-, 1st Session — Designated June 5, 1958
, : Nagasone Okinao (長曾禰興直)
Measurements 70.6 cm, 1.8 cm, 3.0 cm, 2.1 cm, 3.5 cm, 19.1 cm
Description Keijō: , ; shallow ; . : Well-forged , densely worked, with developing. : mixed with ; the temper is tight with , clear, and contains ; the is deep and the is clear. : . : None. : ; ; slightly curved; ; two , one of which is a ; on the there is a five-character signature cut with a fine chisel.
Artisan Nagasone Okinao (長曾禰興直)
Era Early period ()
Explanation Nagasone Okinao was a student of Okisato. Within the Kotetsu lineage there is Okimasa, who succeeded as the second generation Kotetsu; aside from him, only three smiths are known, including Okinao. Among these, Okinao’s works are extraordinarily scarce: apart from this , only a single has been confirmed.
Moreover, the workmanship is skillful, resembling that of his master Okisato, and the manner of the signature, too, is markedly earnest and proper. It may be conjectured that Okinao engaged in producing blades as a substitute hand for his master, and that after Kotetsu’s death in Enpō 6 (1678), he concluded his life as a concealed collaborator supporting the second generation Okimasa.
