The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
This is a tanto by Amata Akitsugu, a Living National Treasure and one of the highest-ranking contemporary swordsmiths. Made in 2002, it features a hirazukuri shape with koitame and komokume jigane, and a notare hamon. The blade comes with a luxurious koshirae featuring a gold nashiji lacquer with a lion makie design, and is accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
Certificate reading — 銘 昭次作（天田昭次） 平成十二年二月日
NihontoWatchmei · Gendaito · nagasa 26.8cm
Niigata · around 1926-1989
Tōken Taikan top 87%
6 pieces on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
¥3,500,000
This is a tanto by Amata Akitsugu, a Living National Treasure and one of the highest-ranking contemporary swordsmiths. Made in 2002, it features a hirazukuri shape with koitame and komokume jigane, and a notare hamon. The blade comes with a luxurious koshirae featuring a gold nashiji lacquer with a lion makie design, and is accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
Certificate reading — 銘 昭次作（天田昭次） 平成十二年二月日
NihontoWatchmei · Gendaito · nagasa 26.8cm
Niigata · around 1926-1989
Tōken Taikan top 87%
6 pieces on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
¥3,500,000
