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Description
Kunikiyo shodai (1st generation)
Fine Horimono by Kunikiyo
2 Body Cutting test (Futatsu dou)
w/ Fine Koshirae including Tokugawa family crest (mon)
NBTHK Hozon
Translation of cutting test:
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Kono Tsurugi (no) Kitae nanban tetsu [this sword was forged with foreign steel]
Futatsu dou [two bodies cut] o-toshi [cut with one stroke]
Signature (mei) Translation :
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(Kiku mon) Yamashiro no kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo
Approx Measurements:
Nagasa (cutting edge length) 69.7 cm, Motohaba (width) 2.96 cm, Sori (Curvature) 1.95 cm
This is a two body (futatsu dou) cutting test blade by Kunikiyo, 1st generation (shodai). He worked Kan´ei period (1624-1644), and was from Echizen province. The cutting test was done during Mid Edo period. He signed mostly with the following – Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo, Yamashiro no Daij? Fujiwara Kunikiyo, Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo nanban-tetsu o mote kore o saku (made by) Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo by using nanban-tetsu. His given name was Shimada Kichizaemon. He was the son of the 2nd generation (nidai) Shimada Sukemune and was born in Matsumoto, Shinano province. He also signed with the name Sukemune but during his apprenticeship under Horikawa Kunihiro, he later changed his name to Kunikiyo.
After the death of Kunihiro, he was hired by Matsudaira Tadamasa, who was then under the control of Matsuhiro fief of Shinano province. Tadamasa later transferred to the Takada fief of Echigo in Genna four (1618). Kunikiyo then moved with the final transfer to the Fukui fief of Echizen. Later Kunikiyo moved to a residence in Hamamachi which was provided by the fief, he then received the honorary title “Yamashiro no Daij?“ on the 17th day of the second month Kan´ei four (1627) and was given the permission to carve a chrysanthemum onto his tang. His title was upgraded to “Yamashiro no Kami“ In the second month of Kan´ei five (1628). Kunikiyo died in the second year of Keian (1649) at the age of 60. There is another conflicting date of death that is listed as first day of the third month Kanbun five (1665).
He signed katana with a tachi-mei and the lower radical of the character for “kiyo“ (?) in most of the cases as (?), but sometimes he chiseled the central horizontal strokes also in a vertical or slanted manner which became later standard for successive generations Kunikiyo. His blades are “wazamono “ for a high degree of sharpness in his swords.
This is the most common region cut for multiple body cutting tests.
This shows example how two bodies were stacked before the cutting test
And the above image depicts the result
Gallery
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