During the Edo Era a flamboyant style of temper line came into design. This was due to the peaceful atmosphere of Japanese society.
Yamato no Kami Motohira
| Class: | Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho Token |
| Type: | Wakizashi |
| Mei: | YAMATO (NO) KAMI ASON OKU MOTOHIRA |
| Ura: | KANSEI GO-NEN AKI (Fall, 1793) |
| Period: | late Edo |
| Length: | 55 cm |
| Province: | Satsuma |
| Sori: | 1.1 cm |
| Moto-haba: | 3.5 cm |
| Sugata: | Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, chu-kissaki |
| Nakago: | Ubu, Kengyo-jiri, katte-sagari-yasuri, one mekugiana, nine-character katana-mei, five-character date on ura, length: 15.9 cm |
| Ji-hada: | Ko-itame |
| Hamon: | Guname-midare-ha, long Satsuma-style imo-no-tsuru |
| Boshi: | Hakikake |
A member of the Satsuma Oku group that traced its lineage to a Tadakiyo of the late 1600s, Motohira based his style on the old Soshu tradition, and together with Suishinshi Masahide and a few others, he helped raise the swordmakers' world out of the doldrums of the 18th Century and return it to the styles of the golden age of late Kamakura and Nambokucho times.
Awarded the title Yamato no Kami in the first year of Kansei(1789), Motohira was at the height of his abilities in the fall of 1793 when he made this wakizashi, which is said to be representative of his finest work. He died on the ninth year of Bunsei (1826) at the age of 83.
Motohira's swords are noted for their wide mihaba, long kissaki, and robust appearance. They usually display a koitame-hada kitae and nie-based hamon of notare mixed with gunome-midare, kisuji and sunagashi. Spots of ara-nie on the ji frequently extend into that specialty of Satsuma, the imo-no-tsuru (sweet potato vine).
This sword, which was classified Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho Token in 1976, has a shirasaya with a sayagaki by Dr. Sato.