked the school's signature steel openly rather than hiding it under a tight surface, tempered a controlled \u003cem\u003esuguha-cho\u003c\/em\u003e instead of a flashy \u003cem\u003emidare\u003c\/em\u003e, and finished a sword of practical length and shallow curvature. That is the profile of a Shitahara smith working for customers who intended to wear the sword.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Shitahara Smiths of Hachioji\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Shitahara school \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e下原鍛冶\u003c\/span\u003e took shape in the Daiei era of the late Muromachi period around what is now Hachioji, in the western reaches of Tokyo. Tradition credits its founding to \u003cstrong\u003eChikashige\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e周重\u003c\/span\u003e; his son \u003cstrong\u003eYasushige\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e康重\u003c\/span\u003e received the character \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e康\u003c\/span\u003e from Hojo Ujiyasu of Odawara, and Yasushige's brother \u003cstrong\u003eTerushige\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e照重\u003c\/span\u003e received \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e照\u003c\/span\u003e from Hojo Ujiteru of Hachioji Castle. Those grants tie the school directly to the Later Hojo, the clan that ruled the Kanto until Hideyoshi broke them in 1590.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fall of the Hojo did not end the school. The Shitahara smiths, most of whom bore the family name Yamamoto, passed into the service of the \u003cstrong\u003eTokugawa\u003c\/strong\u003e and went on forging swords and polearms for the shogunate through the Edo period and into the Meiji era. The third-generation \u003cstrong\u003eHiroshige\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e広重\u003c\/span\u003e, active around the Kanbun era, is the best-known of them and forged a ceremonial \u003cem\u003ejin-dachi\u003c\/em\u003e for Tokugawa Mitsukuni of Mito.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShitahara blades were valued for cutting, not for court display, and their reputation rests on two things: a hard, tough steel, and the unmistakable ring-grain \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e that came out of the way these smiths folded it. Collectors of Kanto work seek out that surface specifically, because it cannot be convincingly imitated by any other tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is offered here is a signed Shitahara \u003cem\u003ekatana\u003c\/em\u003e, papered \u003cstrong\u003eNBTHK Hozon\u003c\/strong\u003e, with the school's diagnostic ring-grain visible along the full length of the blade, a quiet \u003cem\u003esuguha-cho\u003c\/em\u003e temper, a complete period \u003cem\u003ekoshirae\u003c\/em\u003e with iron openwork \u003cem\u003etsuba\u003c\/em\u003e and gilt \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e, and a fitted \u003cem\u003eshirasaya\u003c\/em\u003e for storage: a Tokyo sword, by a Tokyo school, still complete in the form a samurai of Musashi would have worn it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57235618300228,"sku":"KATANA97","price":5900.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana97_420K_0044_GenerativeFill3.jpg?v=1789134577","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/products\/katana97","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}