A Norishige Kodachi (則重)

Among the great masters of the early Sôshû school, Norishige occupies a singular position. A fellow student of Masamune under Shintôgo Kunimitsu, Norishige worked in northern Etchu province on the Sea of Japan, and the cold, mineral-rich environment of his forge left its mark on everything he made. According to the NBTHK Token Bijutsu, Norishige surpasses even Masamune in hataraki – the spectacular internal activity of the blade – and his steel carries the unmistakable spiralled grain known as matsukawa-hada, a pattern that evokes the rough, furrowed bark of old pine trees. Fujishiro ranks him at the very highest level: Sai-josaku, a grandmaster swordsmith.

This splendid kodachi – registered as a wakizashi but carrying the graceful form of a small tachi – is a supreme example of his craft. The jihada is a stand-out itame with mokume and nagare resolving into classic matsukawa-hada formations, the darkish steel alive with clusters of ji-nie and thick weaving chikei. The hamon is wide and rich, mixing gunome, choji, and ko-notare with abundant ashi, yo, hotsure, yubashiri, and the dazzling gold-thread lines of kinsuji and sunagashi that run throughout. The boshi turns in a nie-laden ko-maru with sweeping hakikake. Two parallel grooves – futatsuji-hi – run the full length of the blade, adding elegance to its already graceful tachi-like curvature. The nakago is a clean o-suriage, mumei.

The koshirae is a late Edo period Higo uchigatana-koshirae of exceptional quality. The tsuba, certified by the NTHK-NPO to a late generation of the Nishigaki school of Higo province (circa 1780-1867), bears a pierced pine tree design – a pointed tribute to the Norishige matsukawa-hada itself, with all the Shintô symbolism of pine. The kashira features deeply carved waves and is certified to the Jingo school of Higo province. An antique brown-leather wrapped tsuka, preserved with gold lacquer on the samekawa, and a kozuka with a signed Omori wave design complete this museum-worthy ensemble. The blade was designated at the 62nd NBTHK Juyo Token session in Heisei 28 (2016).