Ordering number:24381

Tachi: Katana in Shirasaya (31st NBTHK Juyo Token)
Mei: ?? Kuni Aoe Ju Yoshitsugu Saku
Era: Gen-toku ? Year
◻️◻️国青江住吉次作
元徳◻️年(cut off below)

Sayagaki by Kunzan:
ichu Province Aoe Ju Yoshitsugu, Gen-toku Era,
Blade Length: 2 Shaku 4 Sun 6 Bu (74.54cm)(29.35inch)

Sayagaki by Tanobe:
This blade is Suriage, but it still has imposing appearance, and the original is though to have been a very large piece, about 83.3cm.
Yoshitsugu was a representative Aoe swordsmith of the late Kamakura period. This is the period when the sword inscriptions were changing from Katana-Mei to Tachi-Mei. Many works has Tachi mei on the Mune side, and there are also examples with Katana mei in the center of Nakago.
The style of Yoshitsugu is often gentle, with straight hamon with Ko-choji, but Choji in this work is intense and shows the beginning of the gorgeous Choji of Aoe school from the Nanbokucho period, including Tsugunao, Tsuguyosh. It has high documentary value and is an excellent pierce with a lot of flovour .

We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo Saku, Jyojyo Saku, Jyo Saku, and Regular Saku.
This work is ranked as Saijo Saku for Aoe Ju Yoshitsugu.

Polishing: Completed with the highest quality polishing.
Habaki: Pure gold, 54 grams, double-layered, with family crest
Blade Length: 74.8 cm (29.5in)
Curvature: 3.1 cm (1.2in)
Mekugi-ana: 3
Motohaba: 2.92 cm (1.2in)
Sakihaba: 1.81 cm (0.7in)
Kasane: 0.7 cm (0.3in)
Sword Weight: 790 grams
Era: Kamakura period, Gen-toku Era, 1329 AD (695 years ago)

Shape: This piece was forged 695 years ago with a deep curvature of 3.1 cm, indicating it is close to its original state despite some shortening. The mei and ura-mei (rear inscription) are both clearly visible.

Jigane: Tight itame-hada with well-defined utsuri.
Shinogi-ji: The grain pattern of itame-hada and mokume-hada is clearly visible, typical of the Kamakura period.
Hamon: The hamon is filled with nioi and shows a mix of gunome-midare, with a rounded bōshi and abundant ha patterns sweeping over.

Aoi Art’s Comment:
This piece is a very valuable old sword with date. The long, deeply warped body is gorgeous, and the blade pattern is relatively intense for a Yoshitsugu.Naturally, it is reasonable to assume that such masterpiece was belonged to the lords' families.

31st NBTHK Juyo Token
Aoi Art Certification
Whole Oshigata

Price:7,000,000 JPY-.

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