AS22239 Katana:Izumi Kami Fujiwara Kaneshige(NBTHK the 61st Juyo Token)

Ordering number: AS22239
Katana in Shirasaya(NBTHK the 61st Juyo Token)

Signature : Izumi Kami Fujiwara Kaneshige
和泉守藤原兼重

(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijo saku, Jojo saku, Jo saku and regular saku)
This sword belongs to Saijo saku ranking.

The blade is polished.
Habaki : Gold foiled single Habaki.
Blade length : 70.3 cm or 27.7 inches.
Sori : 1.7 cm or 0.67 inches.
Mekugi : 1
Width at the Hamachi : 3.13 cm or 1.23 inches.
Width at the Kissaki : 2.28 cm or 0.9 inches.
Kasane : 0.67 cm or 0.26 inches.
Era : Edo period Kanbun era (1661~)
Shape : The blade is wide and thick with rather deep curve and long Kissaki nice shape.
Jigane : Koitame-hada well grained with Jinie attach beautiful texture.
Shinogiji : Koitamehada Masanagare.
Hamon : Niedeki thich Suguha with deep Nioikuchi and Boshi turns round shape keeping same Nioikuchi.

Special feature : Izumi Kami Fujiwara Kaneshige named himself Tsuji Sukeuemon and worked as Yanone (arrowhead) smith while he was living at Echizen province.
He changed his job to swordsmith and got the title of Izumi Daijo and after he started to served for Todo Izumi Kami clan.
Then he started to engrave his signature ‘Izumi Kami Fujiwara Kaneshige’. It is told that Miyamoto Musashi the most famous swordmaster in Japan recommended Kaneshige to Todo clan. The Koshirae crafted by Musashi himself had the blade forged by Izumi Kami Fujiwara Kaneshige inside. When Musashi died, articles were left behind to his student Miyamoto Iori. Iori returned the Musashi Koshirae with Kaneshige blade to Higo province and the sword was kept at Kagoshima prefecture till WW2 end, though the sword has been lost somewhere now. He is the teacher of Kotetsu. So his subject of Hamon and Jigane is very similar with Kotetsu. Jigane is well grained and deep Nioikuchi with special thick Suguha Hamon. Many swordsmiths including Kotetsu, Sukehiro, Shinkai and Shigekuni tried to make this kind of deep Nioikuchi Suguha Hamon and later on, Motohitra, Masayuki and Yukihide are tried to make swords like Kaneshige.

NBTHK the 61st Juyo Token
Aoi Art estimation paper : whole Oshigata.