Japanese Gendaitō Katana Sword with Iron Sukashi Tsuba and Feather Menuki, by Kazunori, Dated 1942
Signature (Mei): 一則 Kazunori (omote); 昭和十七年六月 - dated June, Shōwa 17 (1942) (ura) Swordsmith: Kazunori (Shōwa-era smith) Type / Classification: Katana - Gendaitō (modern traditionally-made sword) Period: Shōwa, dated June 1942 Registration: Tokyo Tōroku-shō No. 141502 (Japanese sword registration) Mounting: Black lacquer koshirae with iron sukashi tsuba and feather (hane) menuki Blade Length (Nagasa): 66.3 cm Curvature (Sori): 1.4 cm Mekugi-ana: 1 (ubu) Motohaba: 31.0 mm | Sakihaba: 21.0 mm Motokasane: 7.0 mm | Sakikasane: 5.5 mm Shape: Shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune and chū-kissaki Jihada: Bright, tightly forged ko-itame Hamon: Gunome-notare midare (midareba) in a bright nioiguchi with nie Boshi: Midare-komi with ko-maru turnback This Katana is a signed (zaimei) work by Kazunori (一則), dated on the tang to June 1942 (Shōwa 17) - a gendaitō, a Japanese sword forged in the traditional manner during the modern era. The tang is ubu (unaltered), with a single mekugi-ana and the smith's signature on the omote and the date on the ura. This is a robust, healthy blade: a shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune, a 66.3 cm nagasa, and a strong build - about 31 mm at the base tapering to 21 mm, with a substantial 7 mm kasane. The polish is bright and the steel healthy. The jihada is a tightly forged, bright ko-itame, and the hamon is a lively gunome-notare midare (乱刃) - an undulating, actively worked temper line set in a bright nioiguchi with nie, running into a midare-komi boshi with a ko-maru turnback. A visible grain and an active hamon of this kind are exactly the qualities that distinguish a traditionally-made gendaitō from a non-traditional wartime shōwatō. The blade carries a valid Japanese sword registration (Tokyo tōroku-shō) - in Japan, granted only to blades recognized as traditionally made - which supports its standing as a genuine gendaitō rather than an arsenal production piece. It does not carry an NBTHK paper; a buyer wanting formal confirmation of the workmanship can submit it to NBTHK shinsa. With its sound, powerful build, it is a katana equally at home in a collection or, for a trained practitioner, in serious iaidō / battō and tameshigiri use. Koshirae Details The sword is mounted in a functional black koshirae. The saya is finished in glossy black urushi lacquer with a brown sageo. The tsuba is a round iron plate cut in ji-sukashi (openwork) with cloud-and-foliage motifs, showing an honest dark patina. Most characterful are the menuki: finely detailed feather (hane) menuki in dark soft metal with gold highlights, set beneath the wrap. The fuchi is a plain brushed brass fitting. The tsuka is bound in brown ito over white same (rayskin) in the traditional hineri-maki diamond pattern; the wrap shows genuine age and wear consistent with a sword that has been handled and used. Altogether an honest, serviceable mounting around a sound blade. About the Smith and the Date The blade is signed Kazunori (一則) and dated June 1942. It belongs to the gendaitō tradition - swords made by smiths working after the Meiji period using traditional methods, water-quenched and forged rather than machine-made. The wartime years produced a wide spectrum of blades, from fully traditional gendaitō by skilled smiths down to mass-produced non-traditional shōwatō; the two are told apart by workmanship - visible hada and an active hamon - and by whether a blade qualifies as a registrable Japanese art sword in Japan. On both counts this blade presents as a genuine gendaitō: a bright ko-itame grain, an active gunome-notare midare hamon, and a valid Tokyo registration. We describe the smith conservatively from the signature and date on the tang; a formal generational or ranking attribution would require NBTHK shinsa. Sold honestly for what it is - a healthy, signed, traditionally-styled Shōwa katana in honest mounts.