Kantei
Composite on a black background: a katana seen from both sides with carvings at the base, two large views of the point with an undulating temper, the signature and the date on the tang, and the wooden scabbard.

Nagato (Chōshū) · late Edo period

Chōshū Morihide (盛秀)

A swordsmith from Nagato at the end of the Edo period, known for his signed blades

Chōshū Morihide (盛秀) is a swordsmith from Nagato, the province of Chōshū, of the last years of the Edo period. None of the sources consulted tells his life: what is known comes from two katana of his photographed with his signature, one signed 長門国盛秀 (Nagato no Kuni Morihide) and another 盛秀作 (Morihide saku), dated 1863.

Photo: dealer in Japan

1863
First dated work
Nagato
Province
Not recorded
Works in museums
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Morihide, of Chōshū HD
Kanji and reading
盛秀 (Morihide); signature 長門国盛秀 (Nagato no Kuni Morihide) or 盛秀作 (Morihide saku) HD
Period
Shinshintō, late Edo period: a katana dated 1863 (Bunkyū 3). The other bears a year of the fire tiger (丙寅, hinoe-tora) which, judging by the shape of the blade, is 1866. HD
Province
Nagato (長門, Nagato), the western half of Chōshū (長州, Chōshū), today Yamaguchi HD
School
Not recorded in the sources consulted PC
Master
Not recorded in the sources consulted PC
Rank
Not recorded in the lists or treatises consulted PC
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: his signatures and dates, on the tangs of his blades. From tradition: nothing on record. HD

In short

The two katana that can be seen have an undulating temper and the medium point of the blades of their time; the 1863 one bears carvings at the base, on one side a bonji and a figure among flames, and on the other a sword with a vajra hilt. His life, his dates, his school and his master are not recorded in the sources consulted, and no blade of his is recorded in a museum.

Sections

  1. What his signatures say Life and times Nagato, the Bunkyū and Keiō years, and what is not on record.
  2. Two katana Work and style What can be seen in his two katana: shape, temper, carvings and signature.
  3. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.