Katana - Tamahagane - Minamoto no Masatomo(源正友) - Japan - Edo-Zeit (1600-1868)

【Summary】
This is a very rare sword made in the Tohoku(Japan's northern region). The workmanship of the blade is excellent, and the sharpness of the cut is evident.

Tsuka was made by the famous Hikone ju Soten (彦根住宗典), and is very interesting in every detail.

Both the sword and Koshirae are excellent works of art with a high degree of perfection.


【About Minamoto no Masatomo(源正友)】
Masatomo was a swordsmith in the service of the Soma family(相馬家), the 60,000-goku feudal lord of the Soma Nakamura clan(相馬中村藩) in Mutsu Province(陸奥国), which is now the city of Soma in Fukushima Prefecture. Mei(銘) is inscribed.

The five major production areas (called Gokaden) of Japanese swords are Bizen (Okayama), Yamato (Nara), Yamashiro (Kyoto), Sagami (Kanagawa), and Mino (Gifu), but this Katana is one of the few Katana made in the Tohoku region.

Fukushima Prefecture in Tohoku is very famous for its samurai warfare, and the Soma-no-Maoi (相馬野馬追) festival still held in the area, is a 1,000-year-old festival designated by the national government as an important intangible folk cultural property.

The sight of more than 500 mounted warriors in full armor, wearing sword belts and carrying banners on their backs, galloping through the streets during the festival is very powerful and impressive, and one can feel the weight of history in their bravery. The swordsmith who left his mark in Soma, the sacred land of the samurai, is “Masatomo”.

Masatomo was highly regarded for his ability, and around the Kanbun period (1661-1673) of the Edo period, he moved to Yamashiro-no-kuni (present-day central and southern Kyoto Prefecture) and later to Edo (present-day Tokyo), where he continued to make swords.

We hope you will enjoy Katana, a rare swordsmith who has traveled from Tohoku to all over Japan.


【About Hikone ju Soten(彦根住宗典)】
Koshirae also has a great feature in this product: the Tsuka is made by the famous Hikone ju Soten (彦根住宗典). His name is clearly inscribed on the Tsuka.

Soten was a goldsmith who lived in Hikone in the mid-Edo period.

He founded Hikone-bori, a style of carving in the Mino digging tradition, and was widely patronized during the Edo period. It is rare for a goldsmith to be so famous, and he established a generation with his unique style.

Each part of Koshirae is very elaborate and attractive, so please take a look at the pictures.


【Condition/Size】
The workmanship of Toshin itself, including Kitae-hada and Hamon, is excellent, although in places there are bruises from actual combat.

Koshirae Full length: 100.0cm
Total Length : 92.5cm
Blade length: 70.8cm
Motohaba : 3.1cm
Motokasane : 0.7cm
Weight : 0.8kg
Sori: 1.0cm


【Attention before bid】
This is a truly domestic Japanese sword that has never left Japan. To export, an export permit must be obtained from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, which takes about 25 business days. We would appreciate your patience.

Export of Japanese swords from Japan to other countries is restricted. Depending on the situation of the shipping company and your country of residence, it may not be possible to ship. We will of course do our best to send the item, but if no carrier is available, we have no choice but to cancel the transaction. (So far we have been able to transport them without any problems in most cases.)

Regardless of the carrier's situation, China and Russia are banned from importing Japanese swords.