A Masamine Tachi (両山子正峯作也)

This magnificent tachi is the work of Ryôzanshi Masamine, one of the finest swordsmiths of the 20th century and a former Living National Treasure. Dated to a day in August 1974 – the Year of the Tiger – it is a faithful utsushi (replica) of the celebrated national treasure tachi known as Nikkô Sukezane: a blade forged by Fukuoka-Ichimonji smith Sukezane, once the property of Shôgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and now enshrined at the Tôshôgû in Nikkô. The full nakago inscription names the original, declares Masamine as maker, and adds a later dedication by a previous owner in 1987 pledging the sword to the lifeblood of the warrior spirit and the enduring reign of the Imperial family.

The blade captures all the hallmarks of the Kamakura Bizen tradition that inspired Masamine throughout his career. The jihada is an expertly forged ko-itame carrying flowing chikei and a faint midare-utsuri along the back of the blade, faithfully replicating the ghostly shadow hamon found on Sukezane’s originals. The hamon is a glorious, widely hardened chôji-midare rich in kawazu-no-ko chôji – the elongated tadpole-shaped clove heads characteristic of Osafune Mitsutada, the Hatakeda school, and Kamakura-Ichimonji Sukezane – with long ashi and a wavy midare-komi boshi flowing naturally from the temper line. The stout ikubi-kissaki and the bo-hirunning the length of both the blade and the nakago are direct echoes of the national treasure original.

The sword comes in a custom shirasaya (protective scabbard) fitted with a spectacular gold-wrapped habakibearing the Tokugawa aoi-mon family crest – an unmistakable nod to the illustrious provenance of the original blade. Certified by both NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon and the NTHK-NPO’s highest honour of Yûshûsaku, and published in the inaugural NTHK-NPO Book of Yûshûsaku (Masterwork) Swords, this is a tachi of outstanding historical significance and breathtaking quality.