A true Samurai set, magnificent 2 bodu gold inlay test cut from the famous Yamano school of testers, signed Yamano Kanjuro Hisahide and dated on 1661 AD. He was the son of the founder Nagahisa. It is rare to see a futatsu dou (2 Body) test cut on a blade of this length. With reason as the smith who made is was second generation Kaneshige who is ranked Ryo-wazamono for sharpness, nakago is signed Kazusa no suke Kaneshige. He is said that he made works very similar to Kotetsu, also a theory that floats that he or his father were Kotetsu’s teacher but due to the timeline they had more a chance of being colleagues. The yamano school did many tests for both these smiths so we can say Kaneshige’s works were well regarded for high officials as the Yamano school were employed by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The workmanship is stunning, please see our video to help and get an idea.
The koshirae is subtle but superb with carefully executed carving of the raw iron fittings. Some of the kikumon are recessed while others are protruding. The kozuka is the cherry on top as it is signed and papered work with a Gold inlay Kao.