NihontoWatchShibata Ka, real name Shibata Masataro, was born in Meiji 17 in a distinguished and wealthy family in Ogachi-gun, Akita Prefecture, present-day Ugo-machi. He is a tosho who held the title of "Kokko," the highest rank for swordsmiths active before and during the war. Blessed with many talents, he also demonstrated excellent skill in haiku, suiboku-ga, and sho. From a young age, he showed interest in forging, and after becoming a tosho, he researched and perfected a unique nihonto forging method that added Soshu-den to an original Yamato-den style. Starting with his selection for the Teiten in Showa 9, he won numerous awards including the Prime Minister's Award, Special Award, and Army Minister's Award. Due to his superior excellence, he received the honor of presenting kenjoto to the Imperial Household and obtained the title of "Kokko," the highest rank for a tosho. He was a genius tosho who could be called unique and was highly active throughout the pre-war and wartime periods; he received the honors of being a judge for the Shinsaku Nihonto Ten and the title of Gon-daisojo, and attained the highest evaluation, being ranked as one of the 12 members of the Shinpin rank in the Seidai Tosho Iretsu-hyo.
Certificate reading — 銘 果作（柴田果） 昭和二十年八月吉日
NihontoWatchOffered by E-sword
5 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Dewa · around 1926-1989
5 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.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
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 siteCooling-off (returns or exchanges) is accepted within 3 days of the item's arrival. Return shipping and refund transfer fees are the customer's responsibility. Fees other than the item price (transfer fees, credit card fees, etc.) cannot be refunded. Returns and refunds are not available for overseas destinations.
¥480,000