Yokosuka-Gō

横須賀江

Also known as: Yokosuka-Gō; attributed to Gō Yoshihiro

Smith

Attributed to Gō Yoshihiro (Etchū Province)

Era

Nanbokuchō period (14th century)

Type

Katana

Designation

Important Art Object (designated December 20, 1934)

Location

City of Shirakawa (Komine Castle History Museum, Fukushima Prefecture)

Description

A Meibutsu Recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō

Yokosuka-Gō is an unsigned sword attributed to Gō Yoshihiro, a swordsmith of Etchū Province active in the Nanbokuchō period. It measures 92.4 cm overall, with a blade length of 75 cm and a curvature of 2.1 cm. It is recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō, the catalogue of named swords compiled in 1719.

The Origin of the Name and Its Provenance

The name is believed to derive from a connection to Yokosuka in Tōtōmi Province (present-day Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture). It is thought to have entered the Abe family — lords of the Shirakawa domain — because the first-generation Abe lord married a daughter of the lord of Yokosuka Castle. It was thereafter passed down through successive generations of the Abe family of Shirakawa.

Designation and Present Location

On December 20, 1934, the sword was designated an Important Art Object by the national government. It is now owned and managed by the City of Shirakawa and kept at the Komine Castle History Museum in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture.