Late Kamakura Period
NBTHK Jūyō Tōken
Nagasa [length]: 68.5cm
Sori [curvature]: 2 cm
Motohaba [bottom width]: 3.5 cm
Sakihaba [top width]: 2.4 cm
Motokasane [bottom thickness]: 7 mm
Sugata [configurazione]: Shinogi–zukuri, mitsu–mune, chu–kissaki.
Kitae [motivo della forgiatura]: prominent itame hada mixed with nagare and masame. Jinie.
Hamon [linea di tempra]: Gonome–midare mixed with ko–notare with strong nie, full of ashi and sunagashi.
Boshi [punta]: Komaru in notare.
Horimono [incisioni]: bohi
Nakago [codolo]: O–suriage, yasurime with mild kattesagari; three mekugi–ana.
Origami [certificate]: The blade comes with a Jūyō Tōken (Important Sword) certificate issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai in 1975 (session nr. 23)
Sayagaki [certification on shirasaya]: The inscription by Tanobe sensei reads:
“Osuriage Mumei; relatively wide mihaba and slightly extended chu–kissaki. The shape with deep sori; itame–nagareru ji–hada jinie. Well layered gonome hamon mixed with running light notare; ashi appear and deep nioi, with round colored nie show well on the blade, with shining sunagashi and jubashiri appearing, and bright nioiguchi. Clear ōmaru short boshi in the Yamato style, which featurea yakiba shape and hanie, typical feature of the school. This is one of the best sword attributed to this school. Excellent item. “
Koshirae [mounts]: The sword in shirasaya, accompanied by an excellent handachi koshirae from the Edo period, with the saya lacquered in black and gold. All copper kanagu carry a shakudo kamon of igeta (well frame) type.
The founder of the Uda School is considered to have been Kunimitsu, originally from the Uda district of Yamato Province, at the end of the Kamakura Era. All of the succeeding smiths of this school used the kanji character “Kuni” in their signatures. At some point, he moved to Etchu Province, so even though the Uda School had its foundation in the Yamato tradition, it is considered to be one of the wakimono schools from this region, mixing different styles. Since the remaining works by Kunimitsu are non-existent, his students, Kunifusa and Kunimune, are generally thought to be the true founders of this school. Both of these smiths studied under Norishige of the Etchu Province, and they were active in the late 13th century. The works of these early Uda smiths followed the style of the Yamato den, particularly in the areas of sugata and hamon.
“Ko-Uda” is the term used to specify works of the Uda school made before 1394. Early blades like the present one show Yamato characteristics, as a shallow sori and a fairly high shinogi. The hamon is of nie structure with abundant nie activities such as ashi, yo, nie hotsure, sunagashi, and kuchigaiba.
The sword shows the characteristics of the school and the midare-ba type hamon on a conspicuous masame and gonome hada form sunagashi and other activities.
(Inv. #1966)
