A Shizuhiro Katana (肥前守鎮弘)

Iga province, present-day western Mie prefecture, is a little-known corner of Japan surrounded by mountains that for centuries remained inaccessible by road. It established itself as a republic during the early Muromachi period and became legendary as the birthplace of the ninja. Sword-making came to Iga by way of Bungo province through brothers Shizutada and Shizumasa, but the defining influence was Kii province, where Shizutada trained under the Kii Ishido School. From that foundation he developed a dense, clear itame and a commanding suguha that would define the new Iga Ishido tradition.

Swords by Hizen no Kami Shizuhiro are extraordinarily rare – so rare that this very katana appears documented in Markus Sesko’s Nihon-Shinto-Shi (page 205). The blade carries a long marudome bo-hi running the full length, forming an I-beam construction that lightens the steel while absorbing load efficiently. The hamon is a precision-straight suguha of the highest technical order, with a bright and beautiful nioguchi. The large o-kissaki draws deliberate inspiration from the great tachi of the Nambokucho period, lending the blade a commanding presence. A previous owner – Mr. Yamamoto Toyoshirou, who held the eighth rank within the Japanese Armed Forces – chiselled his name and rank into the reverse of the nakago, a rare and compelling piece of provenance that confirms this sword’s use in the WWII era.

This katana was awarded NTHK-NPO Yushusaku – the highest honour conferred by the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword – and is featured in the society’s first edition Yushuto Catalogue of Japanese Swords, a copy of which accompanied the sword. A beautiful custom koshirae was made for it, themed around the horse and butterfly: the iron tsuba features a gold-inlaid horse within a meadow setting, while the fittings carry the butterfly (cho), a symbol of joy and the souls of ancestors, associated with the kamon of the mighty Taira clan.