T148.  Papered Ko Wakizashi with koshirae.

The blade:

Nagasa:    33.5 cm  (13 1/8”)

Sori:    .7 cm

Moto haba:     3 cm

Moto kasane:     .7 cm

Nakago nagasa:    11.8 cm

Nakago sori:    slight

Hira zukuri.  Ko itame with occasional large itame hada.  Gunome, choji, togari midare hamon with frequent ashi; bright and consistent nioi guchi with ample sunagashi worked in ko nie, and a prominent kinsuji also.  Jizo boshi with hakikake and a short nijuba on the omote and reasonably long kaeri.  Bo hi on both sides.  The yasurime on the ubu, mu mei nakago are kattesagari.

The paper, giving this blade to Bizen Yokoyama School, was issued in 1997 by the NTHK.  Smiths of the Bizen Yokoyama School worked in Shinto and Shinshinto times; I suspect this blade dates to Shinshinto but I don’t know that for a fact.

The blade is in polish (but with one scratch), with a gold washed copper habaki and shirasaya with horn mekugi.  There are no flaws on this blade: no cracks, chips, openings, blisters, coarse grain, gaps in temper, or anything else to warn you of.

The Koshirae:

Aikuchi (no tsuba required), 53.5 cm (21 3/16”) total length.  Black lacquer saya, elaborate tsuka ito over high quality same’; the menuki are shakudo and gold Shishi.  The fuchi, kashira, koi guchi, and kojiri are en suite, finely carved in shibuichi (I believe) with bands of gold overlay on the kashira and kojiri. Tsunagi with wooden habaki and horn mekugi to hold it all together.

The quality is wonderful; condition is near perfect.  Much of the gold on the kashira and kojiri is missing but I think it looks better this way (less flash).  There is one tiny ding on the bottom of the kojiri; otherwise the soft metal is mint.  The tsuka ito is perfectly intact and must have been quite expensive when it was so beautifully done, and the menuki are great.  There are no chips in the lacquer.  Unfortunately, the kotsuka and kogai are missing.

Both the blade and koshirae come with padded sword bags.  2 pounds, 2 ounces.  $2,500.