Y1259
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Sasaho-yari signed Hōjōji Echizen no Kami Tachibana MASATERU

Shintō early Edo period (around the Tenna era / 1681-) Bushū
Blade length (from Machi): 7.83 cm
Blade length (from Shionokubi): 9.15 cm
Nakago length: 24.9 cm
Overall length: 34.05 cm
Overall length in Shirasaya: 54.0 cm
Width at Machi: 21.8 mm
Thickness at Machi: 9.5 mm
Thickness at Shionokubi: 13.3 mm

　“Hōjōji Echizen no Kami Tachibana MASATERU” 法城寺越前守橘正照 was originally from Tajima Province and belonged to the same lineage as MASAHIRO 正弘. He resided in Akasaka, Edo, and later went to Kyoto, where he studied under the second-generation Iga no Kami Kanemichi 伊賀守金道. Upon receiving the court title of Echizen-no-Kami, he was permitted to carve the chrysanthemum crest on his tang. His active period was from the Ten'na to Genroku eras (1681–1703). He later served the Satake clan and also forged blades in Akita, Dewa Province.

This straight spear with a Sasaho (bamboo-leaf) shape was likely commissioned and made as a hand spear intended for use as a palanquin spear or for indoor personal defense. Both ridge-lines are high, with ample Niku volume, a short octagonal Shionokubi, a bit on flared at Machi and a correspondingly vigorous point. Finished with a refined polish, it is an excellent piece housed in a high-quality Shirasaya.
(Enlarged photograph of the blade)
preserved in a Shirasaya.

reference:
Masakuni Ishii, Kunzan Honma, Nihontō Taikan, Yūzankaku, 1975