"Shinto Wakizashi" By Kunisuke shodai - 1st Generation

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“Shinto Wakizashi” By Kunisuke shodai – 1st Generation

Circa 1624 AD.

Student of Kunihiro

(An Extreme Rarity)

Juyo token by the NBTHK

Jūyō-tōken at the 41st jūyō shinsa held on November 10, 1995

wakizashi, mei: Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisuke (河内守藤原国助)

Tōkyō, Nogoshi Iseko (野越いせ子)

Measurements

nagasa 45.0 cm, sori 1.2 cm, motohaba 3.3 cm, nakago-nagasa 13.55 cm, only very little nakago-sori

Description

Keijō: kiriha-zukuri (omote side in unokubi-zukuri style), iori-mune, wide mihaba, sunnobi, thick kasane, deep sori, ō-kissaki

Kitae: rather standing-out itame that is mixed with mokume and that features plenty of ji-nie and much fine chikei

Hamon: ko-notare in nie-deki with a somewhat subdued nioiguchi that begins with a hint of yakidashi and that is mied with gunome, ko-gunome, togariba, ko-ashi, and sunagashi

Bōshi: a little bit midare-komi with a ko-maru-style kaeri that is relatively wide on the ura side

Horimono: on the omote side a naginata-hi with soebi, on the ura side gomabashi, on both sides the engravings run as kaki-nagashi into the tang

Nakago: ubu, tang tapers noticeably to a ha-agari kurijiri, ō-sujikai yasurime, two mekugi-ana (of which one is plugged), the sashi-omote side bears towards the back of the tang a naga-mei

Explanation

The first generation Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke (河内守国助) was, like the first generation Izumi no Kami Kunisada (和泉守国貞, also referred to as Oya-Kunisada), a late student of the Horikawa (堀川) School. Their early workmanship and signature style suggests that both were de facto trained by their senior fellow student Echigo no Kami Kunitomo (越後守国儔). When master Horikawa Kunihiro (堀川国広) died, Kunisuke and Kunisada moved from Kyōto to Ōsaka where they laid the foundation for the Ōsaka smiths and had a big influence on the later Ōsaka-Shintō style. It is unclear when Kunisuke received his honorary title Kawachi no Kami, but there exists a naginata and a tantō which are signed with that title and which are dated with the second month of Kan’ei three (寛永, 1626). No other dated works are known, but there exist blades which are signed with Kawachi no Kami whose interpretation dates them earlier than Kan’ei three. Thus, it is assumed that he received his title around the time the first generation Kunisada received his Izumi no Kami title, which was in Genna nine (元和, 1623).

With its omote side being interpreted in an unokubi-zukuri style, this kiriha-zukuri wakizashi is of an uncommon shape, but the wide mihaba, the fact that it is sunnobi, the thick kasane, the noticeable sori, and the ō-kissaki all reflect the characteristic features of a Keichō-Shintō. The kitae is a rather standing-out itame that is mixed with mokume and that displays plenty of ji-nie and fine chikei, thus tending overall to the typical forging structure of the Horikawa School. The hamon is a ko-notare in nie-deki with a somewhat subdued nioiguchi that begins with a hint of yakidashi and that is mied with gunome, ko-gunome, togariba, ko-ashi, and sunagashi. This hamon differs from the hardening commonly seen on works of Kunisuke as it shows Mino characteristics and bears resemblance to the style of Echigo no Kami Kunitomo, underlining so the above mentioned tradition that Kunisuke was de facto trained by Kunitomo. We have here a masterwork that displays one of the known workmanships of Kunisuke whose stout shape is certainly a plus factor.

Another example of a Juyo Kunisuke – from the collection of David E J Pepin

Jūyō-tōken at the 42nd jūyō shinsa held on November 14, 1996

katana, mei: Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke (河内守国助)

USA, David Pepin

Measurements

nagasa 81.85 cm, sori 1.0 cm, motohaba 3.2 cm, sakihaba 2.2 cm, kissaki-nagasa 3.4 cm, nakago-nagasa 22.2 cm, only very little nakago-sori

Description

Keijō: shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, wide mihaba, long nagasa, the shinogi-ji is in relation to the mihaba wide, noticeable taper, shallow sori, compact chū-kissaki

Kitae: very dense ko-itame that features ji-nie

Hamon: flamboyant chōji-midare that starts with a short yakidashi and that is mixed with gunome, a hint of kobushigata-style chōji, many long ashi, and sunagashi all over the blade, the nioiguchi is wide and embedded ko-nie

Bōshi: sugu with a relatively wide ko-maru-kaeri and with hakikake at the tip

Nakago: ubu, ha-agari kurijiri, ō-sujikai yasurime, two mekugi-ana, the sashi-omote side bears below of the first mekugi-ana and towards the back of the tang a five-character signature

Explanation

The second generation Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke was the son of the first generation Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke and is referred to as “Naka-Kawachi” (中河内). His workmanship features a kitae in a dense ko-itame and a flamboyant chōji-based hamon that is mixed with a unique fist-shaped chōji that is referred to as kobushigata-chōji. His ha is hardened in nioi-deki with ko-nie, has a long sugu-yakidashi, and the bōshi ends in a ko-maru-kaeri.

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