A Shodai Tadakuni Tameshigiri Katana (肥前住播磨大掾藤原忠国)

Shodai Harima Daijô Tadakuni was one of the most distinguished swordsmiths of Hizen Province during the mid-1600s. A nephew and direct student of grandmaster Tadayoshi, he was part of the Hashimoto family lineage and contributed significantly to the development of the Hizen-tô tradition. In 1634 he was granted the honorary title “Harima Daijô” – Lord of Harima Province – marking the formal beginning of his career under the name Tadakuni. Working under the patronage of the Nabeshima clan for the Ôgi domain, he earned a reputation for technical excellence and elegant craftsmanship that placed him firmly among the finest Shintô-period smiths. His blades are admired for their graceful proportions, shallow curvature, and well-balanced chû-kissaki – and above all for the incomparable konuka-hada, the “rice-bran grain” steel texture that is the hallmark of Hizen quality.

While many of Tadakuni’s works feature a flamboyant gunome-chôji-midare hamon, this katana represents his classical, restrained side – forged in a deep chû-suguha with a bright, even nioguchi, nijû-ba, sunagashi, and kinsuji. The jihada is splendid konuka-hada with wonderful ji-nie and plenty of chikei. The bôshi is ko-maru with a clean turnback. The nakago is ubu with sujikai-yasurime file marks and one mekugi-ana, and bears the full long signature “Hizen-jû Harima Daijô Fujiwara Tadakuni” chiselled in a confident, flowing hand. On the reverse of the nakago, a gold-inlaid inscription records that on the seventh day of the sixth month of Kanbun 5 (June 7th, 1665), sword-tester Yamano Ka’emon Nagahisa conducted a tameshigiri cutting test on this blade, severing through two human bodies in a single stroke – futatsu-dô setsudan. This is an exceptional and rare distinction, documented in gold for eternity.

The accompanying late-Edo koshirae is lacquered in aogai-mijin-nuri – fine particles of mother-of-pearl suspended in black lacquer, producing a shimmering, jewel-like surface that catches light with extraordinary subtlety. The fuchi is forged in rich dark-chocolate shakudô with gold highlights depicting crashing waves; the kashira and kojiri echo the same wave motif in softer-toned shibuichi. The menuki depict ukai – cormorant fishing – rendered in gold and shakudô, a poetic subject symbolising loyalty and the master-retainer bond. The tsuba, by an armourer (katchû-shi) of the late Edo period, is iron with tsuchime-ji hammered surface and an elongated lobed form with udenuki-ana arm cord holes – martial, austere, and entirely appropriate for a sword of this character. A gold habaki on copper ground with exquisite file marks and a chrysanthemum-patterned koshirae bag complete a mounting of outstanding presence. The original torokusho registration card, issued January 25th, 1951 in Nagasaki – serial number 1198, one of the very first swords registered in Japan – accompanies the sword and strongly suggests this blade remained in Hizen province from the day it was forged until modern times.