Antique Nihonto Katana Signed by Saneyuki NBTHK TOKUBETSU HOZON TOKEN Certificate

The Bungo swordsmiths, continuing from the Heian period, have been as prolific as those in Satsuma in Kyushu, flourishing particularly in the Takada district of Bungo Province (near present-day Tsurusaki in Oita City). Their peak was from the Muromachi period to the early Edo period. 

Swords from the Koto period often bear the Hei family name and are thus referred to as Hei Takada. From the Shinto period onwards, they began using the Fujiwara family name, thus widely known as Fujiwara Takada. This lineage has been highly regarded for producing practical swords, favored by many warriors for martial use.

According to the Meikan, Jikko appeared around the Oan period of the Nanboku-cho era (1368~) and is said to be the son of Tomoyuki. The lineage continued for six generations throughout the Muromachi period, and during the Shinto period, the swordsmiths continued to forge swords in the same area, which had become a branch of the Higo Hosokawa family, until around the Kansei period (1800). There seemed to be technical exchanges with the neighboring Hizen Tadayoshi school.

This sword has a shallow curve, with a wider width at the base and middle tip. The ridge line is lower, and the tang has a flat back. It exhibits a typical Kanbun Shinto style, with a wide base and thick back, conveying its robust and sound form in its original state. The steel is well-forged with a mixture of small itame and mokume grains, finely forged and covered with a beautiful ji-nie, with intricate chikei shining. The hamon is a bright and clear suguha, with various activities like kinsuji and sunagashi intertwined with the blade surface. The noticeable thick nioiguchi around the monouchi area suggests the technical exchange with the Hizen Tadayoshi school. There are no noteworthy forging flaws, but if any flaws were to be pointed out, there is a small, barely noticeable mark about 5 cm above the habaki on the surface of the blade. The boshi is straight and rounded, extending slightly below the yokote on both sides. Currently, there is a very small chip about 1 cm above the yokote on the fukura, likely from hitting something hard.

Bare blade weight: 826 grams.