-, 65th Session — Designated November 7, 2019
, : Iwato (岩戸一文字)
Measurements 70.6 cm, 1.2 cm, 2.95 cm, 1.85 cm, 2.6 cm, 21.5 cm, 0.1 cm
Description Keijō: , ; somewhat wide with a slight difference between base and tip widths; moderate ; shallow ; . : closely forged ; extremely fine adheres thickly; fine enters; faint appears. : a shallow -based temper mixed densely with , , and pointed elements; enters well; mixed with ; -dominant with ; and fine appear. : ; turns back in a rounded manner. : None. : ; ; shallow ; two ; unsigned.
Artisan Iwato (岩戸一文字)
Era Late period
Explanation Among works of the period, the two greatest streams are the and lineages. The school thereafter flourished into the period in such locales as Fukuoka, Yoshioka, and Iwato, producing many capable smiths.
The reason this group is called “” lies in the practice of cutting the character “一” (, “one”) into the tang. With respect to signatures, there are examples bearing only the single character “一,” others that add an individual name below the “一,” and still others that bear only an individual name.
The name “Iwato ” is applied to a small branch that resided in Iwato-shō in Province from the late period onward. According to sword registers, its founder is recorded as Yoshiuji (吉氏). Within this group, a work by Yoshiie (吉家) survives that bears, among other things, the inscription “ Bishū Iwato-shō jitō hyōe no jō Minamoto Yoshiie,” and carries a date of the Gentoku era (1329–1331).
This displays a tightly forged in which extremely fine adheres thickly, fine enters, and a faint appears. The is a shallow tone mixed with , , and pointed elements; enters well; adheres along an essentially -dominant edge; and with fine is seen—altogether indicating its manner of workmanship.
In comparison with the Fukuoka branch, the patterning of the tempered edge here is on a smaller scale, and for this reason the blade is appraised as Iwato within the broader tradition. Alongside a varied and attractive boundary activities, it is particularly the excellence of the forging that shines in this piece.
