This katana is a collaborative work by the 2nd and 3rd generations of Nobutaka from Owari province, active during the early Edo period. It features a well-forged ko-itame hada and a vibrant gunome-choji midare hamon with abundant activities. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a sayagaki by Tanzan-sensei.
Certificate reading — 銘 伯耆守藤原信高 前伯州信高入道
NihontoWatchmei · Enpo (1673-1681) · nagasa 70.8cm · sori 1.7cm
Mino-den · Owari · around 1673-1681
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 49%
3 pieces on the market now
Where Nobutaka 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.
Mino-den · Mino
9 pieces on the market now
The San'ami line takes its root in Mino Province, where its head smith Kanenori (兼則) worked as one of the so-called Seki Seven Schools. The setsumei place Kanenori from the close of the Nanbokuchō period into the Ōei era of the early Muromachi, alongside Kanemoto and Kanesada among the representative hands of Sue-Seki, and the earliest extant signed tachi of his is appraised as no later than Ōei. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Nobutaka信高 | 1581-1615 | 3 |
| Kanekuni兼國 | 1455-1457 | 1 |
| Kanenori兼則 | 1370-1372 | 1 |
| Nobutaka信高 | 1624-1644 | 1 |
| Nobutaka信高 | 1673-1681 | 1 |
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.
This katana is a collaborative work by the 2nd and 3rd generations of Nobutaka from Owari province, active during the early Edo period. It features a well-forged ko-itame hada and a vibrant gunome-choji midare hamon with abundant activities. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a sayagaki by Tanzan-sensei.
Certificate reading — 銘 伯耆守藤原信高 前伯州信高入道
NihontoWatchmei · Enpo (1673-1681) · nagasa 70.8cm · sori 1.7cm
Mino-den · Owari · around 1673-1681
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 49%
3 pieces on the market now
Where Nobutaka 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.
Mino-den · Mino
9 pieces on the market now
The San'ami line takes its root in Mino Province, where its head smith Kanenori (兼則) worked as one of the so-called Seki Seven Schools. The setsumei place Kanenori from the close of the Nanbokuchō period into the Ōei era of the early Muromachi, alongside Kanemoto and Kanesada among the representative hands of Sue-Seki, and the earliest extant signed tachi of his is appraised as no later than Ōei. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Nobutaka信高 | 1581-1615 | 3 |
| Kanekuni兼國 | 1455-1457 | 1 |
| Kanenori兼則 | 1370-1372 | 1 |
| Nobutaka信高 | 1624-1644 | 1 |
| Nobutaka信高 | 1673-1681 | 1 |
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.
