Nihonto Club

Period: starts Meiryaku (1655-1658)
Nagasa: 70,7cm
Sori: 1,2cm
Tsukurikomi: shinogi-zukuri
Mei: (菊紋) 越前守源来信吉 (Chrysanthemum crest) (Echizen No Kami Rai Nobuyoshi)
Paper: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Echizen No Kami Rai Nobuyoshi (Edo):Echizen no Kami Nobuyoshi was a master swordsmith of the Mishina school in Kyoto who was active from 1655 to 1703. He was the most prominent smith within his family, which bore the surname Takai (高井), and was the most highly regarded smith of his generation. Due to the exceptional quality of his work, he was granted permission by the Imperial Court to engrave the imperial chrysanthemum crest (kiku) onto the tangs of his swords. Furthermore, the Imperial Court bestowed upon him the honorary title of "Echizen no Kami" (越前守). In his sword inscriptions, he sometimes included the characters "Ichi" (一) and "Rai" (来). In his later years, he moved to Osaka in Settsu Province, accompanied by Tango no Kami Yoshimichi; there, they successfully advanced the development of the Mishina school. In the 1797 book "Kaiho Kenjaku" (懐宝剣尺), Echizen no Kami Nobuyoshi is classified as an "O-Wazamono."