K76. A large, very impressive katana by Yoshihara Kuniiye.

Nagasa: 28 1/16″ 71.2 cm.

Sori: 2.4 cm.

Moto haba: 3.4 cm.

Moto kasane: .6 cm (at the mune)

Saki haba: 2.1 cm.

Saki kasane: .4 cm.

Nakago nagasa: 8 15/16″ 22.5 cm.

Overall length in shira-saya: 40″ 101.5 cm.

Mei: Yoshihara Kuniiye Seitan Kore (Respectfully made by Yoshihara Kuniiye).

Date: Koki Ni Sen Roku Hyaku Ichi Nen Naka Haru (2,601st year from the founding of the empire, mid spring. 1941)

Yoshihara Kuniiye was born in 1894 and lived till 1970. He was the 1st student at The Nihonto Danren Denshu Jo and was in the 1st graduating class. During WWII he was a Rikugun Jumei Tosho (given traditional raw material: tamahagane, and allowed to sign his work with a star stamp). He is known to have worked in a Soden Bizen (mix of Soshu and Bizen) style and also made utsushi of Masamune Jutetsu Norishige. He was the grandfather of today’s best known swordsmith in the west, Yoshihara Yoshindo. If you google Yoshihara Kuniiye (or kuniie) you will learn a lot more. He was important.

Shinogi zukuri, strong koshi-sori, chu kissaki, iore mune, ubu one hole. Flawless, tight, ko-itame hada. The hamon is gunome midare until it reaches the mono-uchi (business end) where all hell breaks loose; so much activity, reaching at places to the shinogi. There is a deep and consistent nioi-guchi covered in ko-nie as multiple layers of sunagashi and other hataraki. The boshi is o-maru with a medium long kaeri. The sunagashi rises above the boshi, creating a niju and even sanjuba boshi that is strongly swept.

The sword is in perfect polish. When the polish was done there was an area of corrosion about 1/3 of the way up the ura. Rather than reduce the whole blade to make it completely disappear, the polisher has left 2 tiny dots behind. One of my pictures has a white X beside the blade; here you can see these dots. This is the one and only flaw on the blade; otherwise condition is perfect. The sword is mounted with a fine silver foil habaki and shira-saya with a saya-gaki that isn’t signed (I don’t know who did the saya-gaki). You will not be disappointed; promise. 2 pounds, 13 ounces. $7,950.