Project Description
Yamato Tegai Kanetoshi Katana
- Status: Available
- Kanteisho: NTHK
Muromachi-period katana attributed by NTHK kanteisho to Yamato Tegai Kanetoshi. The blade is housed in shirasaya and presents the restrained workmanship expected of the later koto Tegai line.
The jihada is a refined ko-itame with clear Yamato character, showing a masame tendency, particularly through the shinogi-ji, with fine ji-nie giving the steel a quiet brightness. The hamon is suguha-chō in ko-nie-deki, the nioiguchi controlled and even, with subtle hotsure and fine sunagashi appearing within the ha. The work is not ostentatious; its quality lies in the consistency of the forging, the disciplined ha, and the classical Yamato feeling retained in a Muromachi-period blade.
The attribution to Yamato Tegai Kanetoshi places the sword within the later continuation of the Tegai tradition, where older Yamato-den traits—suguha, ko-nie, masame, and a sober, functional sugata—remain central. As with many multi-generation koto names, the most appropriate presentation is to follow the kanteisho and describe the blade as Yamato Tegai Kanetoshi, without forcing a specific generation unless stated in the paper.
A composed and well-preserved koto katana for the collector who values Yamato workmanship: tight jihada, restrained suguha, fine internal activity, and the quiet strength characteristic of the Tegai school.
