A Tashiro Kanemoto Katana (田代兼元)

This potent full-length katana is attributed to Tashiro Kanemoto, said to be the last son of the great master Magoroku Kanemoto – the 2nd generation Kanemoto from the 16th century, a name inseparable from Mino swordsmanship at its apex. Working in the very early Edo period, Tashiro carried forward the tradition his father had made famous, and this blade is a fine example of that continuity.

The defining feature is the sanbonsugi hamon – a temperline resembling a row of cypress treetops, the pattern leaping rhythmically every third peak. It flows like a heartbeat along the blade’s surface, interwoven with hataraki elements of kinsuji and sunagashi (golden lines and streaks of sand) that reward close study. The ubu-nakago with hagaki yasurime file marks is fully original in length – a significant plus at this price level.

At 69.3cm, this is the classic fighting length of a samurai katana from the Kan’ei era: fine balance, healthy width, and all the structural integrity of a blade that has never been shortened. It holds tremendous potential as a koshirae project for a collector or practitioner of Iaido.