S117. Ubu katana signed Hizen no Kuni Omi no Kami Tadayoshi.

Nagasa: 27 1/4″ 69.2 cm.

Sori: 1.2 cm.

Kissaki nagasa: 2.8 cm.

Nakago nagasa: 20.5 cm.

Moto haba: 2.8 cm.

Moto kasane: .7 cm.

Saki haba: 1.8 cm.

Saki kasane: .5 cm.

Overall length in mounts: 38 1/2″ 97.8 cm.

Shinogi-zukuri, koshi-zori, iore-mune. Very fine ko-nuka hada, chu-suguba with lots of subtle activity worked in ko-nie. The boshi is chu-maru with a short return and on the ura it is nearly a nijuba with extra activity.

Rokudai (6th generation) Tadayoshi was born in 1736, he died in 1815, he succeeded to head the family in 1775, and gained his Omi no Kami title in 1790.  Hizen-to are known for 2 things: copying the work of early Rai blades and having thin skin.  This sword, with its graceful, tapering sugata, does a great job of the former (it is a very pleasant shape and seems longer than it is) but shows no evidence of the latter.  It is perfectly healthy, no shin-tetsu showing through, and flawless.  The polish is 1st class and in wonderful condition.  The habaki is copper with gold wash (but much better quality than the usual gold wash) and the shira-saya is 100% intact.  Also included is a purple sword bag.

Swords from 6th Tadayoshi are relatively uncommon.  Robert Rogershaw, in The School of Tadayoshi, posits that the lack of demand for swords at the time of his career led to the scarcity of his work today.  For whatever reason, there aren’t many like this out there.  The sword comes with Tokubetsu Hozon paper from the NBTHK dated 2007.  2 pounds, 9 ounces.  $9,000.