A Ko-Bizen Ietoshi Tachi (古備前家俊)

This remarkable tachi was forged by Ietoshi of the Ko-Bizen school during the heart of the Kamakura period, circa 1247. When first made, this sword would have been a good 10cm longer and carried on horseback by a mounted samurai. Over the centuries it was shortened several times, as evidenced by the five mekugi-ana (peg holes) in the nakago – each one a record of a different era and a different warrior. Remarkably, the first character “Ie” (家) of the original signature survived at the very base of the tang, and at some point during its long life, the full name Ietoshi was inlaid in gold kinzogan to preserve the attribution for posterity.

All the hallmarks of Ko-Bizen craftsmanship are present and vivid. The jihada is a tight, flowing mix of itame and mokume, alive with fine chikei and rich ji-nie, and crowned by a striking midare-utsuri – that smoky, billowing reflection above the hamon so prized in Bizen work of the Kôtô period. The hamon itself is a gently undulating suguha-chô with passages of ko-gunome and ko-midare, packed with fine ko-nie, bustling with ashi and yô, and punctuated by dramatic kinsuji and sunagashi. Tobiyaki above the yakigashira add a further dimension of vitality. The blade carries a deep, graceful koshizori curvature typical of tachi made for horseback – a shape that visually frames the sword’s antiquity and purpose.

This is the only sword by Ietoshi to have attained NBTHK Jûyô Token designation, making it a singular reference piece for the Ko-Bizen tradition. The accompanying koshirae is an exceptional Kuro Iro Aka Nuri Wake Uchigatana Koshirae – a dramatic black-and-red lacquered mounting certified NTHK-NPO Yushusaku (Masterwork). Its fittings are equally distinguished: a polished shakudô tsuba with 16 gold chrysanthemum petals (NBTHK Hozon), menuki in shakudô and gold bearing the kiri-mon (paulownia crest), a Kaga province kozuka with chrysanthemum design in kin shakudô (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon), and an Edo period Kyoto kogai with kiri-mon and ruler design (NBTHK Hozon). A complete and important ensemble.