EARLY EDO PERIOD (17TH CENTURY), SIGNED NAGASONE OKISATO NYUDO KOTETSU

Nagasone Kotestu who is universally regarded as the greatest of the Shinto period (1596-1763) swordsmiths, was originally trained as armor maker in Echizen. He then moved to Edo and turned to swordsmith when he was around fifty years old. It is thought that he was taught sword making by Izumi no kami Kaneshige. Kotetsu became the most influential of the smiths working in Edo during his lifetime, and several smiths emulated his characteristic hamon, including the so-called juzuba, a form of gunome resembling a row of rosary beads. Kotetsu was originally named Okisato, but after becoming a lay priest he styled himself first Nyudo (entered the Way) Okisato, then Kotetsu with the characters for 'old steel', to Kotestu meaning 'tiger piercing' , and finally two different characters for 'tiger'. He had a close relation with the most influential people in the sword world, like the Hon'ami sword appraiser family, the polisher Kiya, and Yamano Kanjuro the sword tester.
This sword is believed to be made during 7^th-12^th year of Kanbun era (1667-1672). This work is illustrated right next to the famous Kotestu sword with gold inlay inscription “Shinmyo Ichio’s favorite item”. Okubo Ichio (1817-1888) worked for Tokugawa Ienari and played many important roles as a senior retainer at the end of the Tokugawa regime in late 19th century.