Nihon'ichi Norishige

Nihon'ichi Norishige is a signed tanto by Norishige of Gofuku-go in Etchu Province (present-day Toyama), designated a National Treasure. Its outstanding quality earned it the sobriquet "Nihon'ichi Norishige" — "Japan's finest Norishige." It is held by the Eisei Bunko in Bunkyo, Tokyo.

Norishige was a master smith active in Etchu from the late Kamakura into the Nanboku-cho period and is counted among the "Ten Disciples of Masamune," though tradition also makes him a student of Shintogo Kunimitsu and thus possibly a fellow-pupil rather than direct student of Masamune.

His most distinctive trait is the matsukawa-hada ("pine-bark grain") of his jihada: a strongly undulating itame resembling the bark of a pine, with thick, vigorous chikei and abundant ji-nie. This bold, spirited steel is a personal signature that sets him apart even from his Etchu contemporary Go Yoshihiro and from Soshu Masamune, and it is the chief kantei point of his work. The hamon is notare mixed with gunome, deep in nie, with lively kinsuji and sunagashi — embodying the bold Soshu tradition while surpassing others in the activity of the ji.

The tanto descended in the Hosokawa family, lords of Higo Kumamoto, and entered the collection of the 16th-generation head Hosokawa Moritatsu, founder of the Eisei Bunko. Signed works by Norishige are limited, and this piece has long been famous as the finest of them — as its name declares, the summit of Norishige's output. As the supreme example of matsukawa-hada, it is an indispensable reference work for studying the Soshu tradition and Etchu blades.