Starting Bid

¥950,000

Tracked across 76 dealers worldwide · price history · sold archive

Specifications

About the school

Hokke School法華派

The Hokke lineage (*Hokke-ha*) of Bingo Province belonged to the sword-making tradition of Ashida District, distinct from the Mihara school, and regarded Sukekuni as its founding progenitor. Active from the Nanbokuchō period into the Muromachi era, the school produced known smiths including Ichijō, Kaneyasu, Yukiyoshi, Shigeyasu, Shigeie, and Nobukane. Among works from the late Nanbokuchō period, examples survive bearing only the single character "ichi" (一), indicating attribution to this lineage. The collective style reveals a distinctive forging in *itame-hada* frequently mixed with *mokume* and flowing grain (*nagare*), exhibiting conspicuously standing grain (*hada-dachi*) and a characteristic whitish tone (*shirake*-gaki). The ground metal forms *ji-nie* with thick *chikei*, and often displays *shirake-utsuri*. The tempering typically presents calm, low-tempered *suguha*, or *suguha*-based patterns accompanied by continuous sequences of *ko-gunome*, with *nioi* predominant and *ko-nie* adhering. The *nioiguchi* characteristically shows a *shizumi* (subdued) tendency. In the *bōshi*, two distinct manners appear: some examples terminate in *yakizume*, revealing an observable Yamato temperament (*Yamato kishitsu*); others form a slightly pointed tip (*togari*) with long *kaeri*. Hokke school works embody the vigorous character of Nanbokuchō-period swordmaking, typically wide in *mihaba* with shallow *sori* and *chū-kissaki* or extended *chū-kissaki*. Despite frequent *ō-suriage* shortening, these blades retain imposing forms that vividly convey period flavor. The fine activities within the hardened edge—including *hotsure*, *uchi-noke*, and *sunagashi*—demonstrate accomplished craftsmanship. As a provincial tradition exhibiting Yamato-influenced temperament while maintaining distinctive regional character, the Hokke school represents a significant strand within the broader tapestry of late medieval Japanese sword production.

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