A Motohira O-Wakizashi (奥大和守平朝臣元平)

Motohira is broadly recognised as one of the finest smiths of the late Edo period – a Jojo-saku master who worked under the patronage of the Satsuma Shimazu family, one of the most powerful and culturally sophisticated clans of Tokugawa Japan. This o-wakizashi is signed and dated to February of the 2nd year of Kansei (1790), and at 57.9cm it is nearly the length of a standard katana – deliberately so, forged to fill that role.

The gunome-midare hamon is packed with activity: konie, togariba, deep nioi, ashi, bright kinsen, and flowing sunagashi all present themselves, ensuring that something new catches the eye every time the blade is drawn and examined. This level of hataraki – interior activity within the temperline – is the mark of a truly accomplished smith working at full creative height.

This sword was registered in Showa 26 (1951) as a Daimyo-toroku, with the extraordinarily low serial number of just 801 – among the very first swords formally registered in Japan after the war. The blade has recently been awarded NTHK-NPO Yushuto in addition to its NBTHK Hozon, confirming its quality at two independent levels of assessment.