AS23212 Katana: Gassan Sadakazu(NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)

Katana in Shirasaya(NBTHKTokubetsu Hozon Token)
Signature: Teishitsu Gigein Gassan Sadakazu Seitan Kore　帝室技芸員月山貞一精錬之
Meiji 42 Nen 3 Gatsu Kichijitsu 明治四十二年三月吉日　　　　　　

(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo saku, Jyojyo saku Jyo saku and regular saku)
This sword belongs to Jyo Jyo saku ranking.
habaki: Gold color single habaki.
The blade was polished by good polisher.

Blade length: 61.4cm or 24.2inches.
Sori: 1.8cm or 0.7inches.
Mekugi: 1
Width at the hamachi: 2.75cm or 1.08inches.
Width at the Kissaki: 1.73cm or 0.68inches.
Kasane: 0.62cm or 0.24inches.
The weight of the sword: 485 grams
Shape: This sword is 2.7cm wide, which is quite wide, and is also thick. Its warp is deep, and its Kisski is long.
Jigane: The koitame skin is well packed and looks like a plain fabric, which is beautiful.
Hamon :Niedeki Cyoji becomes midare, and Nioikuchi reflects Sakasa Cyoji and Aoe style, and the Ashi work well. You can see many Sunagashi and Kinsuji in the blade.

Era: Meiji 42(1909)
Features: He was adopted by Gassan Sadakazu at the age of 7. When he began to make swords, he showed great talent while still a teenager. Even after the sword prohibition in 1876, he continued to make swords, and exhibited a sword at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, where he received an award. In 1906, he was selected as a member of the Imperial Household Artisans. He made military swords for the Emperor Meiji and the treasured swords for the Ise Shrine. He died in 1918 at the age of 84. The works of Gassan Sadakazu can be seen from the age of 15 in Kaei 3 to 1918, the year of his death, and it can be seen that he devoted his whole life to swordsmithing.

From Aoi Art: He was very good at making swords, and was a master of the Soshu, Yamato, Bizen, Mino, and Yamashiro styles, and also had unparalleled skill in sword carving. This work is a masterpiece produced aiming at Fukuoka Ichimonji, even though he is making Bizen Den, which is his specialty.

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token
Aoi Art estimation paper
whole Oshigata　by　Ayaka Tsuruta