‹ Catalogue
Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

The piece

Second-generation Kanewaka, smith to the Maeda of Kaga, shortened in its day by a samurai of the domain yet keeping its signature intact.

The second Kanewaka, Tsujimura Matasuke, was born in 1611 as the third son of the first; he inherited the name because his elder brother Kagehira had no son. He worked for the Maeda of Kaga, and in Kanazawa it was said that a young samurai owning a Kanewaka would be granted a daughter in marriage, for what the purchase revealed of his ambition. The blade, signed 賀州金澤住藤原兼若 (Kashū Kanazawa-jū Fujiwara Kanewaka), now measures 69.7 cm nagasa with 1.2 cm sori, 3 cm motohaba and 0.65 cm motogasane. The hada is a tight itame with chikei, and the hamon the deep nioi notare “like fine drifted snow” that was Kanewaka's speciality. The original seller states that the blade was originally some 2 shaku 5 sun and that a later samurai of the Kaga domain shortened it to suit his own swordsmanship: it is suriage. The photographs show two mekugi-ana, one plugged with brass, and the full signature running close to the nakago-jiri. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers dated 16 February 2026, together with two older certificates from 1968. The koshirae is Edo work, with a kuro-yuteki-nuri saya, an iron tsuba with a gold-inlaid landscape on both faces, gilded fuchi-kashira, gilt menuki and a Kaga-style habaki with its silver cross. Shirasaya included.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon (16 February 2026), with koshirae and shirasaya
  • Second-generation Kanewaka, smith to the Maeda of Kaga
  • The signature survived the shortening intact and reads in full in the photographs
  • Edo koshirae with kuro-yuteki-nuri saya and an iron tsuba with a gold-inlaid landscape
  • Kaga-style habaki with its characteristic silver cross
  • Deep nioi notare over a tight itame with chikei

Points to bear in mind

  • Suriage tang: the original seller confirms the blade was shortened from about 2 shaku 5 sun
  • Two mekugi-ana, one plugged with brass according to the photographs
  • The signature carries no date
  • The original seller states nothing about condition

Score

142.7 pointscurrent max. 255

  1. Certificate +50

    NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50

  2. Tang −20

    Shortened tang (suriage) −20

  3. Declared condition −20

    The original seller says nothing about the condition −20

  4. Signature and date +15

    Signed, with no engraved date +15

  5. Mounting +75

    Mounting from the same period as the blade +50 · old certificate (Kichō) for the whole mounting +25

  6. Blade +10

    69.7 cm: within the usable range +10

  7. Shirasaya +5

    With a storage shirasaya +5

  8. Price +27.7

    Price: the more affordable, the more points +27.7

The score adds and subtracts points for each feature of the piece and has no ceiling: the highest in the catalogue today is 255. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. The mounting starts from what is known of its period, adds what vouches for it (its own NBTHK paper, a signed fitting, a crest) and subtracts what has been restored (saya, ito, same, habaki or sageo).

Measurements

Nagasa
69.7 cm
Sori
1.2 cm
Tang
Shortened tang (suriage)
Certificate
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
Mounting
Period mounting
Storage shirasaya
Yes
Period
Shintō (1596-1780)
Dating
17th century
Province
Kaga
Mekugi-ana
2
Paper date
16 February 2026
Condition
Condition not declared
Signed
Yes
With an engraved date
No
Motohaba
3cm
Motokasane
0.65cm
Sakihaba
1.89cm
Sakikasane
0.46cm

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