AKIHIDE (昭秀), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tōkyō – “Kurihara Akihide kore o
kinsaku” (栗原昭秀謹作之), “Shimotsuke no Kuni-jūnin Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide
saku” (下野国住人栗原彦三郎昭秀作), “Tekka Nyūdō Akihide saku” (鉄火入道
昭秀作), “Kun-yontō Akihide saku” (勲四等昭秀作, “Akihide, bearer of the Order of
Merit fourth class”), real name Kurihara Hikosaburō (栗原彦三郎), born on the eighth
day of the second month Meiji twelve (1879) in Sano (佐野) in Tochigi Prefecture, there
he studied under the local smith Inagaki Saijirō Masanori (将応), later he became also an
apprentice of Horii Taneaki (堀井胤明), he was a member of the Lower House of
Tochigi Prefecture and opened on July 5th 1933 in Tōkyō ́s Akasaka-Hikawashita
(赤坂氷川下) the famous training site Nihontō Tanren Denshūjo (日本刀鍛錬伝習所) which gave rise to many of the later leading modern smiths, he died on May 5th 1954 at the age of 76, gō Tekka (鉄火)  From, Swordsmiths of Japan, Markus Sesko, 2015.

Akihide was rated a 1.5 miliion Yen smith.  His works are listed in Sesko’s (see above), Sloughs, pages 17-18, Toko Taikan TK-2, Fujishiros Shinto Hen S-371, Hawleys AKI-38, HIK-9, Nihonto Meikan NMK-6.

This sword comes in shirasaya and is accompanied by NBTHK Hozon papers.

Price:  $8000 plus S/H

REDUCED: $6500 plus S/H