A Tomoshige Tameshigiri Katana (於江府藤嶋友重作之)

Swordsmith Tomoshige was born Fujishima Jinsuke and worked in Iwakitaira in Ôshû, relocating temporarily to Edo (Tokyo) where this formidable katana was forged in June 1864 during the tumultuous final years of the Edo period. The Fujishima school traces its roots to the early Muromachi period in Kaga province along the Hokurikudo trade route, a region known as Ura Japan, where harsh winters demanded blades of exceptional density and performance. That tradition of no-nonsense utility is written into every millimetre of this sword.

A year after its completion, on the 25th day of the first month of Genji 2 (January 25th, 1865), this katana underwent one of the rarest and most demanding cutting tests on record. Sword tester Yamada Genzô – who would go on to officially lead the Yamada sword-testing family in 1869 – deliberately severed a convicted body to exactly 90% through at the height of the collarbone, stopping fractionally short of the underlying mound. The test was performed in Senju, north Tokyo. This extreme precision was the hallmark of the kaishakunin tradition: to sever without fully detaching, preserving both the sword and the dignity of the act. It is one of the last tameshigiri conducted before the Meiji Restoration brought the practice to an end.

Weighing in at 985g with a nagasa of 71.2cm, this is a genuinely weighty fighting sword – its muji-hada jihada so densely folded the steel takes on a near mirror-like finish. The hamon is an eclectic mix of gunome-midare and togari-gunome with abundant yô falling toward the edge, and the boshi carries nie-crystals that shimmer along the hamon line. Rounded nie elements reminiscent of Hizen Yukihiro’s abunomefu add further distinction. The sword has been freshly polished and comes housed in a shirasaya with a magnificent gold-wrapped habaki bearing a botan yujô (peony) design. It holds both vintage NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.