{"product_id":"antique-japanese-katana-sword-waterfowl-tsuba-signed-awataguchi","title":"Antique Japanese Katana Sword, Waterfowl Tsuba signed Awataguchi","description":"\u003csection class=\"product\"\u003e\u003cheader\u003e\u003c\/header\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"specs\"\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignature (Mei):\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e粟田口近江守（以下切）\u003c\/span\u003e Awataguchi Ōmi-no-kami (remainder cut) \/ \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e重良兵衛尉（以下切）\u003c\/span\u003e Shigeyoshi Hyōe-no-jō (remainder cut)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSwordsmith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Awataguchi Ōmi-no-kami Shigeyoshi (Mishina School)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mishina School (Awataguchi, Kyoto — Yamashiro-den tradition)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shintō Period (1596–1780) \/ Yamashiro Province (Kyoto)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jūhō Tōken Toroku-shō — Ishikawa Prefecture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Period koshirae — black urushi saya, iron waterfowl and reed tsuba with gold hirazōgan, shakudō fuchi-kashira with hawk and chrysanthemum decor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 66.3 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMekugi-ana:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShape:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, chu-kissaki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis \u003cstrong\u003eShintō-period katana\u003c\/strong\u003e carries one of Kyoto's most storied signatures: \u003cstrong\u003eAwataguchi Ōmi-no-kami\u003c\/strong\u003e, a title-name associated with the \u003cstrong\u003eMishina school\u003c\/strong\u003e, the lineage that dominated high-end sword production in the imperial capital through the Edo period. The blade measures \u003cstrong\u003e66.3 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e with a restrained \u003cstrong\u003e0.7 cm sori\u003c\/strong\u003e — a flatter curvature typical of mature Shintō production, where the emphasis shifted from battlefield sweep to refined geometry and cutting precision. Three \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e confirm a blade that has passed through multiple generations of use and mounting changes, each one evidence of a sword valued and worn rather than stored.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe defining feature of this blade — visible and commanding in the photographs — is the \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e: a full, rhythmic \u003cstrong\u003egunome\u003c\/strong\u003e running the entire length of the cutting edge. The peaks are round and even, the valleys clean, the overall pattern maintaining a disciplined regularity that is the unmistakable signature of the Mishina school's technical approach. This is not the quiet, restrained hamon of conservative Yamashiro work — it is a bold, confident tempering line with a wide \u003cem\u003enioi-guchi\u003c\/em\u003e (boundary zone) and active \u003cem\u003enie\u003c\/em\u003e contributing brightness and depth throughout. The \u003cem\u003eboshi\u003c\/em\u003e in the kissaki turns back with controlled activity, closing the hamon neatly at the point. The overall polish presents the blade in excellent condition, the ji (body steel) showing clean, well-settled surfaces consistent with quality Shintō forging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e retains a clear two-line inscription on the omote face, partially cut (\u003cem\u003esuriage\u003c\/em\u003e notation on the toroku-sho indicating the tang has been shortened at some point — as noted by the \"以下切\" suffix, meaning \"the rest is cut away\"). This is common for swords of significant age that were remounted and shortened to fit new tsuka proportions. Three mekugi-ana confirm multiple remountings across centuries of use. Despite the suriage, the surviving portion of the mei is clear and well-chiseled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"koshirae\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKoshirae Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe koshirae assembled for this blade is coherent, refined, and thematically unified — the work of a collector or commissioner who understood that good mountings tell a single story across every component.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e is an oval \u003cem\u003etatemaru-gata\u003c\/em\u003e iron plate of excellent quality, decorated on the omote face with a scene of \u003cstrong\u003ewaterfowl among reeds\u003c\/strong\u003e: wading and flying birds — likely herons or mandarin ducks — rendered in relief and silver inlay, with \u003cem\u003eashi\u003c\/em\u003e (reeds) picked out in gold \u003cem\u003ehirazōgan\u003c\/em\u003e against the dark iron ground, and the suggestion of flowing water below. Two additional small birds appear in the upper field, one in silver. The reverse face is intentionally understated — the same dark iron, with only a few small gilt details near the base, allowing the omote composition to lead. The overall quality of the inlay work, with its clean gold reed leaves and precisely placed birds, places this tsuba well above common production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003efuchi\u003c\/strong\u003e is darkened metal — likely \u003cem\u003eshakudō\u003c\/em\u003e — engraved with a \u003cstrong\u003emonkey among pine trees\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cem\u003esaru to matsu\u003c\/em\u003e) in fine low relief: a monkey with gilded eye clings among dense pine branches and needle clusters, the scene wrapping the full circumference of the collar. A fine gold \u003cem\u003eichimonji\u003c\/em\u003e border runs along both edges of the fuchi, framing the composition with precision. The \u003cstrong\u003ekashira\u003c\/strong\u003e (Image 6) is the finest single piece in the ensemble: an oval \u003cem\u003eshakudō\u003c\/em\u003e cap carrying a high-relief \u003cstrong\u003ehawk or eagle\u003c\/strong\u003e — wings spread, talons gripping, rendered with individually worked feather scales in a warm copper-gold tone against the dark ground, the eye inlaid in a contrasting metal. Waves or clouds fill the lower register. The predatory bird and chrysanthemum pairing is a classic combination in Edo-period \u003cem\u003etosogu\u003c\/em\u003e (sword fittings), carrying associations of martial prowess and imperial dignity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuka\u003c\/strong\u003e is wrapped in grey-green \u003cem\u003emoegi\u003c\/em\u003e (olive) silk braid in the \u003cem\u003ehishimaki\u003c\/em\u003e diamond pattern over dark \u003cem\u003esamegawa\u003c\/em\u003e (ray skin). The \u003cstrong\u003emenuki\u003c\/strong\u003e are dark metal figurative pieces — seated figures or warriors — consistent with the sober, refined character of the overall mounting. The \u003cstrong\u003esaya\u003c\/strong\u003e is finished in glossy \u003cstrong\u003ekuro urushi\u003c\/strong\u003e (black lacquer), carrying a black braided silk \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e. The entire ensemble projects the restrained authority appropriate to a Kyoto-school sword of this quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSwordsmith Background\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe signature \u003cstrong\u003eAwataguchi Ōmi-no-kami\u003c\/strong\u003e combined with the counter-signature \u003cstrong\u003eShigeyoshi Hyōe-no-jō\u003c\/strong\u003e places this blade within the \u003cstrong\u003eMishina school\u003c\/strong\u003e of Kyoto — one of the most important smithing lineages of the Shintō period. The Mishina smiths worked under the prestigious \u003cem\u003eAwataguchi\u003c\/em\u003e place-name, invoking the ancient Yamashiro tradition of the imperial capital, and several generations held the court title \u003cem\u003eŌmi-no-kami\u003c\/em\u003e (Governor of Ōmi Province), a mark of distinction awarded to swordsmiths of recognized excellence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Mishina school is particularly associated with a distinctive \u003cstrong\u003eregular gunome hamon\u003c\/strong\u003e — the even, rounded peaks visible throughout this blade — and with a high level of finish and consistency that reflected the school's position supplying swords to Kyoto's wealthy merchant and samurai clientele during the Edo period's long peace. Their work was never merely functional: Mishina blades were display pieces as much as weapons, combining reliable cutting geometry with an aesthetic clarity that reads immediately even in photographs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003esuriage\u003c\/em\u003e (shortened tang) with three mekugi-ana is telling: this blade passed through enough generations of active use and remounting to require new proportioning. That is not a flaw — it is biography written in steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSchool History: Mishina and the Awataguchi Tradition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe name \u003cstrong\u003eAwataguchi\u003c\/strong\u003e carries enormous weight in nihonto history. In the Kamakura period, the original Awataguchi smiths of Kyoto — Kuniyuki, Hisakuni, Kunimitsu — produced some of the most refined blades ever made in Japan, prized above almost all others for their elegant, quiet beauty. The Shintō-period \u003cstrong\u003eMishina school\u003c\/strong\u003e consciously invoked this ancient lineage, working in the same district of Kyoto and styling their signatures to connect their work to that golden age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eMishina\u003c\/strong\u003e lineage active through the Edo period maintained production of high-quality blades for Kyoto's civilian and samurai market — a clientele that demanded aesthetic refinement as much as functional excellence. Their characteristic \u003cem\u003eregular gunome\u003c\/em\u003e hamon became a recognizable house style, consistent enough across generations to serve almost as a trademark. Combined with their Yamashiro-influenced \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e jihada and well-controlled kissaki geometry, Mishina blades represent Shintō production at its most polished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA blade signed Awataguchi Ōmi-no-kami, with a period koshirae of this quality, is exactly what the Mishina school was producing for Kyoto's most discerning buyers: a sword that functions as both weapon and object of beauty, carrying a name that resonates across eight centuries of Japanese sword history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53930895704397,"sku":"KATANA75","price":3700.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0578\/4567\/8248\/files\/Katana75_200K_0033_GenerativeFill4.jpg?v=1779065528","url":"https:\/\/katana-sword.com\/en-ca\/products\/antique-japanese-katana-sword-waterfowl-tsuba-signed-awataguchi","provider":"Katana Sword","version":"1.0","type":"link"}