AN IMPORTANT TACHI BY BIZEN NAGAMITSU

Before we discuss this blade, perhaps a discussion of its history is in order. In 1736 this blade was given to the Daimyo, Toki Yoritoshi by the Emperor Sakuramachi. The Toki family of Daimyo goes back to Toki Mitsunobu who was descended from Minamoto Yorimitsu. He settled in Toki (Mino) and took the name of that place. He is the ancestor of the Toki family as well as other famous families such as the Asano, Akechi, and more. Toki Yoritoshi was born on March 20, 1695 and he died on October 17, 1744. The Toki were a fudai Daimyo of the Tokugawa and as such they held important posts in the Tokugawa bakufu throughout the Edo era. From 1712 until 1742 the Toki Daimyo ruled Suruga. In 1742 and until the end of the Shogunate (1868) they were located in Kozuke with a stipend of 35,000 koku.

In 1734 the eighth Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshimune, appointed Toki Yoritoshi to the post of Kyoto Shoshidai. The Kyoto Shoshidai was an important administrative and political office in the early modern government of Japan. The Shoshidai was usually chosen from among the Fudai Daimyo and was the Shogun's deputy in the Kyoto region. He was responsible for maintaining good relations and open communication between the Shogunate and the Imperial court. This official was also responsible for controlling the access of the daimyo to the Court. He oversaw financial measures within the Court and ensured the emperor's personal security. He was also responsible for guarding the safety of the Court. He supported the Kyoto magistrate or municipal administrator (machi-bugyo) in making positive policy about firefighting for the royal palaces. He was also at the head of a network of spies whose task was to discover and report any covert sources of sedition, insurrection or other kinds of unrest. He was also the Governor-general of Kyoto and the surrounding eight provinces. In addition to his administrative duties, the Shoshidai's participation in ceremonial events served a function in consolidating the power and influence of the Shogunate.

It was while he was serving as Shoshidai that Toki Yoritoshi received this Bizen Nagamitsu tachi as a gift from the Emperor Sakuramichi. Emperor Sakuramichi was born on February 8, 1720 and he died at the age of 30 on May 28 1750. He was the 115^th emperor of Japan accordingly to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from April 13, 1735 to June 9, 1747. His personal name was Teruhito and his pre-accession title was Waka-no-miya. He was said to be the reincarnation of Prince Shoutoku. .

This tachi is an excellent example of the work of Bizen Nagamitsu. It is very close to being ubu (unshortened) and thus we can appreciate the deep koshi-zori that is indicative of the tachi made in Bizen in the Kamakura Era. The nagasa of this sword is 72.2 cm. or 28 7/16 inches. The hada is ko-itame mixed with some mokume. It is a very fine and beautiful hada. The hamon is typical of this smith in that it consists of choji-midare with some gunome mixed in. The inside of the hamon comes alive with activities that keep one entranced for hours. The midare utsuri on this blade really knocks your eyes out with its beauty. The boshi is also typical of this smith in that it is what we call a "san-saku" boshi having a slight undulation after crossing the yokote. The nakago is almost ubu and contains the ni-ji mei, Nagamitsu.

For more detailed information about Bizen Nagamitsu, please refer to the following article.

KOSHIRAE

This blade comes with a very fine koshirae. The style of this koshirae is called, "Kenshin Koshirae". It received this name because it is the type of koshirae that was favored by the famous Sengoku Jidai Daimyo Uesugi Kenshin. It is basically a tachi koshirae which is worn without a tsuba. It was felt that a "true" Samurai did not need a tsuba to protect his hands, hence none was worn.

The saya is lacquered a bright, deep red and is in excellent condition. The tsuka is wrapped in a greenish doe skin ito. The kashira is horn and the fuchi is shakudo and copper with two family mon attached. The menuki are shakudo and gold and done in the form of eggplants. The kozuka is shakudo-nanako with part of the nanako colored gold. There is a dragon wrapped around a sword (ken no ryu) done in high relief. This is an old kozuka and we can see where the nanako is worn smooth near the opening from thumb pressure over hundreds of years of use. The wari-bashi kogai (split kogai) is also shakudo and gold with the design of water plants and water fowl.

In addition to the NBTHK papers this sword comes with an old kanteisho from Honami Koson written in Showa 29 (1954) that references the fact that this blade is recorded in the history books as having been given by the Emperor Sakuramachi to the Daimyo Toki Yoritoshi. This kanteisho is picturerd above. Also accompanying this sword is a reprint of the history book describing the gift (not pictured).

This sword comes from a very important collection in Japan. The former owner submitted this blade for only Hozon papers as he only wanted confirmaiton of the validity of the signature. Signed blades by Bizen Nagamistu are much rarer than mumei ones. As such this blade should have no trouble going Juyo Token. I am pricing it at well below Juyo prices at this time. If I still own it next year, I will submit it for Juyo and if it passes, the price will increase significantly. This is a great opportunity to own a wonderful and historical blade by one of the top smiths of all time at a very reasonable price.

PRICE: $85,000.00.