Antique Japanese Sword Katana Signed by Yasushige with NBTHK Hozon Certificate 【Description】 Yasushige belonged to the Bushu Shitahara school, located in today’s Tokyo. (Hachioji city) It is said that Yamamoto Norishige founded the school, and it thrived from the end of the Muromachi period to the late Edo period. Shitahara Kaji is the group of swordsmiths under Hojo clan’s auspicious, powerful feudal line during the late Muromachi period. Most of the Shitahara swordsmith’s real sir name was Yamamoto. After the Toyotomi clan destroyed the Hojo clan in the Azuchi Momoyama period, Shitahara started to serve the Tokugawa clan as Okakae Kaji, swordsmiths exclusively working for a specific feudal family. They kept forging for the Tokugawa clan until the end of the Edo period. Among the Bushu Shitahara group, Yasushige was one of the most famous ones. The maker’s name, Yasushige, lasted for several generations. While we can’t pin down which generation forged this blade, it was forged in Jyokyo era(1684-1688: early Edo period) according to NTHK authentication paper. There is a beautiful engraving on this blade. If you were to order this kind of engraving from a Japanese engraver today, it would cost approximately 10,000 USD. We assume whoever owned this blade in Samurai times must have been wealthy enough to order such intricate design on the blade. Fudo Myo-o (不動明王, acalanātha) is engraved at this part of the sword. Fudo Myo-o is one of the objects of worship in Buddhism. According to a theory, it is the incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来, Mahāvairocana, the principal image of esoteric Buddhism). You would also find a dragon. It is called Kurikara Ryu (倶利伽羅龍); the figure in which a dragon wraps around the sword that Fudo Myo-o holds in his right hand to cut evil. Fudo My o-o’s sword has been considered to punish sin, cut off worldly desires, and achieve training. Fudo Myo-o is a motif with miraculous virtues. The dragon itself is also a highly popular design for the decoration of Samurai’s mountings. Initially, it is an imaginary creature that is found in ancient Chinese traditions or myths. It is a symbolic beast of auspicious signs. Its body is likened to nine animals: antlers are deer, the head is a camel, eyes are demons, the neck is a snake, belly is Mizuchi (mythical animal in Japan which looks like a snake and have a horn and four legs), scales are fish, claws are falcons, palms are tigers, and ears are cows. It was thought that the dragon would reign at the top of all animals because of its odd-looking appearance. In Japan, people appreciate the dragon design as an all-purpose auspicious pattern. This sword has a Hozon certificate issued by NBTHK. This authentication paper was only given to Japanese swords, worth preserving by Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai(the Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword). And, it was also appraisied by NTHK, NPO Nihon Touken Hozon Kai. 【Blade】 Cutting Edge Length(Nagasa) : 62.7 cm( 24.7 inches) Curvature(Sori) : 0.4 cm(0.16 inches) Hamon : The crystalline structure which forms along the cutting edge of a blade as a result of the hardening process Jimon(Jihada) : visible steel surface pattern created by folding and hammering during forging process Nakago : Nakago is the tang of the Japanese sword. Japanese swordsmiths left the black rust on the tang because it prevents red rust while the tang is in its handle. And the discoloration of the tang was created over time, and it is a great indicator for a Japanese sword specialist to estimate when the sword was forged. Horimono: Horimono is an inscription or sculpture on Japanese swords. It has Sanskrit letters inscribed on both sides. The meaning is Fudo Myo-o(不動明王), which is a protective god in Buddhism, particularly Japanese Shingon Buddhism. This god was also known as a god of wars. Samurai believed in the power of this god so they put decorations of this god on either armor or samurai sword. 【Other Details】 Koshirae: Koshirae is

Antique Japanese Sword Katana Signed by Yasushige with NBTHK Hozon Certificate 【Description】 Yasushige belonged to the Bushu Shitahara school, located in today’s Tokyo. (Hachioji city) It is said that Yamamoto Norishige founded the school, and it thrived from the end of the Muromachi period to the late Edo period. Shitahara Kaji is the group of swordsmiths under Hojo clan’s auspicious, powerful feudal line during the late Muromachi period. Most of the Shitahara swordsmith’s real sir name was Yamamoto. After the Toyotomi clan destroyed the Hojo clan in the Azuchi Momoyama period, Shitahara started to serve the Tokugawa clan as Okakae Kaji, swordsmiths exclusively working for a specific feudal family. They kept forging for the Tokugawa clan until the end of the Edo period. Among the Bushu Shitahara group, Yasushige was one of the most famous ones. The maker’s name, Yasushige, lasted for several generations. While we can’t pin down which generation forged this blade, it was forged in Jyokyo era(1684-1688: early Edo period) according to NTHK authentication paper. There is a beautiful engraving on this blade. If you were to order this kind of engraving from a Japanese engraver today, it would cost approximately 10,000 USD. We assume whoever owned this blade in Samurai times must have been wealthy enough to order such intricate design on the blade. Fudo Myo-o (不動明王, acalanātha) is engraved at this part of the sword. Fudo Myo-o is one of the objects of worship in Buddhism. According to a theory, it is the incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来, Mahāvairocana, the principal image of esoteric Buddhism). You would also find a dragon. It is called Kurikara Ryu (倶利伽羅龍); the figure in which a dragon wraps around the sword that Fudo Myo-o holds in his right hand to cut evil. Fudo My o-o’s sword has been considered to punish sin, cut off worldly desires, and achieve training. Fudo Myo-o is a motif with miraculous virtues. The dragon itself is also a highly popular design for the decoration of Samurai’s mountings. Initially, it is an imaginary creature that is found in ancient Chinese traditions or myths. It is a symbolic beast of auspicious signs. Its body is likened to nine animals: antlers are deer, the head is a camel, eyes are demons, the neck is a snake, belly is Mizuchi (mythical animal in Japan which looks like a snake and have a horn and four legs), scales are fish, claws are falcons, palms are tigers, and ears are cows. It was thought that the dragon would reign at the top of all animals because of its odd-looking appearance. In Japan, people appreciate the dragon design as an all-purpose auspicious pattern. This sword has a Hozon certificate issued by NBTHK. This authentication paper was only given to Japanese swords, worth preserving by Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai(the Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword). And, it was also appraisied by NTHK, NPO Nihon Touken Hozon Kai. 【Blade】 Cutting Edge Length(Nagasa) : 62.7 cm( 24.7 inches) Curvature(Sori) : 0.4 cm(0.16 inches) Hamon : The crystalline structure which forms along the cutting edge of a blade as a result of the hardening process Jimon(Jihada) : visible steel surface pattern created by folding and hammering during forging process Nakago : Nakago is the tang of the Japanese sword. Japanese swordsmiths left the black rust on the tang because it prevents red rust while the tang is in its handle. And the discoloration of the tang was created over time, and it is a great indicator for a Japanese sword specialist to estimate when the sword was forged. Horimono: Horimono is an inscription or sculpture on Japanese swords. It has Sanskrit letters inscribed on both sides. The meaning is Fudo Myo-o(不動明王), which is a protective god in Buddhism, particularly Japanese Shingon Buddhism. This god was also known as a god of wars. Samurai believed in the power of this god so they put decorations of this god on either armor or samurai sword. 【Other Details】 Koshirae: Koshirae is