This is a piece by Shigetsugu, said to have been a student of the legendary Suishinshi Masahide, equipped with an uchigatana koshirae.

The sword is very well preserved, with no chips or rust, but there is a relatively deep 2mm wide scratch near the shinogisji 12cm from the habakimoto on the sashiura side. The surface is slightly cloudy due to age. The hada is well packed with itame, which is characteristic of works from the Shinshinto period. The hamon is a notare-like suguha, and within the ha you can see kogunome and sakachoji.

On the nakago, “This was made by Shigetsugu, a vassal of the Muramatsu family,” is engraved on the front side, and “May 1867” is engraved on the back side. 1867 is a turbulent time in Japanese history, when the last Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, made the Great Restoration and the Boshin War started the following year.

Shigetsugu, whose real name was Itagaki Shinnosuke, was a vassal of the Muramatsu clan in the Echigo province and also made swords. The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords recognized this work as the work of Shigetsugu and as highly worthy of preservation for future generations, and issued a certificate of hozon recognition in 2010.

All of Koshirae's equipment uses fittings from the period. The black silk tsukaito is wrapped in a tsumamimaki style and lacquered. The scabbard is tame-nuri, coated with layers of lacquer, and shows various expressions when held up to the light. It also has an uchigatana koshirae, and the length of the blade is nearly 70 cm, making it a sword that can be used as a bat or iai sword.

Be sure to add this piece to your collection, made by Shigetsugu, a disciple of Suishinshi Masahide during the tumultuous transition period between the Edo and Meiji eras.

• Blade length: 69.8 cm
• Curvature: 1.4 cm
• Number of Mekugi hole: 1
• Sakihaba: 20.1 mm
• Sakikasane: 5.4 mm
• Motohaba: 31.9 mm
• Motokasane: 7.1 mm
• Signature: Muramatsu-shin Shigetsugu Korewo Tsukuru(front), Keio San'nen Gogatsu Kichijitsu
• Era: Shinshinto
• Structure: Shinogi-zukuri, Iori-mune
• Jitetsu: Itame
• Hamon: Suguha with kogunome, sakachojiba mixed in
• Boshi: Massugu Haitte Nakamaru ni Kaeru
• Weight(without Saya): 1,180 g
• Nakago: Ubu
  
• Koshirae: Black silk Tsuka wrapping with Tamenuri-lacquered Saya
• Original Registration No.: Tokyo 228407

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