Wakizashi blade with inscription on the tang "Kunihira Maruasa"
Blade length 50.9cm, thickness at the base 7mm, width 2.9cm
This is a nice wakizashi blade shortened from longer blade. It has no original tang, but has a mysterious inscription on it "Kunihira Maruasa". The smith is unknown, but the blade itself is very good quality. Probably it is from 16th century or 17th century.
Steel has a wood grain layer pattern.
Hamon is made of large particles. It is very bright. And there are many small activities like kinsuji, kuichigai-ba, sweeping pattern, yubashiri, uchinoke and so on. Hamon runs into the tang and vanishing there, because of the shortening work. Hamon in kissaki is wide.
What is more, the steel also is very fine. It shows a clear color like blue sky by proper lighting. The brightness of hamon and the clearness of the steel suggests the good quality of the blade. But I'm sorry it is difficult to see it by pictures. You can't learn it without studying the blade in your hand.
The polishing is the modern style (hadori style), but its hadori work is not too strong. So you can study the real face of the blade by proper lighting. This is a good sample to learn what good quality blade is.
Tang has an inscription "Kunihira Maruasa".
Of course, the blade is so much shortened as its original tang has completely filed out. So the inscription is not a signature of the smith. "Kunihira" sounds like smith name, and "Maruasa" sounds like family name or a city somewhere. We wonder if it suggests the smith name what existed on the original tang. Anyway it is mystery.
Habaki is silver foiled.
Shirasaya and bag
