This katana is the work of Hōjōji Echizen no Kami Tachibana Masateru, an accomplished smith of the early Edo period who belonged to the Hōjōji school of Musashi province. Though bearing the honorary title Echizen no Kami, Masateru was not active in Echizen but rather trained under Hōjōji Masahiro, and later studied with the 2nd generation Kinmichi in Kyōto.

This blade is signed in his formal long signature and features a well-forged suguha-based midare hamon in nie-deki, with a wide, luminous nioiguchi. The nakago, though suriage, has a well-preserved mei with kikumon. The blade has been authenticated with NTHK Kanteisho certification, attesting to its authenticity and quality. As a piece that bridges the formal elegance of Kyōto traditions with the disciplined roots of the Hōjōji school, this katana stands as a superb piece and a rarely seen example of Masateru’s work.

$5,750 + shipping

MASATERU (正照), Tenna (天和, 1681-1684), Musashi – “Hōjōji Echizen no Kami Tachibana Masateru” (法城寺越前守橘正照), “Echizen no Kami Hōjōji Tachibana Masateru” (越前守法城寺橘正照), Hōjōji school, he studied first under Hōjōji Masahiro (正弘) but went later to Kyōto and studied there under the 2nd gen. Kinmichi (金道), due to this master-student relationship he was allowed to carve a chrysanthemum onto his tangs, it is said that he moved later in his career to Akita (秋田) to Dewa province, suguha to sightly undulating notare in nie-deki with a wide nioiguchi, chūjō-saku