NihontoWatchThis is a katana by Muneyoshi, a swordsmith from Iyo Province (Ehime Prefecture) active from the late Edo period into the Meiji era. The blade features a robust Itame jigane and a Gunome-midare hamon with active Nie and Nioi. It comes with a black roiro saya uchigatana koshirae and a shirasaya, accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate.
NihontoWatchOffered by World Seiyudo
Iyo · around 1868-1912
Tōken Taikan top 99%
4 pieces on the market now
Meiji: survival after the edict
The Haitōrei edict of 1876 ended sword wearing and nearly ended the craft itself. Military demand and imperial patronage kept a remnant alive, and in 1906 Gassan Sadakazu and Miyamoto Kanenori were named Artists to the Imperial Household.
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).