This is a katana by Echizen no Kami Minamoto no Nobuyoshi, the third son of the first generation Shinano no Kami Nobuyoshi, active from Kanbun to Genroku era. The blade measures 69.7cm with a shallow sori, featuring a straight hamon with subtle variations. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and is housed in a shirasaya.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo · nagasa 69.7cm · sori 1.2cm
Yamashiro · around 1673-1695
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 37%
4 pieces on the market now
Where Nobuyoshi stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Under the Tokugawa peace the daishō became a regulated uniform, and demand gathered in the castle towns, above all Edo itself. The craft split two ways: brilliant display work for connoisseurs, and tested blades whose cutting results were sometimes inlaid in gold.
A Hozon-certified blade judged to show notably superior workmanship and a better state of preservation. The bar is higher: re-tempered blades and most unsigned Muromachi/Edo works are excluded.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteFor one-of-a-kind items such as swords, sword fittings, and antiques, please contact us about a return within 3 days of the item's arrival and ship it back within 8 days. Refunds are issued the same day the returned item arrives.
¥620,000
