Japanese Tanto by the contemporary Fukuoka smith Sō Masachika (宗昌親), Mukansa — signed and dated Reiwa 5 (2023) — modern (gendaitō) — well-forged ko-itame with a lively gunome-midare and running kinsuji — in an elaborate decorated tanto koshirae, with shirasaya

Signed-and-dated tanto by the Mukansa master Sō Masachika of Chikushū (Fukuoka) · well-worked ko-itame · gunome-midare with plentiful ashi and bright kinsuji · housed in a luxuriously decorated aikuchi koshirae, with a plain wood shirasaya · with a newly-made-sword certificate

A newly made tanto by the contemporary swordsmith Sō Masachika, a holder of the coveted Mukansa rank based in Fukuoka — the old province of Chikuzen (Chikushū). Signed on the front (omote) Chikushū-jū Sō Masachika and dated on the reverse (ura) "summer of Reiwa 5" (2023), it is a fresh, fully sound work that pairs a beautifully forged blade with a richly decorated mounting, and it comes with a newly-made-sword certificate (shinsakutō shōmeisho) issued by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Sword Culture (Nihontō Bunka Shinkō Kyōkai).

Workmanship and condition

In perfect, as-made condition, the blade shows a well-worked ko-itame (small wood-grain) surface. The hamon is a gunome-midare with generous ashi reaching into the edge, and bright kinsuji ("golden lines") run vividly through the ha — lively, luminous activity that rewards close viewing.

Form

This is a hira-zukuri (flat-sided, ridgeless) tanto of classic proportion, with a straight, mu-sori (no curvature) profile. At a nagasa of 22.7 cm (about 7 sun 5 bu), it has the tight, purposeful silhouette of a fine dagger. The tang (nakago) has a single peg-hole (mekugi-ana).

On the smith — Sō Masachika, Mukansa swordsmith of Chikuzen (Fukuoka)

Sō Masachika (born 1958, real name Sō Masatoshi) is a leading contemporary swordsmith of Fukuoka Prefecture — the old province of Chikuzen (Chikushū) — and a holder of the coveted Mukansa ("exemption from examination") rank, the highest honor in the modern sword world, said to be second only to Living National Treasure status. Unusually, he first studied the metallurgy of ancient sword steel in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at Kyushu University and researched steel at Hitachi Metals before entering formal apprenticeship in 1983, at the age of twenty-five, under his father, the Mukansa master Sō Tsutomu. From his debut at the Shinsaku Meitō-ten (New Swords Exhibition) in 1990 — where he took a newcomer's prize and an effort award — he won a steady succession of top honors, including a Special Prize from the director of the All Japan Swordsmiths' Association (1997), the NBTHK Honorary Chairman's and Chairman's Prizes, the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner's Prize, and the prestigious Prince Takamatsu Memorial Prize (2005). In 2006 he was awarded the Mukansa designation, becoming the second generation of the Sō line to attain it. This tanto, signed Chikushū-jū Sō Masachika and dated the summer of Reiwa 5 (2023), is a mature work by a smith at the very top rank of his craft.

The koshirae

The tanto is mounted aikuchi-style in a lavishly appointed koshirae: a lustrous black-lacquer (roiro) saya, a hilt wrapped in white same (ray skin), and gold-worked floral (peony) fuchi-kashira and menuki, finished with a purple silk sageo and tassel. The mounting also carries a decorated kozuka (small utility-knife)