Horii Toshihide Katana
S0349
Hold
Back on the market: a gendaito by Horii Toshihide. Shinogizukure, iroi mune, chu kissaki. Hawatare: 2 shaku 0 sun 9 bu 5.5 rin (63.5 cm / 25"). Motohaba: 2.78 cm. Sakihaba: 1.7 cm. Kasane: 6.8 mm. Gunome notare midare, choji, ko choji, ashi iri, hotsure, tobiyaki, ha nie, kinsuji, tobiyaki (see first black and white picture), nado. Tight itame, ji nie, chikei, nado. The boshi is ko maru with medium kaeri, profuse tobiyaki on one side. Ubu mumei nakago, one mekugiana. Mounted in older shirasaya with military habaki. Pictured in Slough's Modern Japanese Swordsmiths 1868 - 1945, Fujishiro's Nihon Toko Jiten - Shinto Hen rating of chu saku, valued in Tokuno's Toko Taikan at 2,800,000 yen. Good old polish. NTHK work sheet rating 70 points, kanteisho to follow.
Horii Toshihide is one of the preeminent Showa period smiths. He took the name Kaneaki in May of Meiji 38 (1905), changing it to Hideaki in April of Taisho 2 (1913), and finally took the name Toshihide in Showa 8 (1933). He dropped the Aki kanji, because the new born prince Akihito used the same kanji in his name. He also signed some swords with a single kanji, Hide. he forged swords at the Muroran Steel Works, and was especially skilled in nie tsuki chojiba. He oversaw the making of swords and daggers made from a gun barrel of the battleship Mikasa. $2,500
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