JG#1 Bushu Ju Terushige Saku In Mounts and shirasaya - With NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro. 36.6cm nagasa
This piece comes with wonderful dark brown lacquered mounts and a tsunagi The kanagu is of bugs and lizards. The lizard on the kojiri has a bug sticking out of his mouth while the lizard on the kozuka seems to be looking around in dismay. The kozuka is signed Katsura Mitsuyoshi and is illustrated in the red cross book page 190 and was owned almost 60 years ago by Bob Haynes, well-known kodogu scholar. The lacquer is done in a cloud pattern with cicada bug kurikata . The uragawara is in shibuichi with shakudo bug. The fuchi kashira has a base metal of shakudo with bugs in gold shakudo and shibuichi. Menuki are wasps under an 8 string gold colored jabara maki ( wrap). The sa'me is a high class skin that was used for this handle. Fuchikashira bugs look like termites. Shakudo tsuba with more bugs.
The blade has a gold wrapped habaki and is 36.6cm long and 9mm thick at the munemachi. The omote side of the blade has a bonji and deeply carved Fudo figure . On the ura there is a So No Kurihara - A stylized dragon carving. Theses carvings are the style and work of Terushige. The almost monkey like face on the Fudo can be seen on numerous Shitahara school works which is a point of appraisal or trait for genuine Shitahara carvings.
This great collectible is a testament that the Shitahara school produced some outstanding swords. While the 19th and early 20th century thinking had lumped this school in with the Bungo Takata, Kongyobyohei Sue Mihara, etc works . It is a school of great ability in forging not seen in other smiths accomplishments. The schools mentioned are often considered to be of the middle to lower class of sword work and the Shitahara school was thought to be in that category. Because the Shitahara smiths were producing swords that were used in the Sue Koto era, many of the blades were consumed in battle. I would suppose that many high quality pieces were destroyed in battle as well. I have been fortunate to have found 6 pieces that were elevated to the Juyo Token rank. The Shitahara swords were listed as being of great cutting ability so were a prized possession by the bushi at that time. It is of interest to note that the derogatory comments proffered today came from sword smiths and not actual users of the swords. The complaint by sword smiths was that the hada was ugly or dirty. The opposite is thought today as people like this type of hada which is called Uzumaki hada ( whirlpool grain). It stands out and shows mokume grain in a line going up the middle of the ji area. Others are a combination of itame and ayasugihada. While other swords will show the swirling of the whirlpool rising up from the habuchi into the ji area. So it is with this piece. Sword Collectors today appreciate the ability it took to make this type of hada.
Price: $15,000
