This beautiful O-Wakizashi (long wakizashi) is presented in shira saya and is signed Nagamitsu. Nagamitsu is one of the most famous names in the history of Japanese sword making and several smiths have shared the name. The most famous of them worked in Bizen in the mid-13th Century. Swordsmiths with this name are also recorded as having worked in Satsuma, Yamato, Yamashiro and other locations.
The signature on the tang (Nakago) is simply é•·å…‰ (Nagamitsu) giving no additional indication of the maker of the sword.
The forging style, curvature and hamon of the blade along with the patina, form and condition of the tang indicate that the blade is old and made in the Bizen-Den style of the Osafune School. This O-Wakizashi was sold to me in Japan as having been made in the Muromachi period (1336-1573).
Professional assessment here in the UK has confirmed that the wakizashi was made between 1504 and 1521, making this sword at least 500 years old.
The blade is in a good state of original polish with marks and wear consistent with its age and use. The blade is long for a Wakizashi, having a cutting edge (Nagasa) of 53.3cm (533mm). Wakizashi of this length were typical of the late 15th and early 16th Century Osafune School. The curvature (Sori) of this blade is 2.2cm (22mm), which is again typical of blades of this period.
Registered place: Ibaraki Prefecture
Register number: 16982
Type: wakizashi
Blade length: 53.3cm
Curvature: 2.2cm
Mukugi hole: 1
Signature: NAGAMITSU (Muromachi Period)
Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education
Registered Date: April 12 1964
There were four major historical periods of Japanese sword production, Koto (700-1596), Shinto (1597-1876), Gendai (1877-end of World War II), and Shinsaku (the modern period). This O-wakizashi belongs to the
Koto period.
This is a beautiful example of an o-wakizashi (long wakizashi) dating to the first quarter of the 16th Century (1504-1521). NBTHK assessment of this blade would confirm its maker and the resulting certification could greatly increase its value.
This O-Wakizashi was purchased in Japan and comes with Japanese local authority sword registration papers.
