A very nice and rare osuriage Yamato Hosho school tachi in excellent polish with a fine gold foil habaki in a new shirasaya, and an old shirasaya with tsunagi and saya gaki by Hon'Ami Tenrai attributing the blade to Yamato no koku Sadamitsu. The nakago has a shumei attribution to Sadamitsu by Tenrai with kao.

Nagasa: 29 5/8", 75.1 cm, 2.48 shaku Sori: 0.5", 1.27 cm.

Motohaba: 3.0 cm. Sakihabe: 1.8 cm.

Motokasane: 7mm. Sakikasane: 5 mm.

Nakago: Two mekugi ana, kiri jiri, kiri yasurime, excellent patina and crisp machi.

Mei: Osuriage mumei with a red lacquer shumei by Hon'Ami Tenrai to Sadamitsu

Jidai: Late kamakura- early Nambokucho

This pristine Hosho blade is shinogi zukuri with a medium shinogi ji, a slightly raised shinogi, and iori mune. The blade tapers nicely from motohaba to sakihaba and ends in a longish chu kissaki with a yakizume boshi. The blade is tightly forged in pure masame with chikei running through it. The masa is, for lack of a better term, slightly notare, and follows the curvature of the kissaki up into the mune. Some blades forged in masame have spots of loose grain, but this blade is beautifully forged in a very tight masame. The steel is bright and lovely.

The hamon is in a brilliant nioi deki with kinsuji and inazuma in ko-nie running along and through the hamon, continuing into the boshi. It is a classical Hosho school work in excellent condition and very good polish.

The older saya with sayagaki reads:

大和国 貞光
二尺四寸八分有之但し朱銘也
代参千貫
大正拾一年極月中浣記之
本阿弥 天籟
Yamato Koku Sadamitsu
2shaku4sun8bu koreari
Tadashi shumei nari
Dai 3000 kan
Taisho 11 nen middle of December record
Honami Tenrai

$12,000