AS25823 Katana:Kōto-jū Yoshihara Kuniie Seitan Kore *An auspicious day in August, Showa 19 (1944).* (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)

Ordering Number: AS25823

Katana in Shirasaya (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)

Signature: Kōto-jū Yoshihara Kuniie Seitan Kore
*An auspicious day in August, Showa 19 (1944).*
皇都住吉原国家精鍛之
昭和十九年八月吉日

(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo Saku, Jyojyo Saku, Jyo Saku and Regular Saku).
This blade is ranked as Jyojyo Saku among the works of Yoshihara Kuniie.
Habaki: Single silver habaki.
Blade Length: 67.2 cm (26.46 in).
Curvature: 1.6 cm (0.63 in).
Mekugi Hole: 1.
Width at Base (Motohaba): 3.21 cm (1.26 in).
Width at Yokote: 2.29 cm (0.90 in).
Thickness of rim (Kasane): 0.80 cm (0.31 in).
Sword Weight: 855 g.
Era: An auspicious day in August, Showa 19 (1944).
Shape: A well-proportioned blade with a wide mihaba, slightly thick kasane, an elongated kissaki, and deep curvature. A long portion of the original machi remains.
Jigane: Well-forged ko-itame hada with clearly visible grain.
Hamon: Nie-deki gunome-midare. The boshi continues in an irregular pattern.

Features: Yoshihara Kuniie, whose personal name was Yoshihara Katsukichi, was born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1893. In 1932, he entered the Japanese Sword Forging Training Institute. In 1938, he was appointed an Army-designated swordsmith instructor and forged Japanese swords. He was a well-known disciple of Kasama Shigetsugu. Kuniie earned a strong reputation during his lifetime as a highly skilled swordsmith and passed away on May 20, 1970. This blade was forged just one year before the end of World War II.

Historical Background: In August 1944 (Showa 19), as the Pacific War intensified, Japan began implementing the large-scale evacuation of schoolchildren from major cities to the countryside. Beginning on August 4, organized evacuations were carried out from Tokyo and other urban areas to protect children from air raids and worsening food shortages. On August 3, Japanese forces on Tinian Island were annihilated, allowing the island to become a major base for B-29 bombing operations against the Japanese mainland. On August 22, the evacuation ship Tsushima Maru, carrying approximately 1,788 schoolchildren and civilians from Okinawa toward Nagasaki, was torpedoed and sunk by a U.S. submarine off Akuseki Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, resulting in the loss of nearly 1,500 lives.

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token.　To be issued around December
AoiArt estimation paper: Whole Oshigata.

Please note: The price does not include the international shipping fees.