A Teruyoshi Tantô (於東武英義作之)

This is a beautifully refined Shinshintô tanto by the first generation Teruyoshi, a swordsmith working in Musashi province – the great hub of late Edo swordsmanship centred on Edo itself. Signed with a cherry blossom device (ôka futaba mon) and the full location and name inscription, and dated to a day in the eighth month of Bunkyû 3 (August 1863), this is a precisely documented piece made in the final turbulent years before the Meiji Restoration. The blade is hira-zukuri in form – flat-ground with no ridge, the classical tanto configuration – with zero sori, giving it a composed, purposeful profile at 29.4 cm.

The hamon is a gorgeous gunome-chôji-midare that runs the full length of the blade with an energy and clarity that belies the modest dimensions. The boshi is a saki-Jizo form – midare komi rolling into a rounded tip that resembles the profile of Jizo Bosatsu. An eye-catching island of nie crystals is embedded within the hamon, one of those small miracles of the polishing stage that rewards careful examination. The NBTHK awarded Tokubetsu Hozon in 1998, a strong endorsement of the blade’s quality.

The shirasaya carries a sayagaki by the late Satô Kanzan, one of the great sword scholars of the 20th century, inscribed in summer of 1974. The late Edo tanto-koshirae – glossy black lacquered saya with purple silk cord and braid – is an elegant complement, fitted with a kozuka, iron tsuba, gold menuki depicting Yebisu (god of fishermen and luck), and a kashira bearing a matching family crest. Gold habaki, gold menuki, purple everywhere: this is a koshirae of considerable refinement.