A Beautiful Koto Period Tanto Signed Sukesada Around 450 Years Old

A beautiful early tanto with double signed tang, all original Edo fittings with a kozuka utility knife & twin kogai gold inlaid chopsticks, with gold tendril inlay that match the gold inlay on the tsuba..The signature is jolly difficult to read, but we believe it is Bizen Koku Ju Osafune Tobe Jo Geni 2 Nen 8 Gatsu Hi
It is Sue Koto, Jyo Saku, Bizen
Blade is circa 1570 made by Sukesada of Bizen.
It has a tsunami wave pattern kojiri cap in silver, gold and shakudo fuchigashira, the kashira bears the paulownia clan mon of the Toyotomi samurai clan, it has lacquered leather tsukaito, gold and shakudo menuki of figures, mokko tsuba in iron with gold vine inlay, and a silver habaki with rain drop engraving. The original lacquer on the saya is stunning and has a zig zag motif in the pattern carved design over abilone inlaid dark green-black lacquer. The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary unifier and the ruler of the Oda clan at the time. Hideyoshi joined Oda Nobunaga as a retainer, despite his peasant background. Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 and continued Nobunaga's campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. Hideyoshi became the de facto leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of Chancellor of the Realm and Imperial Regent by the mid-1580s. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. As the virtual ruler of most of Japan, Hideyoshi created a new clan name "Toyotomi" in 1584, and achieved the unification of Japan in 1590.

When Hideyoshi died in 1598, his son Toyotomi Hideyori was only five years old. Five regents were appointed to rule until his maturity, and conflicts among them began quickly. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu deposed Hideyori and took power after winning the Battle of Sekigahara. In 1614, Hideyori came into conflict with the Tokugawa clan, leading to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Siege of Osaka from 1614 to 1615. As a result of the siege, Hideyori and his mother, Yodo-dono, committed seppuku in the flames of Osaka castle. This tanto was made at the very cusp of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s rise to power. tanto was designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well. Tanto are generally forged in hira-zukuri style (without ridgeline), meaning that their sides have no ridge line and are nearly flat, unlike the shinogi-zukuri structure of a katana. Some tanto have particularly thick cross-sections for armour-piercing duty, and are called yoroi toshi. The tanto’s primary use was a type of stabbing weapon, however, the blade could also be used for slashing as well. Some tanto were forged with a particularly thick cross section which was thought to aid in piercing the armour of enemies, this type of dagger would be called a yoroi toshi.

A tanto would most often be worn by Samurai, and it was very uncommon to come across a non samurai with a tanto. It was not only men who carried these daggers, women would on occasions carry a small tanto called a kaiken in their obi which would be used for self-defence. In feudal Japan a tanto would occasionally be worn by Samurai in place of the wakizashi in a combination called the daisho, which roughly translates as big-little, in reference to the big Samurai Sword (Katana) and the small dagger (tanto). Before the rise of the katana it was more common for a Samurai to carry a tachi and tanto combination as opposed to a katana and wakizashi. 13.25 inches long overall, blade 8.75 inches

Code: 23483