TADAYOSHI VIII (ACTIVE 1830-1854) A Hizen katana in mounts Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1850 Of honzukuri, iorimune, chu-gassaki, toriizori configuration, with a thick kasane, forged in ko-itame hada with jinie and a narrow suguha tempered edge in nie with a bright nioiguchi, the hakikake boshi with a short return, the ubu tang with one hole, kiri file marks, and signed Hizen no kuni Tadayoshi, 27 1/4in (69.2cm) long, with a one-piece silver-foil habaki The 19th-century koshira-e comprising a black ishime-ji saya decorated with lattice patterns in silver lacquer, the tsuka wrapped in black silk and fitted with shakudo nanako fuchi-gashira decorated with chrysanthemums floating on a stream in gold takazogan, and shakudo menuki formed as autumn grasses with gold zogan highlights, the Mito iron mokko-gata tsuba decorated with fan-shaped reserves of flowers in sunken relief