A Yoshikado Katana (濃州関善良家越前守吉門)

Born Kawamura Ichirô-zaemon in Hitachi province, Shodai Yoshikado was a prominent shintô swordsmith who originated from Mino and descended from the lineage of Zenjô Kaneyoshi – a proud family traceable some thirteen generations to the Ôei era (1394-1428). He began his apprenticeship around 1636 and was working in Edo by 1654, as demonstrated by a blade signature noting more than nineteen years of training. His career advanced significantly when in 1672 he became an official swordsmith of the Mito domain led by Tokugawa Mitsukuni, receiving a stipend supporting seven people and prompting his relocation to Mito’s Daimachi district. Yoshikado died in the fourth year of the Jôkyô era (1687).

This brilliant and highly energetic katana is a prime example from the later years of Yoshikado’s storied career. The blade’s vibrant hamon in nie-deki is an ô-midare with notare elements, with passages of hako-midare that pay tribute to the Kaga-based Kanewaka family, and chôji formations that speak to Yoshikado’s earlier Bizen influences. The yakidashi rises in a mountain-top form reminiscent of Fuji-san. The jihada is a well-forged itame with sparkling ji-nie and impressive channels of chikei, with a beautiful wavy masame-hada visible in the shinogi-ji. The nakago is ubu with takanoha-yasurime and the swordsmith’s full signature – only the shodai signed with Zenryô-ke (善良家), making attribution immediate and unambiguous.

This is a swordsman’s sword, not too long and not too short – just the right length to manoeuvre with samurai fluidity. The blade has been further polished to an exceptionally keen edge, as Yoshikado is renowned as a wazamono maker, and his swords require careful handling for their remarkable cutting ability. Presented in shirasaya with a handsome gold-wrapped habakibearing rainfall file marks, and bearing a sayagaki by Nozomi-san dated April 2025.