NihontoWatchSaneyuki Katana mounted in excellent original mint condition Kyu Gunto Koshirae with Silver family Mon and High Quality 2 Piece Habaki. Excellent very well forged flawless Blade with beautiful Hada with super active Hamon packed with Hataraki. Recently Polished In Japan. Newly Made Shirasaya Nagasa 69.2cm SANEYUKI (真行), Eishō (永正, 1504-1521), Bingo – “Bishū-jū Saneyuki” (備州住真守), he lived in Bingo´s Mihara (三原) and belonged to the Go´ami school (五阿弥), according to tradition the son of Mihara Kiyomasa (清正) The Mihara school was a group of swordsmiths active in Japan’s Bingo Province (modern-day eastern Hiroshima prefecture) from the late Kamakura period (late 13th century) through the Muromachi period. Their katana are highly regarded for their exceptional sharpness and durability, often exhibiting strong influences from the Yamato sword-making tradition Characteristics of Mihara School Mihara school blades are known for a conservative, elegant style, contrasting with some of the flashier Bizen school designs. Key characteristics include: Jigane (Steel Surface): A dense ko-itame (small wood-grain) pattern, often mixed with masame (straight grain), resulting in a whitish jigane (steel). Hamon (Temper Line): Typically a suguha (straight) temper line, often with a soft appearance (nioiguchi), sometimes mixed with ashi (vertical lines), inazuma (lightning flashes), and sunagashi (brushed sand effects). Boshi (Tip Temper Line): A distinctive “Mihara boshi” with a soft ko-maru (small round) turn-back, which often ends abruptly. Sugata (Shape): Blades from the Ko-Mihara (early) period are often o-suriage (heavily shortened) due to their original great length as tachi, reflecting a form popular with mounted warriors. Later blades reflect the wider, longer kissaki (tip) styles of the Nambokucho period. Historical Periods The school is traditionally divided into three periods based on the time of production: Ko-Mihara (Old Mihara): End of the Kamakura period (c. 1278) to the end of the Nambokucho era (c. 1394). This era produced some of the school’s most prized and sharpest works, rated Owazamono (supreme sharpness). Chu-Mihara (Middle Mihara): Oei era (1394) to Eikyo (1429), during the early Muromachi period. Sue-Mihara (Late Mihara): The later part of the Muromachi period, continuing until the Edo period. Prominent smiths of the school include its founder Masaie (正家), Masahiro (正広), and Masamitsu.
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Yamato-den · Bingo
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The Mihara school arose in Bingo Province during the late Kamakura period and maintained continuous production through the end of the Muromachi period. The region's ancient reputation as a center for iron goods—documented as early as Engi 14 (914) in the Seiji Yōryaku—provided the technical foundation for this sustained tradition. Because Bingo contained numerous landed estates (shōen) belonging to major Kinai temples and shrines such as Tōji and Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangendō), the smiths working at Mihara engaged in regular interchange with the central provinces. This geographical and economic relationship accounts for the pronounced Yamato temperament observable throughout the school's output. The term "Ko-Mihara" (Early Mihara) designates works produced from the late Kamakura through the Nanbokuchō period, with Masaie and Masahiro recognized as the lineage's most accomplished masters. Ko-Mihara workmanship reveals a distinctive fusion of Yamato influence and regional character. The forging typically exhibits itame-hada mixed with conspicuous mokume and flowing grain (nagare), often with a tendency for the texture to stand (hada-dachi). Fine ji-nie adheres throughout the steel surface, and a characteristic whitish cast (shirake-utsuri) appears prominently—a feature repeatedly cited in appraisals as diagnostic of the school. The tempering follows Yamato convention in emphasizing suguha, but the nioiguchi tends toward tightness (shimarigokoro) with well-adhering ko-nie rather than the more vigorous nie activity seen in Yamato proper.
Along the hardened edge, smiths frequently introduced hotsure, uchi-noke, and subtle kuichigai-ba effects, while the nioiguchi often exhibits a subdued (shizumi) quality. The bōshi typically runs straight and turns back gently in ko-maru or rounded (maru) form, concluding with fine hakikake at the tip—a restrained finish characteristic of the school. Nanbokuchō-period examples display the era's monumental aesthetic: wide mihaba with minimal taper from base to tip, shallow curvature, high shinogi, and extended chū-kissaki or ō-kissaki, creating a dignified and powerfully robust form. The school's output demonstrates how peripheral traditions absorbed and transformed influences from established centers while maintaining regional identity. Ko-Mihara blades occupy a position intermediate between the vigorous nie-work of Yamato proper and the more subdued aesthetic preferences of western Japan. This balance—robust construction paired with restrained tempering, standing grain texture combined with tight nioiguchi, and Yamato-derived suguha inflected with local characteristics—defines the school's technical achievement. The whitish forging, conspicuous mokume, and gentle bōshi became recognized signatures that distinguished Mihara work from its Yamato models. Through four centuries of continuous production, the smiths of Mihara maintained technical standards sufficient to supply both local demand and broader military markets, their works preserving a coherent school identity across generational transmission. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Nobumori信守 | 987-1596 | 0 |
| Sadakuni貞國 | 1441-1444 | 0 |
| Nobutsugu信次 | 1444-1449 | 0 |
| Nobuie信家 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Tomotsugu朝次 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
Yamato in the Muromachi period
The monasteries that had sustained Yamato lost ground through the Muromachi period, and the schools thinned with them; Sue-Tegai kept the old masame manner alive in quantity. The burning of Tōdaiji’s Great Buddha hall in 1567 closed the temple age.
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 siteA$10,000