This katana was made by Kaga no Kami Fujiwara Sadanori in Mutsu province during the Edo period. The blade features a refined sugata with a gentle curvature and a hamon of undulating notare with small ko-nie. The sword comes with a silver habaki and has been certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK in 2025.
Certificate reading — 銘 加賀守藤原貞則
NihontoWatchmei · Kanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 50.4cm · sori 0.9cm
Shinto · Settsu · around 1661-1679
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 39%
1 piece on the market now
Suzuki Kaga no Kami Sadanori was a native of Kikuchi in Higo Province whose common name was Saemon (also given as Sayuemon). He traveled to Osaka and studied under Inoue Shinkai, one of the foremost Osaka-shinto masters. Thereafter he entered the service of the Naito family, and when the Naito were enfeoffed at Taira in Iwaki in Oshu, Sadanori accompanied them and relocated there. His signatures also confirm that he resided at Horikawa in Rakuyo (Kyoto), lending his inscriptions considerable documentary value for tracing the geographic movements of Shinkai's disciples.
His manner of work encompasses suguha, suguha with notare, and gunome patterns. The kitae characteristically shows dense ko-itame-hada with thickly formed ji-nie, and the nioiguchi is bright and clear. In his finest works, the deep nioi and thickly adhering nie call to mind the style of his master Shinkai. One particularly notable katana -- tempered in a notare mixed with large gunome, with deep nioi, ko-nie well applied, and a clear nioiguchi with slight tobiyaki -- demonstrates how closely he absorbed his teacher's approach. His tang work is also distinctive, with o-sujikai yasurime and bold, thick-chiseled long signatures, sometimes accompanied by kesho-yasuri.
Relatively few of Sadanori's works survive today; however, inheriting his teacher's style, he was recognized as a highly capable smith. The NBTHK setsumei consistently note the connection to Shinkai in both jigane and hamon, characterizing one blade as "so accomplished that it calls to mind his master Shinkai" and proclaiming it "the finest masterpiece among Sadanori's works." His dated inscriptions -- ranging from Enpo 3 (1675) through Enpo 7 (1679) -- provide valuable chronological markers for the study of the Osaka-shinto tradition and its reach into the Tohoku region through domain patronage.
Where Sadanori 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
Shinto · Settsu
75 pieces on the market now
Osaka in the early-to-mid Edo period was a merchant capital, a city of commerce and capital rather than a castle town tied to a single daimyo house, and the swordsmiths who gathered there worked for a wealthy townsman clientele as much as for warriors. The grouping known as Osaka Shinto (大坂新刀) took shape in Settsu from two feeder currents. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Shinkai真改 | 1649-1682 | 79 |
| Tadatsuna忠綱 | 1673-1717 | 53 |
| Kanesada包貞 | 1673-1682 | 78 |
| Kanesada包貞 | 1648-1652 | 10 |
| Kunisuke國助 | 1658-1663 | 10 |
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
This katana was made by Kaga no Kami Fujiwara Sadanori in Mutsu province during the Edo period. The blade features a refined sugata with a gentle curvature and a hamon of undulating notare with small ko-nie. The sword comes with a silver habaki and has been certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK in 2025.
Certificate reading — 銘 加賀守藤原貞則
NihontoWatchmei · Kanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 50.4cm · sori 0.9cm
Shinto · Settsu · around 1661-1679
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 39%
1 piece on the market now
Suzuki Kaga no Kami Sadanori was a native of Kikuchi in Higo Province whose common name was Saemon (also given as Sayuemon). He traveled to Osaka and studied under Inoue Shinkai, one of the foremost Osaka-shinto masters. Thereafter he entered the service of the Naito family, and when the Naito were enfeoffed at Taira in Iwaki in Oshu, Sadanori accompanied them and relocated there. His signatures also confirm that he resided at Horikawa in Rakuyo (Kyoto), lending his inscriptions considerable documentary value for tracing the geographic movements of Shinkai's disciples.
His manner of work encompasses suguha, suguha with notare, and gunome patterns. The kitae characteristically shows dense ko-itame-hada with thickly formed ji-nie, and the nioiguchi is bright and clear. In his finest works, the deep nioi and thickly adhering nie call to mind the style of his master Shinkai. One particularly notable katana -- tempered in a notare mixed with large gunome, with deep nioi, ko-nie well applied, and a clear nioiguchi with slight tobiyaki -- demonstrates how closely he absorbed his teacher's approach. His tang work is also distinctive, with o-sujikai yasurime and bold, thick-chiseled long signatures, sometimes accompanied by kesho-yasuri.
Relatively few of Sadanori's works survive today; however, inheriting his teacher's style, he was recognized as a highly capable smith. The NBTHK setsumei consistently note the connection to Shinkai in both jigane and hamon, characterizing one blade as "so accomplished that it calls to mind his master Shinkai" and proclaiming it "the finest masterpiece among Sadanori's works." His dated inscriptions -- ranging from Enpo 3 (1675) through Enpo 7 (1679) -- provide valuable chronological markers for the study of the Osaka-shinto tradition and its reach into the Tohoku region through domain patronage.
Where Sadanori 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
Shinto · Settsu
75 pieces on the market now
Osaka in the early-to-mid Edo period was a merchant capital, a city of commerce and capital rather than a castle town tied to a single daimyo house, and the swordsmiths who gathered there worked for a wealthy townsman clientele as much as for warriors. The grouping known as Osaka Shinto (大坂新刀) took shape in Settsu from two feeder currents. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Shinkai真改 | 1649-1682 | 79 |
| Tadatsuna忠綱 | 1673-1717 | 53 |
| Kanesada包貞 | 1673-1682 | 78 |
| Kanesada包貞 | 1648-1652 | 10 |
| Kunisuke國助 | 1658-1663 | 10 |
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
