A Kunisada Tameshigiri Katana (国貞)

Swordsmith Kunisada was active during the mid-Edo period circa the Hôei era (1704~1711), working in Musashi province – the nation’s political and cultural capital. He is said to have hailed originally from Nakamura city in Ôshû province, and his signatures appear either as the full Ôshû Uda-gun Nakamura jû Kunisada or simply as Kunisada. Few swords by this smith survive, making any signed example a notable find.

This long, powerful katana carries a tameshigiri (cutting test) inscription chiselled into the ura (reverse) of the nakago. The test was performed by Murakami Hikozaemon at Nijûhachiyama – translated literally as ‘Mount Twenty-eight’ – recording the successful severance of two stacked bodies in a single sweeping stroke. It is a rare and sobering record of a blade tested to its full purpose.

Inspired by the location of the cutting test, a thoughtful antique Edo period koshirae accompanies the sword, its fittings united by a serene mountainous landscape theme. The iron tsuba from the Nara school depicts a rocky hillside scene with birds, temples, pine trees and clouds with traces of gold inlay; the fuchi-kashira, attributed to the Jakushi school of Nagasaki in Hizen province, continue the same contemplative landscape in carved iron. The ensemble holds a rare thematic coherence – sword, test site and fittings bound together by the image of a mountain. NBTHK Hozon papers certify both blade and fittings as Especially Worthy of Preservation, and NTHK-NPO Kanteishô certificates of authenticity have been awarded to the koshirae, tsuba and fuchi-kashira separately.