Q881. Mishina School wakizashi.

Nagasa: 21 1/4″  54.1 cm.

Sori: 1.1 cm.

Moto haba: 2.7 cm.

Moto kasane: .6 cm.

Saki haba: 1.8 cm.

Saki kasane: .45 cm.

Nakago nagasa: 6 5/8″  17 cm.

Overall in shirasaya: 31 1/2″  80 cm.

This is signed, Nihon Kaji Sosho Sanshu Iga no Kami Kinmichi and dated, Meiwa Ku Nen (1772) with a carved Kikumon.

The hada is ko-itame and, with the exception of one pin prick on the ura a few inches above the machi which is about the size of a grain of sand, it is flawless. The hamon begins in a narrow notare which widens as it climbs the blade and adds in gunome with tobiyaki coming off the tops (one of the tobiyaki appears to be dark colored in my pictures. This is the photography, not the steel; it is the regular color in hand). This is done in a wide and active nioi guchi covered in ko-nie. The boshi is shallow undulations ending in a somewhat pointed ko-maru with a medium length kaeri. This wakizashi is in a professional polish and mounted in a well made shirasaya with a double gold and silver foil habaki. There is a Hozon paper from the NBTHK dated 2011.

There were 9 generations of Iga no Kami Kinmichi and , after the first, they all signed with Nihon Kaji Sosho (Head of Japanese sword smiths). The paper doesn’t specify a generation but the date of 1772 points to the 6th and I found this mei to be a close match to one of the 6th in Shinshinto Taikan.

A very fine sword. 2 pounds. $2,495.