It has arrived, it has arrived—a precious meito wakizashi by Kazusa no Suke Fujiwara Kaneshige, which bears a striking resemblance to the masterpieces of Kotetsu. He is famous as the saryo of Todo Heisuke, the captain of the Shinsengumi's 8th unit. Todo Heisuke possessed a brave and daring character; in the Ikedaya Incident and other Shinsengumi battles in Kyoto, his nature of being the first to charge in earned him the nickname "Sakigake Sensei" (Master Pioneer). His skill with the sword reached the mokuroku level in Hokushin Itto-ryu, and he was counted among the Shinsengumi Shitenno (Four Heavenly Kings) alongside Okita Soji, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Saito Hajime. A handsome man who was well-educated, he was an Edokko accomplished in both literary and military arts, beloved by Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo. It is said that Todo Heisuke was an illegitimate child of the Todo family, which is why he was able to carry a meito by Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige, which was among the most expensive blades at the time. Works by Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige are rarely seen today; it has long been said this is because they so closely resemble the work of Kotetsu that many had Kotetsu mei added to them in later generations. Kotetsu's teacher's father, Izumi no Kami Kaneshige, was active as an arrowhead smith during the Echizen era, later moving to Edo to become a swordsmith and flourishing as the kakae-kaji (retained smith) for Todo Takatora. The mei of Kotetsu was initially carved as "Kotetsu" (Old Iron), but he later adopted the character "Ko" (Tiger) from Lord Todo Takatora out of respect. It was once said that Todo Takatora, famous as a master castle builder favored by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, received the title Izumi no Kami, and thus Kaneshige changed his name from Izumi no Kami to Kazusa no Suke out of deference to Takatora. However, subsequent research shows that this Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige was the son of Izumi no Kami Kaneshige and the senior apprentice to Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu, teaching Kotetsu forging techniques while the two greatly refined their skills together. This wakizashi exhibits the Kanbun Shinto sugata identical to Kotetsu, with a distinct difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba and shallow sori. The jigane is forged in ko-itame hada, revealing a bright, fine, and powerful steel. The hamon is in nioi-deki with abundant nie, featuring a notare-ba mixed with gunome-ba. The ashi of the gunome are thick, and the gunome are continuous, forming a juzu-ba. It is a magnificent wakizashi where one can see the masterpiece style of Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu. One can only be grateful that it survived without having its mei changed to Kotetsu. This time, we received this from an old family of the Kishu Domain who said, "We have grown old; this is a wakizashi we have cherished as a Kotetsu, but please pass it on at a low price to someone who will treasure it." Because there is some slight wear due to age, we are offering it at a special bargain price. If polished and submitted for Tokubetsu Hozon Token certification, one can expect it to rise even further in status. Please enjoy this masterpiece wakizashi that rivals Kotetsu.

It has arrived, it has arrived—a precious meito wakizashi by Kazusa no Suke Fujiwara Kaneshige, which bears a striking resemblance to the masterpieces of Kotetsu. He is famous as the saryo of Todo Heisuke, the captain of the Shinsengumi's 8th unit. Todo Heisuke possessed a brave and daring character; in the Ikedaya Incident and other Shinsengumi battles in Kyoto, his nature of being the first to charge in earned him the nickname "Sakigake Sensei" (Master Pioneer). His skill with the sword reached the mokuroku level in Hokushin Itto-ryu, and he was counted among the Shinsengumi Shitenno (Four Heavenly Kings) alongside Okita Soji, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Saito Hajime. A handsome man who was well-educated, he was an Edokko accomplished in both literary and military arts, beloved by Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo. It is said that Todo Heisuke was an illegitimate child of the Todo family, which is why he was able to carry a meito by Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige, which was among the most expensive blades at the time. Works by Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige are rarely seen today; it has long been said this is because they so closely resemble the work of Kotetsu that many had Kotetsu mei added to them in later generations. Kotetsu's teacher's father, Izumi no Kami Kaneshige, was active as an arrowhead smith during the Echizen era, later moving to Edo to become a swordsmith and flourishing as the kakae-kaji (retained smith) for Todo Takatora. The mei of Kotetsu was initially carved as "Kotetsu" (Old Iron), but he later adopted the character "Ko" (Tiger) from Lord Todo Takatora out of respect. It was once said that Todo Takatora, famous as a master castle builder favored by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, received the title Izumi no Kami, and thus Kaneshige changed his name from Izumi no Kami to Kazusa no Suke out of deference to Takatora. However, subsequent research shows that this Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige was the son of Izumi no Kami Kaneshige and the senior apprentice to Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu, teaching Kotetsu forging techniques while the two greatly refined their skills together. This wakizashi exhibits the Kanbun Shinto sugata identical to Kotetsu, with a distinct difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba and shallow sori. The jigane is forged in ko-itame hada, revealing a bright, fine, and powerful steel. The hamon is in nioi-deki with abundant nie, featuring a notare-ba mixed with gunome-ba. The ashi of the gunome are thick, and the gunome are continuous, forming a juzu-ba. It is a magnificent wakizashi where one can see the masterpiece style of Nagasone Okisato Nyudo Kotetsu. One can only be grateful that it survived without having its mei changed to Kotetsu. This time, we received this from an old family of the Kishu Domain who said, "We have grown old; this is a wakizashi we have cherished as a Kotetsu, but please pass it on at a low price to someone who will treasure it." Because there is some slight wear due to age, we are offering it at a special bargain price. If polished and submitted for Tokubetsu Hozon Token certification, one can expect it to rise even further in status. Please enjoy this masterpiece wakizashi that rivals Kotetsu.