MASAKIYO: A KATANA IN SHIRASAYA WITH SAYAGAKI AND NBTHK CERTIFICATE

MASAKIYO: A KATANA IN SHIRASAYA WITH SAYAGAKI AND NBTHK CERTIFICATE
By Masakiyo (1664-1730), signed Mondonosho Fujiwara Masakiyo
Japan, Satsuma, early 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
The slender blade of shinogi-zukuri with iori mune, the hamon is gunome-midare, the hada is itame. The nakago with one mekugi-ana, the tip is haagari, the mei reads Mondo no Sho Fujiwara MASAKIYO below an Ichiyo Aoi (single hollyhock leaf). The silver habaki with diagonal file marks.
The inscription on the sayagaki reads: 島津家伝来、主水正藤原正清、長弐尺弐寸九分有之、此ノ正清　志津兼氏ヲ寫シ後年期作ノ傑作刀也 ”Shimazu-ke denrai, Mondo no sho Fujiwara Masakiyo, nagasa 2-shaku 2-sun 9-bu (circa 69.4 cm), this is to certify that this blade is a masterpiece later copy made by Masakiyo found in the heirloom collection Shimazu Clan of the Satsuma Fief, which is modelled on the original Shizu Kaneuji blade”.
NAGASA 69.8 cm, SORI 1.7 cm, TOTAL LENGTH 96.8 cm
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear.
Masakiyo was a single-generation swordsmith and a member of the Sozaemon Masafusa Mon. He was born in the fourth year of Kanbun (1664), called Miyagawa Kiyouemon, while his first signature was Kiyomitsu. In the sixth year of Kyoho (1721), he went to Edo Hamagoden (the Imperial residence in Edo) together with another Satsuma smith, Ippei Yasuyo, to forge a sword for the eighth Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshimune. As a reward for his efforts, he was allowed to engrave an Ichiyo Aoi (single hollyhock leaf) below the habaki above his mei. Around the same time he was invested with the title of Mondonosho. He died on the sixth day of the sixth month of the fifteenth year of Kyoho (1730) at the age of 66. The title, Mondonoshi, is an honorific religious title that refers back to the Taiho code of the year 702. It relates to an office having responsibility for the water, ice, and dishes required for Buddhist and Shinto ceremonies.