A Shigezane Naginata-Naoshi Katana (重真)

This is a sword with a story written in steel. Originally forged as a formidable naginata polearm in the mid-14th century, this blade was reshaped into a katana during the Edo period – a transformation known as naginata-naoshi – and immensely treasured by the samurai class who prized such weapons for their history and their distinctive form. The sayagaki by Dr. Sato Kanzan, former director of the NBTHK, records this sword as a heirloom of the Naitô samurai family, and the original torokusho registration card from 1951 bears the remarkable inscription Ô-suriage mumei den Shigezane – suggesting an old attribution, possibly from a sayagaki or origami that accompanied the blade at the time of registration.

Shigezane’s family name is Jirôbei, and he is said to be the son of the 1st generation Hatakeda Morishige and the younger brother of Motoshige of the Motoshige school in Bizen province. Active from the Karyaku era (1326-1329) through to the Enbun era (1356-1361), Shigezane is rated Jo-saku by Fujishiro – a superior swordsmith – with a ryo-wazamono sharpness ranking. In later years, during the violent Nambokuchô period, his work took on the bold character of the age: wide mihaba, thick kasane, and a commanding elongated kissaki.

The blade presents exactly this Nambokucho grandeur. An imposing ô-kissaki of over 9cm dominates the silhouette. The jihada is a vivid, flowing itame-nagare mixed with mokume, charged with ji-nie, chikei, billowing midare-utsuri, and the distinctive dark namazu-hada spots of the Aoe tradition noted on the Jûyô certificate. The hamon is a wide, captivating hiro-suguha-chô in ko-nie deki with angular pulses, ashi, yô, sunagashi, and kinsuji. A kirikomi battle scar at the base of the blade – a monumental cut taken in defence against another sword in combat – has been preserved by the polisher as a mark of honour, never repaired. This is as significant and characterful a Nambokucho blade as one is likely to encounter.