A Yasusada Tameshigiri Wakizashi (大和守安定)

Few wakizashi carry the weight of this one. Forged by Shintô master Yamato no Kami Yasusada during the Kanbun era, this daisho-sized blade bears a gold-inlaid cutting test inscription recording the feat that made Yasusada’s reputation: on the 23rd day of the 5th month of Kanbun 4 (1664), the grandmaster sword tester Yamano Ka’emon Nagahisa drove the blade clean through two bodies in a single stroke. The inscription survives in brilliant gold on the reverse of the tang – a permanent record of a test performed just three years before Nagahisa’s death, during the final years of a career spanning some three decades.

Yasusada is said to have originated from Echizen province and trained under Shodai Yasutsugu, later establishing himself in Musashi (Edo). A second theory connects him to the Kishu Ishido School. Regardless of lineage, his relationship with Nagahisa was close and productive – the tester’s endorsement was the highest practical recommendation a Shintô blade could receive. Fujishiro ranks Yasusada as Jo-saku and he is separately rated Ryo-Wazamono for the cutting effectiveness of his swords. This wakizashi demonstrates both qualities in one object.

The blade is beautifully formed, with Yasusada’s characteristic tapering mihaba that widens noticeably at the base. The steel shows a well-worked ko-itame-hada with strong ji-nie and generous chikei, while the shinogi-ji carries a distinct masame-hada. The hamon is a rare choice for this smith – a calm, bright suguha with intermittent ashi and flashes of kinsuji, the nioguchi thick and consistent throughout. The boshi returns in a neat ko-maru kaeri. The ubu nakago is signed in finely chiselled characters on the face and carries the full gold-inlaid tameshi inscription on the reverse. Housed in a fitted shirasaya with a gold habakifinished with diagonal file marks. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certified.