An Iesuke Tachi (家助)

Here is a tachi with nothing left to prove. Forged by swordsmith Iesuke of the Kozori group some 600 years ago, this blade carries the unmistakable hallmarks of the Bizen tradition – a gorgeous flowing jihada of itame and nagare, a bold straight bô-utsuri, and a lively gunome-chôji-midare hamon with the distinctive kanitsume “crab claw” formations in the upper cutting zone. The ko-nie deki work is precise and bright. Iesuke is said to be the son of a latter generation Nagamitsu and studied under Morikage, placing him firmly within the late Osafune lineage as it transitioned into the early Muromachi period.

The blade is a suriage-nakago – slightly shortened, most likely during the late Muromachi or early Edo period to serve as a paired daisho partner. A broad bô-bi groove runs the length of the blade, finished with a rounded maru-dome, lightening the sword for speed and agility. At its original length it would have measured approximately 76-77cm – a cavalry tachi built to reach an opponent from horseback. That past is not entirely hidden: a kirikomi battle scar sits on the mune in the monouchi zone, the mark of a defensive parry in actual combat. Sword polishers have left it untouched, as is tradition.

The accompanying Edo-period koshirae is a lacquered gloss-black uchigatana-koshirae of aristocratic refinement. The circular tsuba, attributed to the Kyô-Shoami school and dated 1600-1700, features four “torn fan” cutouts with remnants of nunome-zôgan gold inlay – a design connected to Tokugawa Ieyasu’s resolution after his defeat by Takeda Shingen. The fuchi-kashira are signed by Yabu Tsuneyuki of Osaka, with a dragon-on-ruler motif set against a nanako ground. Shell-themed menuki in the Late Edo style complete a fittings ensemble that speaks to generations of proud ownership.