Tsuguhira 継 平 1^st generation, of his civil name ‘Fujita Yohei’, was from the province of Echizen 越 前. He lived in the second half of the 17th^th century, circa 1680. He was a student of Yasutsugu 2^th gen (or 3^th according to the sources), which he inherited from the Kanji «Tsugu» 継. He then settled in the capital Edo and forged in the lineage of his master, using Nanban-Tetsu (foreign steel) with a very good quality of Jigane. It is classified Wazamono, distinction from the good cutting edge quality of its blades.
The Yasutsugu lineage, master of Tsuguhira, worked directly for Tokugawa and was one of the best blacksmiths of the Edo period.
There were 6 generations of Tsuguhira:

• The 1^st generation mentioned above.
• The 2ndgeneration (1688-1704) which is particularly known for its oshigata compilation (Sabre Signature Prints) in a collection called ‘Tsuguhira Oshigata’, which includes the Oshigata from the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune Collection.
• The 3^th (1748-1751) and 4^th generations (1764-1772) engraved their signatures in cursive style. 3^th generation forged blades with Kaga gold (Dotetsu Hada).
• The 5th ^generation (1789-1801) has no existing blade.
• 6^th generation (1830-1844), latest generation, little information.

The blade presented is particularly impressive with these 83.6cm of Nagasa. And it would add about 10cm of shortening to have the original size, which gives an original Nagasa of about 93.6cm. It’s a real feat to forge such a long blade.
The Koshirae is also sumptuous, the lacquer and all the parts of the Handachi Shakudo assembly are of very high quality. Kara Nuri lacquer is a type of Tsugaru Nuri lacquer, native to the towns of Tsuruga and Hirosaki in the Aomori region, north of Honshu. This region has been producing lacquers since the middle of the Edo period, for about 300 years. The story is that Tsugru Nobumasa, 4^th leader of the Hirosaki clan, brought many artisans to the Tsugaru region to develop the activity and attractiveness of his region. In all these craftsmen, Genbe Ikeda and his son Gentaro developed types of lacquerware that would become a symbol of the craft of this region. Tsugaru’s best-known lacquers are Kara-Nuri, Nanako-Nuri, Monsha-Nuri and Nishiki Nuri.