| Hojoji Masahiro [法成寺正弘] (1st) was born in Tajima province. His ancestor was Hojoji Kunimitsu, one of the three great masters of Sadamune. He moved to Edo with his family members Masateru [正照], Sadakuni [貞国], Kunimasa [国正], Kuniyoshi [国吉] and others and established the Edo Hojoji school. All swordsmiths of this school were named Tachibana [橘]. Masahiro was the representative swordsmith and the most skilled. As the head of the family, Masahiro expanded his influence by forming marriage ties with the Edo Ishido school. Just as the Mishina school, headed by Iga no Kami Kanemichi, served the Imperial Court in Kyoto and was solely responsible for the formalities of appointment, in Edo the Hojoji Masahiro family was permitted to carry out all blacksmithing-related business for the shogunate. This sword was made by Masahiro (2nd), a high-quality swordsmith whose style and skill rivaled those of the first. The features of the signature make it possible to distinguish between the first and second generations, and although this mei is not clear, the features of "城" indicates that it is the second. It is said that the second generation was employed by Mito Mitsukuni [水戸光圀] (1628-1700). This naginata shows the workmanship of Masahiro 2nd well with a sugu-gunome midare hamon. It has passed the Hozon Token shinsa in 2024. |
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