日本刀 脇差 伯耆守信高 特別重要刀剣（NBTHK 特別保存刀剣鑑定書付）

附属品

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Certificate , Koshirae Case (Decorative Sword Mounting), Shirasaya Case (Plain Wooden Case), Traditional Sword Carrying Case, Sword Maintenance Kit, Full Exportation Support

Category

Wakizashi (SHINTO)

Age

Early Edo Edo Period (1624-1644)

Location

Owari province (Today’s Aichi prefecture)

登録証

Aichi 25562

販売店の記載のまま

This blade was signed by Hoki no Kami Fujiwara Nobutaka (伯耆守藤原信高). Based on the characteristic of the signature, we believe the second-gen Nobutaka forged it. The second-gen was active in Owari province during 1624-1644( Kan-Ei era: Early Edo period). The swordsmith’s name “Nobutaka” lasted 6th generation during the Edo period. Hoki no Kami was an honorable title given to this swordsmith, and the 1st-5th generation received this title. It is said that Nobutaka was a descendant of Kanekuni who belonged to Mino koku San-Ami school. Nobuta was one of the most famous swordsmiths in the Owari province. The generations of Nobutaka served Owari Tokugawa clan, a relative family of Tokugawa Shogunate who ruled Edo government during the Edo period. The second-gen Nobutaka( real name Kawamura Hoki) was born as the son of the first-gen Nobutaka in the 8th year of the Keicho era(1603) in Owari province(today’s Aichi prefecture). The second-gen received Hoki no Kami title in the 10th year of the Kanei era(1633) when he was 31 years old. He was appointed as an Okakaekaji for Tokugawa Yoshinao, the first-gen head of Owari Tokugawa clan in his career. Okakaekaji is a swordsmith who exclusively served a particular clan or feudal lord. He let his son(the third-gen Nobutaka) run his school in the second year of the Kanbun era(1662) when he was 60 years old. After that, he became a Buddist priest, and he changed his name to Sangetsu Heiyu(山月閉遊). There is a record of him signing Nobutaka Nyudo(信高入道). Nyudo indicates that he was a monk when he signed a blade. He died at the age of 87 in the second year of the Genroku era(1689). The first-gen Nobutaka was originally from Mino province, which is famous for Japanese sword tradition, MINO-DEN. The first-gen moved to Owari castle at the beginning of the Keicho era(the late 1590s). And he relocated to Nagoya after Nagoya castle was built. There were many swordsmiths from Mino province who moved to Owari province. They are called Owari Seki. The most famous swordsmiths categorized as Owari Seki are the first-gen Hoki no Kami Nobutaka, Hida no Kami Ujifusa, and Sagami no Kami Masatsune. All the highly refined sword-forging techniques the first-gen Nobutaka had passed down to the second-gen. You can see outstanding craftsmanship from this blade. As Owari province(today’s Aichi prefecture) was active in martial arts during the early Edo period, there was much demand among high-class Samurai to order swords forged by the second-gen Nobutaka. He often worked with his son(the third-gen Nobutaka), and there is some remaining work where both signatures are found. Since this blade was registered in Aichi prefecture where Nobutaka had resided, we can assume that it was passed down among descendants of Samurai in this area. This blade is appraised as a Tokubetsu Hozon Token(特別保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK(Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai:日本美術刀剣保存協会). *Please keep in mind that there is a couple of visible black rust on this blade. Also, there is very tiny chip on the blade. We will happy to have these parts polished without additional costs. There might be trace of black rust after being polished and it will take additional 1-2 months for plishing . Fuchi-Kashira The surface of this Fuchi Kashira is decorated with the Nanako-Ji (魚子地) technique. This process makes a uniform minimal protrusions pattern by hitting the Nanako-Ji Tagane (魚子地鏨, a chisel for this technique) on a metal surface. This decorative technique is often seen on sword mountings. About the design, we estimate it depicts a seaside battlefield scenery. We could find a Samurai on the Kashira part. He wears gorgeous armor and rides on his horse. We assume he is a high-ranked warrior from his appearance. On the Fuchi part, we could see something like banners designed with family crests. Overall, this Fuchi Kashira is carefully engraved in detail, and the effective use of gold coloring makes it a gorgeous work. Tsuka and Menuki You could find a horse figure on each side of this handle. Although some colorings have already faded due to aging, it seems golden paint was initially applied to their surface. Horses have been around human life for a long time, not only as our food but also for transportation or carriage of luggage. In Japan, horses were thought of as vehicles for gods to be dedicated to shrines in ancient times. It is said it is the origin of Ema (絵馬, picture tablet used as an offering at a shrine) today. Horses had been used as a tool for rituals and festivals. After the age of the Samurai warriors appeared, wearing large armor or performing archery and riding a hose became martial arts. Equestrian tactics became the pillar of military action and security activities. According to a theory, that is the reason that the Japanese sword began to have a curve to make it suitable for slashing (the Japanese sword was straight in the beginning). Tsuba and Habaki This Tsuba has an ornamental look. The theme of its design is the Botan Karakusa (牡丹唐草) pattern. It is a combination of Botan (牡丹, peony) flowers and the Karakusa (唐草, arabesque) pattern. Peony represents happiness, wealth, nobleness, and gorgeousness. This flower pattern has been treated as a kind of good-omen motif; people regarded it as a rich harvest sign. As mentioned above, a peony is called the Botan in Japanese. When we write this flower’s name in Kanji characters, its second letter means mountain hermit medicine that would give us eternal youth. Based on the meaning of this letter, the peony pattern symbolizes eternal youth and longevity. The Karakusa pattern is a design in which vine stems, and leaves are twined and make curves. Since ivy has a strong vitality and grows up without interruption, people regarded this design as a symbol of prosperity and longevity. Among the Karakusa patterns, the Botan Karakusa pattern has been favored as a representative design of Karakusa patterns since the Muromachi period. Kozuka A Kogatana (小刀, small knife) is stored in the Kozuka. Same with the Menuki, horses are designed on this Kozuka. Among the horse patterns, there is a design called the Hidari-Uma (左馬). The letter “馬” means a horse and describes the figure of a horse running to the left. And the Hidari-Uma pattern refers to a picture of a horse running to the right. It shows the turning over of the “horse (Uma).” There is the word Mau (舞う, dancing) in Japanese; people thought happiness would come down in association with “turning the horse” and “dancing.” Also, the horse pattern has been loved as an amulet to pray for prosperity in business. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on March 10th in the 5th year of Reiwa (2023). They appraised it as Tokubetsu Hozon Touken, the blade especially worth preserving for Japanese society.