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
29 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. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kanenaga包永 | 1288-1312 | 62 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1362-1370 | 8 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1317-1333 | 4 |
| Kanetoshi包俊 | 1381-1384 | 4 |
| Kanezane包眞 | 1394-1428 | 3 |
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
29 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. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kanenaga包永 | 1288-1312 | 62 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1362-1370 | 8 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1317-1333 | 4 |
| Kanetoshi包俊 | 1381-1384 | 4 |
| Kanezane包眞 | 1394-1428 | 3 |
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.
