SOSHU MASAHIRO

A quick bit of history. The Shodai Soshu Masahiro re-established the Soshu tradition towards the end of the Nambokucho period. There are conflicting documents regarding Masahiro’s history. According to some documents Masahiro was the son of Hiromitsu, while others claim he was the son of Masamune. The Masahiro lineage carried on for seven generations, which is an important point for later. 

This sword is signed Soshu Ju Masahiro.  I want to state clearly, the majority of swords signed Masahiro are gimei. On such a big name it is always wise to assume gimei when there are no papers to authenticate the mei. This sword is not the first 2-3 generations. Unfortunately, there is little information in English or oshigata for the later generations.  This lack of information for comparison of the mei, results in it being very difficult to form an opinion regarding the probability of a later generation. The probability is low, yet the possibility does exist. 

The owner of this sword has had it in his possession approximately 15 years and has never submitted it to shinsa. Was it submitted prior to that is anyone’s guess?

The mei may be false which was common throughout history, but it is guaranteed to be a genuine Nihonto. The blade is in good polish with a couple of small ware but no serious flaws. The hada is tight ko-itame with some masame. There is a ton of hataraki (activity) to be seen such as sunagashi, tobiyaki, unchinoke, hakikake in the boshi, etc, (see photos).

The koshirae is in fair condition. The kurigata, kaerizuno, aragawara are all intact. The aragawara is a little loose and there is a small chipped out area on the koiguchi. The saya is a brown lacquer with chips, dings and some lacquer loss. The Fuchi / Kashira are a copper base with eggplant and foliage done in mixed metals of shakudo and gold wash. I have no idea what the menuki depict, but they are brass. Tsuba is iron with what I am calling a stylized amida rays.  The Kozuka  is done in gold utori and depicts a horse and spider web on the shakudo nanako jita. 

The sword itself is a nice wakizashi and would be perfect for someone on a budget who wants a genuine Nihonto with a Koshirae.

Price: $2999 plus S/H

If you are interested in owning this item, contact me via the website or directly at yakiba.com@gmail.com