This is a wakizashi by Chounsai Tsunatoshi, born in the 10th year of Kansei, a retained smith of the Yonezawa domain Uesugi family. After studying under his father Kato Kunihide and elder brother Tsunaei, he moved to Edo in the 13th year of Bunka and established a forge in the Azabu Iikura domain residence. He challenged Bizen Ichimonji choji-midare hamon and interacted with sword testers like Yamada Asaemon and Iga Norishige, creating beautiful and sharp swords, thus opening new ground.
NihontoWatchmei · Tenpo (1830-1844)
Shinshinto · Musashi · around 1830-1844
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 37%
6 pieces on the market now
Tsunatoshi was originally from Yonezawa in Dewa Province; his personal name was Kato Hachiro, and he used the art name Chounsai. He served as a domain smith for the Uesugi clan, later going to Edo and taking up residence in Azabu. He died in Bunkyu 3 (1863) at the age of sixty-six. His active career is documented through dated works spanning the Tenpo era, with productions from Tenpo 9 (1838) through Tenpo 12 (1841) among those that have received Juyo designation.
Tsunatoshi's workmanship primarily followed the Bizen tradition. His specialty was a choji temper mixed with gunome in nioi-deki, with long ashi entering and the nioiguchi tending toward tightness; in addition, he produced suguha and toran-midare. The toran-flavored mode achieves a large o-gunome midare with tama-yaki, nie adhering somewhat unevenly, and hakikake at the boshi. Across all styles, his forging is characteristically a tightly compacted ko-itame that tends toward a muji-like appearance -- the plain, featureless-looking steel common in shinshinto work, though in Tsunatoshi's case worked with particular density and carrying ji-nie. His horimono are noteworthy: bo-hi with accompanying soe-bi, bonji, shinkurikara, gomabashi, and claws, at times executed by the smith's own hand as documented by tang inscriptions stating the carvings were by the maker himself.
Tsunatoshi's extant designated works include katana, wakizashi, and a matched daisho pair -- the survival of which as a set makes it "especially useful reference material" in the NBTHK's assessment. His productions range from imposing katana of 75.5 cm with extremely deep sori to hira-zukuri wakizashi with elaborate carving, and one piece retains its original payment receipt addressed to the commissioning patron, providing documentary evidence of the domain smith's working practice.
Where Tsunatoshi 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.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Shinshinto · Musashi
75 pieces on the market now
At Hamachō in Edo, in the closing decades of the eighteenth century and the opening ones of the nineteenth, Suishinshi Masahide[[c:1]] gathered the school that would turn Japanese swordmaking back toward its medieval models. Born Kawabe Gihachirō at Akayu in Dewa in 1750, signing first as Suzuki Takahide and then Eikoku, he studied under the Shitahara smith Yoshihide of Musashi, took the name Masahide in An'ei 3, and served the Akimoto house of Yamagata before settling in Edo, where he worked for nearly fifty years. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Naotane直胤 | 1801-1837 | 40 |
| Masahide正秀 | 1777-1817 | 28 |
| Sukemasa助政 | 1804-1825 | 8 |
| Jirotaro Naokatsu直勝 | 1805-1858 | 6 |
| Masayoshi正義 | 1791-1860 | 5 |
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
If, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
This is a wakizashi by Chounsai Tsunatoshi, born in the 10th year of Kansei, a retained smith of the Yonezawa domain Uesugi family. After studying under his father Kato Kunihide and elder brother Tsunaei, he moved to Edo in the 13th year of Bunka and established a forge in the Azabu Iikura domain residence. He challenged Bizen Ichimonji choji-midare hamon and interacted with sword testers like Yamada Asaemon and Iga Norishige, creating beautiful and sharp swords, thus opening new ground.
NihontoWatchmei · Tenpo (1830-1844)
Shinshinto · Musashi · around 1830-1844
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 37%
6 pieces on the market now
Tsunatoshi was originally from Yonezawa in Dewa Province; his personal name was Kato Hachiro, and he used the art name Chounsai. He served as a domain smith for the Uesugi clan, later going to Edo and taking up residence in Azabu. He died in Bunkyu 3 (1863) at the age of sixty-six. His active career is documented through dated works spanning the Tenpo era, with productions from Tenpo 9 (1838) through Tenpo 12 (1841) among those that have received Juyo designation.
Tsunatoshi's workmanship primarily followed the Bizen tradition. His specialty was a choji temper mixed with gunome in nioi-deki, with long ashi entering and the nioiguchi tending toward tightness; in addition, he produced suguha and toran-midare. The toran-flavored mode achieves a large o-gunome midare with tama-yaki, nie adhering somewhat unevenly, and hakikake at the boshi. Across all styles, his forging is characteristically a tightly compacted ko-itame that tends toward a muji-like appearance -- the plain, featureless-looking steel common in shinshinto work, though in Tsunatoshi's case worked with particular density and carrying ji-nie. His horimono are noteworthy: bo-hi with accompanying soe-bi, bonji, shinkurikara, gomabashi, and claws, at times executed by the smith's own hand as documented by tang inscriptions stating the carvings were by the maker himself.
Tsunatoshi's extant designated works include katana, wakizashi, and a matched daisho pair -- the survival of which as a set makes it "especially useful reference material" in the NBTHK's assessment. His productions range from imposing katana of 75.5 cm with extremely deep sori to hira-zukuri wakizashi with elaborate carving, and one piece retains its original payment receipt addressed to the commissioning patron, providing documentary evidence of the domain smith's working practice.
Where Tsunatoshi 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.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Shinshinto · Musashi
75 pieces on the market now
At Hamachō in Edo, in the closing decades of the eighteenth century and the opening ones of the nineteenth, Suishinshi Masahide[[c:1]] gathered the school that would turn Japanese swordmaking back toward its medieval models. Born Kawabe Gihachirō at Akayu in Dewa in 1750, signing first as Suzuki Takahide and then Eikoku, he studied under the Shitahara smith Yoshihide of Musashi, took the name Masahide in An'ei 3, and served the Akimoto house of Yamagata before settling in Edo, where he worked for nearly fifty years. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Naotane直胤 | 1801-1837 | 40 |
| Masahide正秀 | 1777-1817 | 28 |
| Sukemasa助政 | 1804-1825 | 8 |
| Jirotaro Naokatsu直勝 | 1805-1858 | 6 |
| Masayoshi正義 | 1791-1860 | 5 |
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
If, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
