This is a wakizashi by Kunikuni, the fifth generation of the Tegai school, who was also the elder brother of Nanki Shigekuni. He was invited by Ieyasu to forge in Sunpu. The blade features a straight temper line with shallow notare, gunome, and small midare, exhibiting a bright and clear nioiguchi. It comes with a red ishime-nuri saya Higo wakizashi koshirae and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Token.
NihontoWatchmei · Tegai · Shinto · nagasa 44cm · sori 0.4cm
Yamato-den · Yamato · around 1596-1615
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 31%
3 pieces on the market now
Where Kanekuni 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.
Yamato-den · Yamato
Phase: Sue-Tegai末手掻· 1390–1700
36 pieces on the market now
Sue-Tegai (末手掻) is the late phase of the Tegai school, from the Ōei era through the Muromachi period (with a thin tail of name-bearers into the early Edo period). The term 末手掻 is used directly in NBTHK setsumei to set this generation apart from the classical Ko-Tegai of the founder Kanenaga. Its representative smiths are Kanezane (包眞), Kanetoshi (包俊 / 包利), Kaneyoshi (包吉), and Kaneyuki (包行), names that recur across several generations as the workshop continued to supply blades through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Sue-Tegai idiom is a tightening and quieting of the classical Yamato manner.
The jigane becomes a closely-forged ko-itame mixed with prominent masame that frequently takes on a whitish (shirake) cast — a hallmark of the late phase — while the hamon narrows to a nioi-based suguha that frays into hotsure and ko-midare, with a komaru bōshi. The hiogi (檜垣) file-mark on the nakago is a recurring diagnostic. Production shifts toward tantō and wakizashi in standard Muromachi forms alongside some katana, and the NBTHK observes that the work shows comparatively little individual character, faithfully preserving the traditional house style rather than the bold personal expression of the Kamakura founders. The phase represents the orthodox Yamato tradition carried, with conservative consistency, to the close of the Muromachi age. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kanenaga包永 | 1288-1312 | 62 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1362-1370 | 8 |
| Kanetoshi包俊 | 1381-1384 | 4 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1317-1333 | 4 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1429-1441 | 3 |
The Momoyama period (1573 to 1615)
Three unifiers ended the century of war, and the sword became an instrument of the new order: the 1588 sword hunt made it the warrior’s badge, famous blades passed between houses like treaties, and appraisal ever after divides the craft here, kotō from shintō.
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 siteWithin one week of the item's arrival (cooling-off is possible within Japan only). For defects that differ from the purchase conditions, we will accept the return and refund the payment. For other cases such as overseas, we will consult separately.
This is a wakizashi by Kunikuni, the fifth generation of the Tegai school, who was also the elder brother of Nanki Shigekuni. He was invited by Ieyasu to forge in Sunpu. The blade features a straight temper line with shallow notare, gunome, and small midare, exhibiting a bright and clear nioiguchi. It comes with a red ishime-nuri saya Higo wakizashi koshirae and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Token.
NihontoWatchmei · Tegai · Shinto · nagasa 44cm · sori 0.4cm
Yamato-den · Yamato · around 1596-1615
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 31%
3 pieces on the market now
Where Kanekuni 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.
Yamato-den · Yamato
Phase: Sue-Tegai末手掻· 1390–1700
36 pieces on the market now
Sue-Tegai (末手掻) is the late phase of the Tegai school, from the Ōei era through the Muromachi period (with a thin tail of name-bearers into the early Edo period). The term 末手掻 is used directly in NBTHK setsumei to set this generation apart from the classical Ko-Tegai of the founder Kanenaga. Its representative smiths are Kanezane (包眞), Kanetoshi (包俊 / 包利), Kaneyoshi (包吉), and Kaneyuki (包行), names that recur across several generations as the workshop continued to supply blades through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Sue-Tegai idiom is a tightening and quieting of the classical Yamato manner.
The jigane becomes a closely-forged ko-itame mixed with prominent masame that frequently takes on a whitish (shirake) cast — a hallmark of the late phase — while the hamon narrows to a nioi-based suguha that frays into hotsure and ko-midare, with a komaru bōshi. The hiogi (檜垣) file-mark on the nakago is a recurring diagnostic. Production shifts toward tantō and wakizashi in standard Muromachi forms alongside some katana, and the NBTHK observes that the work shows comparatively little individual character, faithfully preserving the traditional house style rather than the bold personal expression of the Kamakura founders. The phase represents the orthodox Yamato tradition carried, with conservative consistency, to the close of the Muromachi age. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kanenaga包永 | 1288-1312 | 62 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1362-1370 | 8 |
| Kanetoshi包俊 | 1381-1384 | 4 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1317-1333 | 4 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1429-1441 | 3 |
The Momoyama period (1573 to 1615)
Three unifiers ended the century of war, and the sword became an instrument of the new order: the 1588 sword hunt made it the warrior’s badge, famous blades passed between houses like treaties, and appraisal ever after divides the craft here, kotō from shintō.
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 siteWithin one week of the item's arrival (cooling-off is possible within Japan only). For defects that differ from the purchase conditions, we will accept the return and refund the payment. For other cases such as overseas, we will consult separately.
