Listing a very impressive ubu middle Nanbokucho tanto attributed to the Bizen smith Osafune Morisuke. The blade has two sets of NBTHK kanteisho, both Hozon and Tokubetsu Hozon, stating this attribution, along with the Tanobe-sensei sayagaki below. The hamon is ko-gunome and the jihada is a beautiful itame with utsuri. The nagasa is 9 sun 7 bu, and the sword has a wide mihaba. The nakago is ubu and typical of middle Nanbokucho Bizen. The overall sugata is very similar to Nanbokucho Bizen Tomomitsu and Yukimitsu tanto in my collection. This is now available on consignment for $6,750 + shipping & PayPal.
備前國⻑船守助 但⽣茎無銘也。時代南北朝中期同⼯ニハ延⽂及ビ貞治ノ年紀ヲ有スル在銘作ガ存在シ本作ハ其ニ頗ル近似シ出来優矣 本作刃⻑九⼨七分弱也惟時⼰丑季弥⽣良宜⽇探⼭邉道識「花押」
Bizen no Kuni Osafune Morisuke Tadashi ubu-nakag mumei nari. Jidai Nanbokuchō-chūki dōkō ni wa Enbun oyobi Jōji no nenki o yū-suru zaimei-saku ga sonzai-shi honsaku wa sore ni sukoburu kinji-shi deki iu nari. Honsaku hachō kyū-sun shichi-bu chaku nari Koretoki tsuchinoto-ushidoshi yayoi ryōgi no hi Tanzan Hendō shirusu + kaō
Osafune Morisuke from Bizen Province
[This blade has] An ubu-nakago and mumei. Morisuke was a smith from the mid-Nanbokuchō period and there exist work from him which are dated between Enbun (1356-1361) and Jōji (1362-1368) and which are very similar to this blade, which is of an excellent deki.
Blade length ~ 29.3 cm
Written by Tanzan Hendō [Tanobe Michihiro] on a lucky day in March of the year of the ox of this era (2009) + monogram