This blade has been attributed to Norishige (one of Masamune's Ten Disciples, Ecchu Norishige) on the *Tokubetsu Kicho Token* certificate. Although both the province and period are the same, making it the highest attribution, it seems that the *Tokubetsu Kicho* certificate was not submitted for examination, resulting in this current state. We recommend submitting the *Tokubetsu Kicho* certificate as supporting documentation when aiming for a higher rank. The workmanship is clearly outstanding, with the characteristic *matsukawa-hada* forging of Norishige being well-pronounced. Furthermore, the flowing *o-itame hada* is tightly packed, with thick *ji-nie*, and fine *chikei* entering the forging. The *ko-nie* is thick, with *sunagashi* and *kinsuji* running through, showcasing a brilliant and masterful creation. The Uta school migrated from Uta County in Yamato Province to Ecchu. Kunimitsu around the Bunpo era in the late Kamakura period is considered the founder. Older works predating the Kamakura period strongly retain the characteristics of the Yamato tradition, exhibiting features such as *nie*-based *niju-ba* and *chigai-ba*. As it entered the Nanbokucho period, works incorporating the Soshu tradition into the Yamato tradition became visible, and works from the late Kamakura to Nanbokucho periods are collectively referred to as "Ko-Uta." It is said that the first generation Kunifusa learned the Soshu tradition from Norishige, incorporating the *matsukawa-hada* forging, which combines hard and soft steel, and the *nie*-based, vibrant *wazare-ba* tempering technique into the Yamato tradition of this school. Norishige has been counted as one of Masamune's Ten Disciples since ancient times and has been touted as a prominent disciple of Masamune. However, based on the style and period appearance, it is also said that he may have been a fellow disciple or senior disciple who studied under Shintogo Kunimitsu or Fujisaburo Yukimitsu. He is, needless to say, one of the greatest *koto* swordsmiths. *Nagasa*: (omitted) *Sori*: (omitted) *Mei*: *Mumei* *Shakudo*: (omitted) 598,000 JPY (Tax included)
NihontoWatchmumei · Late Kamakura (c. 1290) · nagasa 1cm · sori 3cm
Wakimono · Etchu
Phase: Ko-Uda古宇多· 1310–1394
7 pieces on the market now
Ko-Uda (古宇多) names the founding stratum of the Uda school, the work that does not descend later than the Nanbokucho period and so stands before the long Muromachi continuation that the same studio names would carry. The setsumei place the origin in Yamato: around the Bunpo era at the close of Kamakura, the monk-smith Ko-nyudo Kunimitsu left Uda District in Yamato and settled at Utsu in Etchu, and from him the lineage took root. His sons Kunifusa and Kunimune are recorded, and across the Juyo and Jubi explanations the active founding hands are listed together as Kunifusa, Kunimune, and Kunitsugu, the generations that worked through the Nanbokucho period before the name-bearing successions ran down into late Muromachi. A signed Ko-nyudo Kunimitsu is hard to fix among several smiths who used the name; the Tokuju tachi is read as the founder precisely because it shows the most archaic character of the surviving examples, earlier even than the Kunifusa pieces taken for Nanbokucho. The early steel is the school read at its source. The forging is itame mixed with mokume and running nagare-hada that tends to stand (hada-dachi), ji-nie adhering with chikei, and over it a whitish shirake-utsuri or, on the founder's own work, a nie-utsuri; the jigane carries a blackish, golden-toned cast that the explanations call a northern-province feeling. The temper sits in narrow to chu-suguha, opening into ko-notare, ko-gunome, ko-midare, and togariba, with ko-ashi and yo and ko-nie well set; along the habuchi the Yamato signature of hotsure and kuichigai-ba appears, while kinsuji and sunagashi run through.
Against the later Uda generations, the Ko-Uda face is the purer one. The Tokuju founder is appraised as workmanship entirely like Yamato; the Hie Shrine and Kurokawa tachi by the shodai Kunifusa hold a tight, clear nioiguchi and a bright forging, and the nie in the best stands strong and rounded where the later hands run coarser and more provincial. A Soshu lean exists, traced to the study of Norishige and Go, yet in this phase the steel and nioiguchi keep returning the blade to Yamato roots rather than dissolving into them. To kantei a Ko-Uda blade is to catch the standing, whitish jigane with its masame tendency and utsuri beneath a suguha that might otherwise recall Yamashiro, and to bring a nie-rich, chikei-laden example home from Soshu by the dark steel and the subdued (shizumi) nioiguchi. The named early hands recur across the corpus: the shodai Kunifusa, fixed against dated pieces no earlier than Koo 1 (1389) and the calligraphy of the lattice-broken 国; the signed Ko-Uda Kunimitsu and Ko-Uda Tomonori of around Meitoku; and the rare Tomoshige and Tomonori, smiths of few survivals through whom the phase's reach is gauged. Because signed early work is uncommon, the phase leans on mumei attributions read off forging and temper, several entered as den Ko-nyudo Kunimitsu. Provenance settles into shrine and institutional holding, the Hie Shrine and Kurokawa Institute tachi serving as the calibrating standards against which other early Kunifusa are judged, and the dated examples valued as documentary footing for the study of how Yamato workmanship took its northern form. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Ko-Uda古宇多 | 1310-1360 | 50 |
| Kunifusa國房 | 1368-1375 | 17 |
| Kunimitsu國光 | 1362-1368 | 9 |
| Tomonori友則 | 1390-1394 | 4 |
| Kunitsugu國次 | 1356-1361 | 1 |
The Kamakura period (1185 to 1333)
Nearly every later authority calls Kamakura the golden age of the sword: the first warrior government as patron, the great traditions at full strength simultaneously, and, tradition holds, the finest smiths of the realm rotating through Go-Toba’s court.
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 sitePlease notify us of your intention to return, by email or fax, no later than the day after the item's arrival. Return shipping, insurance, and refund transfer fees are the customer's responsibility.
This blade has been attributed to Norishige (one of Masamune's Ten Disciples, Ecchu Norishige) on the *Tokubetsu Kicho Token* certificate. Although both the province and period are the same, making it the highest attribution, it seems that the *Tokubetsu Kicho* certificate was not submitted for examination, resulting in this current state. We recommend submitting the *Tokubetsu Kicho* certificate as supporting documentation when aiming for a higher rank. The workmanship is clearly outstanding, with the characteristic *matsukawa-hada* forging of Norishige being well-pronounced. Furthermore, the flowing *o-itame hada* is tightly packed, with thick *ji-nie*, and fine *chikei* entering the forging. The *ko-nie* is thick, with *sunagashi* and *kinsuji* running through, showcasing a brilliant and masterful creation. The Uta school migrated from Uta County in Yamato Province to Ecchu. Kunimitsu around the Bunpo era in the late Kamakura period is considered the founder. Older works predating the Kamakura period strongly retain the characteristics of the Yamato tradition, exhibiting features such as *nie*-based *niju-ba* and *chigai-ba*. As it entered the Nanbokucho period, works incorporating the Soshu tradition into the Yamato tradition became visible, and works from the late Kamakura to Nanbokucho periods are collectively referred to as "Ko-Uta." It is said that the first generation Kunifusa learned the Soshu tradition from Norishige, incorporating the *matsukawa-hada* forging, which combines hard and soft steel, and the *nie*-based, vibrant *wazare-ba* tempering technique into the Yamato tradition of this school. Norishige has been counted as one of Masamune's Ten Disciples since ancient times and has been touted as a prominent disciple of Masamune. However, based on the style and period appearance, it is also said that he may have been a fellow disciple or senior disciple who studied under Shintogo Kunimitsu or Fujisaburo Yukimitsu. He is, needless to say, one of the greatest *koto* swordsmiths. *Nagasa*: (omitted) *Sori*: (omitted) *Mei*: *Mumei* *Shakudo*: (omitted) 598,000 JPY (Tax included)
NihontoWatchmumei · Late Kamakura (c. 1290) · nagasa 1cm · sori 3cm
Wakimono · Etchu
Phase: Ko-Uda古宇多· 1310–1394
7 pieces on the market now
Ko-Uda (古宇多) names the founding stratum of the Uda school, the work that does not descend later than the Nanbokucho period and so stands before the long Muromachi continuation that the same studio names would carry. The setsumei place the origin in Yamato: around the Bunpo era at the close of Kamakura, the monk-smith Ko-nyudo Kunimitsu left Uda District in Yamato and settled at Utsu in Etchu, and from him the lineage took root. His sons Kunifusa and Kunimune are recorded, and across the Juyo and Jubi explanations the active founding hands are listed together as Kunifusa, Kunimune, and Kunitsugu, the generations that worked through the Nanbokucho period before the name-bearing successions ran down into late Muromachi. A signed Ko-nyudo Kunimitsu is hard to fix among several smiths who used the name; the Tokuju tachi is read as the founder precisely because it shows the most archaic character of the surviving examples, earlier even than the Kunifusa pieces taken for Nanbokucho. The early steel is the school read at its source. The forging is itame mixed with mokume and running nagare-hada that tends to stand (hada-dachi), ji-nie adhering with chikei, and over it a whitish shirake-utsuri or, on the founder's own work, a nie-utsuri; the jigane carries a blackish, golden-toned cast that the explanations call a northern-province feeling. The temper sits in narrow to chu-suguha, opening into ko-notare, ko-gunome, ko-midare, and togariba, with ko-ashi and yo and ko-nie well set; along the habuchi the Yamato signature of hotsure and kuichigai-ba appears, while kinsuji and sunagashi run through.
Against the later Uda generations, the Ko-Uda face is the purer one. The Tokuju founder is appraised as workmanship entirely like Yamato; the Hie Shrine and Kurokawa tachi by the shodai Kunifusa hold a tight, clear nioiguchi and a bright forging, and the nie in the best stands strong and rounded where the later hands run coarser and more provincial. A Soshu lean exists, traced to the study of Norishige and Go, yet in this phase the steel and nioiguchi keep returning the blade to Yamato roots rather than dissolving into them. To kantei a Ko-Uda blade is to catch the standing, whitish jigane with its masame tendency and utsuri beneath a suguha that might otherwise recall Yamashiro, and to bring a nie-rich, chikei-laden example home from Soshu by the dark steel and the subdued (shizumi) nioiguchi. The named early hands recur across the corpus: the shodai Kunifusa, fixed against dated pieces no earlier than Koo 1 (1389) and the calligraphy of the lattice-broken 国; the signed Ko-Uda Kunimitsu and Ko-Uda Tomonori of around Meitoku; and the rare Tomoshige and Tomonori, smiths of few survivals through whom the phase's reach is gauged. Because signed early work is uncommon, the phase leans on mumei attributions read off forging and temper, several entered as den Ko-nyudo Kunimitsu. Provenance settles into shrine and institutional holding, the Hie Shrine and Kurokawa Institute tachi serving as the calibrating standards against which other early Kunifusa are judged, and the dated examples valued as documentary footing for the study of how Yamato workmanship took its northern form. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Ko-Uda古宇多 | 1310-1360 | 50 |
| Kunifusa國房 | 1368-1375 | 17 |
| Kunimitsu國光 | 1362-1368 | 9 |
| Tomonori友則 | 1390-1394 | 4 |
| Kunitsugu國次 | 1356-1361 | 1 |
The Kamakura period (1185 to 1333)
Nearly every later authority calls Kamakura the golden age of the sword: the first warrior government as patron, the great traditions at full strength simultaneously, and, tradition holds, the finest smiths of the realm rotating through Go-Toba’s court.
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 sitePlease notify us of your intention to return, by email or fax, no later than the day after the item's arrival. Return shipping, insurance, and refund transfer fees are the customer's responsibility.
