Higo Dōtanuki Munehiro Shin Gunto

The Higo Dōtanuki school (肥後同田貫) earned its reputation in the Sengoku period as the favoured supplier to Katō Kiyomasa — blades made for use, not display, prized for their resilience under sustained combat. The lineage continued through the Edo period, with later generations carrying the Dōtanuki name as a school tradition rather than a single workshop.

This example came down through a Japanese family and was carried in WW2 inside its Shin Guntō mounting. The nakago is mumei (unsigned); the attribution to Higo-jū Dōtanuki Munehiro saku (肥後住同田貫宗廣作) comes from a paper label preserved inside the saya — an honest secondary attribution rather than a signature, which is recorded here as such. Polish is tired and the hada and hamon do not currently read clearly on the blade; the piece would reward repolishing.