T276121(T3198)
+Shipping

Osoraku-zukuri Tantō signed NOBUSHIGE-saku with) Gold pear-skin a flock of "Chidori" plovers Raden and Makie Aikuchi-style Tanto Koshirae

Shin-shin to End of Edo period (Genji era/ca1864-) Shimousa
Length of cutting edge 21.6cm Length of Boshi 15.3cm Curvature 0.75cm Width of base 31.1mm Width of Yokote 31.3mm Thickness of base 6.7mm

NBTHK(Hozon) Tanto certificate

with) Gold pear-skin a flock of "Chidori" plovers Raden and Makie Aikuchi-style Tanto Koshirae

NBTHK(Hozon) Koshirae certificate

Sold

Blade construction: Presumed to be an Osoraku-zukuri tantō, with an Iori-mune. The blade length measures just over 7 sun 1 bu (approx. 21.6 cm), and the above Yokote-ue Kissaki extends to 5 sun (approx. 15.3 cm), forming an unusually large point. The blade has a deeply curved in Sori, wide body, and an even wider width at the Yokote-line, displaying an unorthodox construction. (See enlarged photograph of the blade.)
Forging: Fine Ko-itame-hada
Hamon: Hamon begins short from the Machi, in an undulating Gunome pattern.
Bōshi (Tip Temper Line): The ranging-Gunome continues into the bōshi, then then turns back in a large round (ō-maru) shape with a straight-line tendency at the tip.
Tang (Nakago): Ubu (unaltered, original tang) with a single Mekugi-ana peg hole. The tang end Nakagojiri is kurijiri style rounded. The tang has Kiri-yasurime (horizontal file marks) and a bit contoured ridge on the mune side, where ō-sujikai file marks appear. Below the mekugi-ana on the Hira-ji, the 3-character signature “信重作” NOBUSHIGE-saku is engraved.

The construction called Osoraku-zukuri is a rare style found mostly among Tantō. Its distinguishing feature is that the Yokote line is placed roughly at the midpoint of the blade, so that more than half of the blade length becomes the Kissaki section, resulting in a unique, atypical silhouette. The name Osoraku derives from a Tantō by Shimada Sukemune 島田助宗 once owned by Takeda Shingen 武田信玄, which has the word “おそらく” (osoraku) engraved in negative relief on the blade itself.

The swordsmith 信重 Nobushige’s real name was Kanai Onozaburō 金井斧三郎. During the late Edo period, he devoted himself to forging swords within Koga Castle in Shimōusa Province (present-day northern Chiba Prefecture and southwestern Ibaraki Prefecture). It is also said he forged blades at Yushima Tenjin Shrine in Edo. According to Nihontō Meikan (Directory of Japanese Sword Signatures), dated works exist from Genji (1864–65) to the third year of Meiji (1870). His signatures include: “江府住源信重” (Kōfu jū Minamoto Nobushige), “於総州古河城内江府住源信重” (Made within Koga Castle town, Sōshū Province, Kōfu jū Minamoto Nobushige), and “金井源信重造之” (Kanai Minamoto Nobushige tsukuru kore).

The accompanying Gold pear-skin a flock of "Chidori" plovers Raden and Makie Aikuchi-style Tanto Koshirae woule be made contemporaneously. The Saya and Tsuka are finished in gold pear-skin ground (kin-Nashiji) and decorated with a flock of 51 plovers (chidori) rendered in Raden (mother-of-pearl inlay) and gold Maki-e (sprinkled lacquer). The Fuchi (collar fitting) bears a design of crashing waves in Maki-e. The whole is a finely preserved and complete example. (Obverse – Close-up Photo / Reverse – Close-up Photo

Includes a brass Habaki collar and presered in Shirasaya (plain wooden mounting).

Historical Note:
The castle town of Koga developed as Koga-juku, a post station on the Nikkō Kaidō way, and also prospered as a key center for river and canal transport thanks to the Watarase River.
Reference:
Ishii Masakuni & Honma Kunzan, Nihontō Meikan (Directory of Japanese Sword), Yūzankaku, 1975 (Shōwa 50).