I am currently seeking to acquire a highly specific, investment-grade gendaito for my collection and would like throw this out to you.
I am looking for a blade forged in 1939 (Showa 14) by the second-generation Yoshihara family smith, Yoshihara Masahiro (who later worked under the name Masazane), during the specific period he utilized his father's early art name.
The precise tracking parameters for this search below:
1. Signature Details (Mei Verification)
Omote (Front): Must feature the signature variant 昭広作 (Akihiro saku) or 昭広 (Akihiro). Note: Care must be taken to distinguish the hand from his father, Kuniie I, who also utilized this gō during the 1930s transition.
Ura (Back): Explicitly dated 昭和十四年 (Showa Ju-Yon Nen / 1939), occasionally accompanied by month markings (e.g., a lucky day in spring/autumn).
2. Workmanship & Style Type (Sugata & Jihada)
Overall Style Type: The blade should display distinct, heavy Horikawa and Mishina school influences, consistent with the family's study lineage.
Tradition: Primarily executed in Bizen-den, or appearing as highly deliberate copies of the Shinshinto master Minamoto Kiyomaro (showing a dynamic, grand sugata with a long kissaki).
Hamon & Jihada: Expecting a robust, active temper line (hamon) featuring choji-midare or gunome-midare with rich nie activity, paired with a tightly forged itame or mokume jidai.
3. Condition and Certification Requirements
Target Value/Papering: While a blade with existing NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon status is preferred, I am fully prepared to evaluate unpapered or raw estate blades provided the nakago (tang), signature style, and chisel strokes definitively match Masahiro’s verified hand from this exact window.
Mountings: shirasaya or period-correct military/civilian koshirae.
If you have a matching blade in inventory, or if you maintain active broker channels with collectors specializing in the Tokyo-lineage Mukansa families (Yoshihara Kuniie, Yoshindo, Masazane), please contact me directly with photographs of the mei and full-length oshigata if available.
