Sold as is

see last photo for size

Serious buyers with basic understandings only please

for sale

Shitahara-hada Katana in Shirasaya,

with 藤代松雄Fujiyo Matsuo certificate,

Mumei unsigned,

attributed to:

新刀 下原 Shinto Shitahara

藤代松雄Fujiyo Matsuo was a late 人間国宝 (national living treasure) sword polisher, who was born in the 3rd year of Taisho (1914), and passed away on the 16th year of Heisei (2004) at age 91. He was highly celebrated as not only one of the best sword polisher at the time, but also a trustworthy sword appraiser with great reputation. He started issuing his own sword certificates on the 57th year of Showa (1982), which this specific certificate being offered was issued at the 15th year of Heisei (2003), with a serial number of 7682.

The 下原Shitahara school mainly actived in the 八王子Hachi-ouji area of 武州Bushu, also known as the country of 武蔵Musashi (武蔵国, today's Tokyo Hachiouji area).

During the late Muromachi period, with the great demand for weapon blades arose from intensive battle during the Warring States period (戦国時代 Sengoku Jidai), the Shitahara smith group prospered under the protection of the famous 北条Hojo clan. After the perishment of Hojo clan, they became the officially supported smith group of the 徳川Tokugawa clan, and since then continued their work all the way until the late Edo period.

As attributed by the paper, this particular blade is made by the Shitahara smith group during the 新刀Shinto period.

八雲肌Yakumo-hada, or also known as the 下原肌Shitahara-hada, is a type of classical Shitahara school Jigane Hada pattern that has extremely obvious and aggressive Hada grains that resembles the looking of stacking clouds, or some may say the looking of the rouchest tree bark. As shown in the photos, this particular blade has this kind of Hada successfully forged on the lower half of the Omote side (about 1/4 of surface of the blade), with ordinary Hada patterns on the rest, a decent study sample to observe.

Nagasa:

2 Shaku 2 Sun 6 Bu 5 Ri

~68.63cm or 27.02inches