Edo period Katana signed Kiyohira in elegant koshirae
SOLD
Tracked across 76 dealers worldwide · price history · sold archive
Enpo (1673-1681)
Specifications
70.5 cm
1.8 cm
3 cm
2 cm
About the maker
Sue-Soshu Kiyohira清平
Kiyohira (清平), also known as Tsujimura Gorōemon, was the fourth son of the first-generation Kashu Jinroku Kanewaka. A blade dated Genroku 2 (1689) bearing the inscription "aged seventy" establishes his birth in Genna 6 (1620). He moved to Edo around the end of the Keian era, and a blade dated Joo 2 (1653) already bears the inscription "made in Bushu Edo." Later retained by the Inaba family of Sagami, he signed works from Kanbun 2 (1662) onward as "resident of Odawara Hachimanyama." His style is grounded in the character of Kaga workmanship inherited from his father Kanewaka and elder brother Kagehira, yet he established "an individual sphere of expression on that base." Kiyohira's *kitae* characteristically shows *itame-hada* that overall flows and becomes *masame*-inclined -- a feature the NBTHK identifies as "a characteristic of this lineage." The *hamon* presents *notare* mixed with large *gunome*, *ko-notare*, and *ko-gunome*, with deep *nioi* and abundant *ko-nie*; *ashi* enter well, and *sunagashi* and *kinsuji* appear throughout. What distinguishes Kiyohira from typical Kaga production is the conspicuously stronger adherence of *nie*, prominent *chikei* and *nie-suji* in both *ji* and *ha*, elements tending toward pointed forms within the temper, and a bright *nioiguchi*. The *boshi* typically shows shallow *notare* or *sugu* with *ko-maru* and a deep return. The NBTHK recognizes Kiyohira's finest works as "superior pieces" that are simultaneously "precious as documentary material." His *utsushi* of the celebrated *meibutsu* "Fudo Kuniyuki" -- the only known such copy by his hand -- is praised for its conscious evocation of the original through a slightly narrow *yakihaba* with *yubashiri* and *nijuba* overlaying the *yakigashira*. Gold-inlaid *kinzogan* cutting-test inscriptions on several works further enhance their documentary significance. Kiyohira's oeuvre represents a distinctive synthesis of the Kaga tradition with an individual intensity of nie expression that sets him apart within the broader Kanewaka lineage.
