K75. Long, large katana, ubu one hole, in polish and shira-saya with Gunto koshirae held together with a tsunagi. The sword is signed, Bizen Osafune no Ju Sukekuni Sandai Sukenao.

Nagasa: 28 7/8″ 73.2 cm.

Sori: 1.5 cm.

Moto haba: 3.1 cm.

Moto kasane: .7 cm.

Saki haba: 2.5 cm.

Saki kasane: .5 cm.

Nakago nagasa: 9″ 22.7 cm.

Overall in shira-saya: 41″ 104.5 cm. The Gunto koshirae is a tiny bit longer.

Shinogi zukuri, koshi sori, long chu kissaki, iore mune. The hada is small & tight itame mokume in ji-nie. The hamon is chogi midare with wider than expected valleys of suguba between the peaks, worked in a bright nioi-guchi and covered in fine ko-nie, with sunagashi, kinsuji, and hotsure. The swept boshi is a continuation of the hamon, ending in ko-maru and a short kaeri. Other than for one tiny and tight ware’ in the shinogi ji, the blade is flawless. Other than for a few insignificant, light scratches, the polish is intact. There are a few tiny nicks in the edge. I have marked with a white X in my pictures the largest of them from both sides (mostly visible on the omote); the rest don’t show well in the pictures.

Sukenao came out of the Bizen Yokoyama group and worked in the early to mid 19th century. This sword was discovered here in The States after the war in Gunto koshirae with a family mon on the tsuka; must have been an important officer to have been allowed koshirae to fit a 29″ blade. The koshirae is in excellent condition with minimal paint loss to the saya, a pierced tsuba, tight and clean handle wrap, and a spring clip that works perfectly.

This sword comes also with an “Appraisal Report” issued by Kotoken Kajihara (probably at one of the shows in Birmingham, AL), dated January of 1995, in which he declares the signature as Genuine and the ranking as Good. Good indeed: a fine set with the long katana and custom koshirae, a lot to love. 5 pounds, 6 ounces. $4,350.