An Uda Hirakuni Wakizashi (宇多平国)

This wakizashi was crafted in Etchû province during the turbulent Muromachi Period, circa the turn of the sixteenth century. Etchû sits on the northern coast of Honshû, facing the Sea of Japan – a region with its own distinct forging tradition shaped by proximity to the Soshu and Yamato schools as much as by local Bizen influence.

The Ko-Uda school traces its origins to Kunimitsu, who worked in the Uda district of Yamato Province around 1317, at the close of the Kamakura era. As no confirmed works by Kunimitsu survive, his students Kunifusa and Kunimune – both associated with the Go Norishige school – are regarded as the true founders of the tradition. Uda Hirakuni was a pupil of Kunikiyo, and this blade shows clearly why the school attracted such enduring respect. The workmanship is a confident synthesis of Sôshû, Yamato and Bizen characteristics operating in natural harmony, rather than in tension.

The jihada is a striking mix of itame with large swirling chikei, the dark lines threading through the steel with a life of their own. Against this, the hamon runs in bright gunome midare loaded with kinsuji and sunagashi – an exceptionally active and vivid nie-based temper that rewards close study in good light. The blade has been greatly shortened (ô-suriage) at some point in its history – common for swords that saw extended working life – but it retains its character entirely. The silver and gold habaki is beautifully made and an object of interest in its own right.