This is an exciting gendaito by Hizen Yoshitada which really shows the tradition of the Hizen Tadayoshi school in modern times. The Tadayoshi school was one of the preeminent groups of swordsmiths working during the Edo period, and maintained the high standards of quality during that time. This sword is by the gendai smith Kinoshita Yoshitada, who was a rikugun jumei tosho smith during the Showa period who won 1st seat in the 1941 shinsakuto competition. The hada is a fine ko-itame absolutely covered in ji-nie which reminds of the konuka-hada the Tadayoshi school was renowned for. The hamon is a beautifully executed suguha with deep ashi and yo (again, in the Tadayoshi style). The sword is in shirasaya with koppa-maki and has a gold foil habaki. The nakago is beautifully signed and has been maintained in excellent condition. The Yoshitada also has an accompanying shin-gunto koshirae with smooth green saya.

Mei: Hizen (no) kuni junin Yoshitada kore o tsukuru
Nengo: Showa ju shichi nen ni gatsu
Nagasa: 60.8cm
Moto-haba: 3.2cm
Sori: 1.4cm
Kasane: 0.78cm

 

$3,995.00

SKU: KATANA0011 Categories: , , Tags: , ,

Description

Gendaito are traditionally made modern Japanese swords forged from swordsmiths working after the Meiji period. Some references categorize gendaito as swords made after the end of the Meiji, including only the Taisho, Showa, Heisei and Reiwa eras. Those swords categorized as gendaito were made using fully-traditional methods, including a heat treatment in water, rather than oil, and using tamahagane (traditional Japanese iron) as the base material for their work. Tamahagane is made from satetsu (iron sand) and put through a smelting process in an tatara (clay furnace) for up to 72 hours to produce a quality iron for the forging process.

Those swordsmiths who were approved to forge gendaito during WWII were designated Rikugen Jumei Tosho. While for many years Showa period blades were overlooked, a number of exhibitions such as the first showing of Yasukuni-to, demonstrated the high level of craftsmanship exhibited in these swords. Some are extraordinarily impressive examples modelled on classical works (koto utushimono of smiths such as the Bizen Nagamitsu and the Ichimonji school). The schools of Miyairi Akihira, Gassan Sadakazu, Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu and others are especially famed for their quality of work and produced swords that are regarded today as exemplary examples that can be compared favorably with the swords of earlier time periods.

Hizen Yoshitada was one of the best smiths of the Showa period Hizen school.  This Hizen Yoshitada katana is a good example of a high quality gendaito made using traditional methods by one of the most skillful smiths of the time period.

Additional information

Weight 10 oz
Dimensions 55 × 10 × 10 in