An Echizen Yasutsugu III Katana （葵紋）康継於越前作之

This is a charismatic katana by the third generation Yasutsugu working from Echizen province – a swordsmith whose family occupied one of the most privileged positions in the entire history of Japanese sword-making. The Yasutsugu lineage held the exceptional honour of bearing the aoi-mon, the hollyhock crest of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, on the nakago of their blades. That crest appears here, pressed into the tang alongside the signature, marking this as the work of an official smith to the Tokugawa family.

The jihada is a beautifully forged itame with swirling chikei and sparkling ji-nie throughout – textbook Yamato-den construction, paying direct homage to the family’s roots in the Yamato Senjuin tradition. The hamon runs in a composed naka-suguha with gentle ko-notare movement, ko-ashi, and fine nie-deki. Particularly notable is a section of ni-juba, a double hamon, which is relatively rare on any Japanese sword and lends the blade considerable character.

The koshirae is beautifully aged and well-matched to the sword. The namban tsuba is a strong piece in its own right, and the fuchi-kashira carry the kamakiri – the praying mantis – a motif with genuine samurai resonance. The mantis was seen as the apex predator of the insect world, and its role protecting crops from destructive pests made it a fitting symbol of the samurai’s duty to protect society during the Edo period. A complete package, held to a high standard throughout.