Iron tsuba papered to Kodai (later generation) Hoan. The tsuba is finely carved with recesses and features gold and silver inlays. It comes with a paper from the NTHK, dated 2004. Condition is excellent.










Hoan
Edo
Kii
Signed
Iron-tsuba · Aki
1 piece on the market now
Iron-tsuba · Owari
4 pieces on the market now
The Hoan school takes its name from its founder Hoan (法安), whose personal name was Kawaguchi Saburuemon, an arms-smith (bugu-kaji) active in Kiyosu, Owari Province, from the late Muromachi into the Momoyama period. Originally an armorer by trade, Hoan entered the service of the Asano family as a retained craftsman, residing successively at Kofu in Kai Province and at Wakayama in Kii Province before his death on the twentieth day of the fifth month of Keicho 18 (1613). His posthumous Buddhist name was Honpoin Soan Nisshin Koji. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Hoan法安 | — | 5 |
| Hoan法安 | — | 0 |
| Kanenobu兼信 | — | 0 |
| Hisatsugu久次 | — | 0 |
The NTHK’s principal certificate, issued for a fitting of considerable quality. It confirms a genuine signature, or, for an unsigned (mumei) work, records the judges’ attribution to a smith or school. The paper carries a detailed worksheet with a numerical point score.
The NTHK (Nihon Tōken Hozon Kai, the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword) is the oldest of Japan’s sword-appraisal bodies, founded in 1910, decades before the NBTHK. After the death of its long-serving head it divided into two successor societies, the NTHK and the NTHK-NPO, both of which continue to hold shinsa. NTHK certificates are known for a detailed worksheet that records a numerical point score alongside the judges’ written opinion, and the society is especially respected for its attribution of unsigned (mumei) work.
3-day return window from receipt.
Iron tsuba papered to Kodai (later generation) Hoan. The tsuba is finely carved with recesses and features gold and silver inlays. It comes with a paper from the NTHK, dated 2004. Condition is excellent.










Hoan
Edo
Kii
Signed
Iron-tsuba · Aki
1 piece on the market now
Iron-tsuba · Owari
4 pieces on the market now
The Hoan school takes its name from its founder Hoan (法安), whose personal name was Kawaguchi Saburuemon, an arms-smith (bugu-kaji) active in Kiyosu, Owari Province, from the late Muromachi into the Momoyama period. Originally an armorer by trade, Hoan entered the service of the Asano family as a retained craftsman, residing successively at Kofu in Kai Province and at Wakayama in Kii Province before his death on the twentieth day of the fifth month of Keicho 18 (1613). His posthumous Buddhist name was Honpoin Soan Nisshin Koji. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Hoan法安 | — | 5 |
| Hoan法安 | — | 0 |
| Kanenobu兼信 | — | 0 |
| Hisatsugu久次 | — | 0 |
The NTHK’s principal certificate, issued for a fitting of considerable quality. It confirms a genuine signature, or, for an unsigned (mumei) work, records the judges’ attribution to a smith or school. The paper carries a detailed worksheet with a numerical point score.
The NTHK (Nihon Tōken Hozon Kai, the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword) is the oldest of Japan’s sword-appraisal bodies, founded in 1910, decades before the NBTHK. After the death of its long-serving head it divided into two successor societies, the NTHK and the NTHK-NPO, both of which continue to hold shinsa. NTHK certificates are known for a detailed worksheet that records a numerical point score alongside the judges’ written opinion, and the society is especially respected for its attribution of unsigned (mumei) work.
3-day return window from receipt.