F18506(S8263)
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Katana signed Izumo-no-kami Fujiwara UJISADA-saku with) Black Roiro-nuri lacquered scabbard Uchikatana Koshirae

Koto late Muromachi period (from Tenshō 5 / 1577–) Mino/Owari
Length of cutting edge 68.5cm Curvature 1.5cm Width of base 30.9mm Width of Yokote 20.7mm Thickness of base 6.8mm

NBTHK(Tokubetsu Hozon) certificate

with) Black Roiro-nuri lacquered scabbard Uchikatana Koshirae



Blade construction: Shinogi-zukuri with an Iori-mune. The difference in width between the base and the tip is minimal, giving the blade a powerful appearance. It has a broad Shinogi-ji in comparison of Hira-ji with a high Shinogi ridge, ample Hira-niku and the Shinogi-ji has been slightly pared down to produce a particularly robust construction, heavy on hands. The blade terminates in an elongated Chū-kissaki. (See enlarged blade photographs) (See blade sketch)
Forging: The Jihada consists primarily of Itame mixed with Mokume, standing out distinctly with areas of flowing grain. Sparkling thick Ji-nie covers the surface, accompanied by well-developed darkish Chikei. The Shinogi-ji displays a prominent Masame-hada.
Hamon: A lively undulating Notare composed of Gunome and Chōji. The Nioiguchi is bright and well defined, while the interior of the temper is filled with Nie, with Gunome ashi and long Nie-suji activities.
Bōshi:The temper continues into the point in a Jizo profile, sweeping (hakikake) and returning rather deeply.
Nakago: The blade has been Machi-okuri and Suriage. The tang heel is horizopntal Kiri. A distinctive Gohei-shaped notch is cut into the Ha side. There are two Mekugi-ana with ō-sujikai file marks. Both of Ha and Mune surfaces of the tang are flat. Below the second Mekugi-ana, on the Ohinogi-ji, is a slightly small but relatively long signature reading "Izumo-no-Kami Fujiwara Ujisada-saku" 出雲守藤原氏貞作.

UJISADA 氏貞 was the younger brother of Wakasa-no-kami UJIFUSA 若狭守氏房. He first signed KANESADA 兼貞, later changing his name to UJISADA 氏貞, and signed blades as "Nōshū Seki-ju UJISADA" 濃州関住氏貞. Around Tenshō 3 (1575), he received the court title of Gon-no-Shōshō 権少将 later Sakonoe Gon-no-Shōshō 左近衛権少将 and around Tenshō 5 (1577) was granted the honorary provincial title Izumo-no-Kami 出雲守.
He moved from Seki in Mino Province to Gifu, and later settled in Nagoya, where he also signed blades with inscriptions such as "Bishū Nagoya-ju Gon-no-Shōshō UJISADA"尾州名古屋住権少将氏貞.
Dated works by UJISADA 氏貞 are known from Eiroku 8 (1565) through Tenshō 17 (1589). Blades bearing only the two-character signature "Ujisada" are generally undated.
It is said that he served in close attendance upon Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 alongside his elder brother, Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa 若狭守氏房.
A sword bearing the signature “Gon Shōshō, Izumo no Kami Fujiwara Ujisada, an auspicious day in the second month of Tenshō 9 (1581)” 権少将出雲守藤原氏貞 天正九年二月吉日 has been handed down through the descendants of Niwa Nagahide 丹羽長秀.
According to the family's records, Ujisada 氏貞 forged two swords with exceptional care, presenting one to Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 and the other to Niwa Nagahide 丹羽長秀.
His elder brother, Wakasa-no-Kami UJIFUSA 若狭守氏房 on a retainer of Oda Nobunaga 織田信長, it is said that he entered Nobunaga's service after the latter occupied Gifu in Eiroku 10 (1567) and remained in his employ until the Honnō-ji Incident in Tenshō 10 (1582).

A famous anecdote concerns Toyotomi Hideyoshi 豊臣秀吉(then known as Kinoshita Tōkichirō), who repeatedly sought to acquire a UJISADA 氏貞 sword owned by Tōdō Takatora 藤堂高虎. Hideyoshi is said to have pleaded to exchange it even for the entire Province of Ise, yet Takatora steadfastly refused. Owing to this story, the sword became celebrated under the name "Ikkoku Ujisada" 一国氏貞 ("Ujisada Worth a Province"). After the Meiji Restoration, that celebrated blade entered the collection of the noted collector Sudō Sōjirō 須藤宗次郎 and in 1942 it was designated an Important Art Object.

Accompanied by a Black Roiro-nuri lacquered Saya Uchigatana Koshirae
(Complete views of the koshirae: Omote (front) / Ura (reverse) / Detailed photographs of the sword fittings)
  • Fuchi-kashira: Autumn grasses design; Shakudō Nanako ground, high-relief carving with gold iroe; unsigned, Owari school.
  • Menuki: Autumn grasses design; Shakudō, sculptural carving (katabori) with gold iroe.
  • Tsuba: Paulownia crests amid scrolling arabesque vines; round Iron ground, Ji-sukashi openwork; unsigned, Kyō-sukashi style.
  • Tsuka: White Samegawa wrapping; Nando-iro silk braid in morotsumami-hishi-maki style.
Gold foiled single layner Habaki, preserved in a plain wood mounting Shirasaya
References
Yoshiyuki Sugiura, Mino Tōkō Meikan Ribun Publishing, 2008
Takuo Suzuki & Yoshiyuki Sugiura, Muromachi-ki　Mino-toko-no Kenkyu　Ribun Publishing, 2006
Atou Iwata, Genealogy of Owari Swordsmiths Nagoya City Board of Education, 1984
Kunzan Honma & Masakuni Ishii, Nihontō Meikan Yūzankaku Publishing, 1975