Edo end Katana famous Chikushu Ju Sa Yukihide 畜種樹差雪妃で

Chikushu Ju Sa Yukihide 畜種樹差雪妃で

Long Katana 刀 of the famous swordsmith from the transitional period between Edo 江戸時代 and Meiji 明治時代

A beautiful example of just on the last Edo years Katana

Signed Chikushu Ju Sa Yukihide and dated

Original Koshirae 拵え restored

High grade quality Tamahagane 玉鋼 traditional forged blade:

Cutting edge length: 72,6
Nagasa: 71.4 cm.
Sori: 2 cm.
Moto-haba: 3.3 cm.
Saki-haba: 1.8 cm.
Moto-gasane: 0.7 cm.
Saki-gasane: 0.5 cm.
Nakago hole: One
Mei: Chikushu Ju Sa Yukihide and on the opposite side dated on the year 1852
Polishing: Quite recent
Edge: Maintains the usual razor edge

Sa Yukihide is the most superior smith and is on a par with Minamoto Kiyomaro 源清麿 in Shin-shin-to or equals to Shinkai 真改, Sukehiro 助廣 and Kotetsu 虎徹 in Shinto age.
The swordsmith Sa Yukihide 左行秀, professed as a descendant of Sa Monji 左文字 from Nanbokucho period with the pseudonym of Touko 東虎, was born in the year 1813, Chikuzen province, family name Toyonaga 豊永, real name Hisabei 久兵衛 as a masterless samurai.
He had an ambition to be a sword maker and in the early years of Tenpo (1830s) he came up to the capital Edo to learn from smith Shimizu Hisayoshi 清水久義 who belonged to the famed Hosokawa Masayoshi 細川正義 school.
In Kouka 3 (1846) when he was 34 years old, he moved to Tosa 土佐 (now Kouchi pref.) upon eager recommendation from smith Katsuhiro 勝広 who belonged exclusively to the Tosa-han.
After the death of his master Katsuhiro 勝広 in 1850, he became an official smith of firearm and sword under exclusive contract to Tosa-han with stipend of 3 fuchi and changed his name to Kyusaemon 久左衛門. In 1860 he moved up to capital Edo in the Shimoyashiki mansion of Tosa han and served until 1867.
Haitōrei Sword Abolishment Edict of Meiji Restoration got him to give up sword making and stayed in Yokohama, Kanagawa pref. with his son Ikuma 幾馬 late in life, passed away Meiji 20 (1887), was 75 years old.
Two of his katana works with the date of kaei 3 (1850) and 6 (1853) are designated as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan (Juyo Bijutsu-hin).

Koshirae:

Sober and elegant handwork in the purest traditional Japanese style.

Koshirae is possibly the original, it seems restored at an indeterminate time but not long ago:

Tsuka:

Wood: Honoki
Same: Ray Skin
Ito: Black natural Silk
Kashira: Black buffalo horn
Fuchi: Shakudo / Silver / Copper
Menuki couple: Silver gilded

Tsuba: Forged iron

Habaki/Seppas: Copper

Saya:

Wood: Honoki
Lacquer: Black Urushi
Koiguchi/Kurigata/Kojiri: Black buffalo horn
Kurigata Shitodome couple: Golden copper
Sageo: Black Silk

Bukuro 袋 also called Fukuro :

Katana bag made raw cotton dyeing traditional motifs with with natural dyes and white Silk fabric lining. It is a contemporary work

Original Japanese documentation:

Kyoiku-inkai - Japanese official documentation (paper previously called Daimyo):

Sealed copy of Prefectural (Kyoiku-inkai) Registration Card In order to legally own a original sword in Japan it has to be registered in accordance with the Ju-to-ho 銃刀法

Daimyo Registered: This sword was registered in current sword registration system started in Japan in modern era. Such swords, which were registered in a few years after the system started, are known among collectors as "Daimyo" (feudal lord) registration swords as it was Daimyo or other Daimyo-like wealthy families who owned many precious swords and were asked by the Japanese government to register their swords in the early stage of the newly introduced registration system to familiarize it to the society but it is not the official name of course what is Kyoiku-inkai (Prefectural Registration Card)

Item sold

Ref.: Katana 111

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