When the Southern Court made its capital at Yoshino, in Yamato itself, the province’s schools were at their height: the late Tegai line, Shikkake Norinaga, and the pure masame of Hōshō. Their technique was already spreading across the provinces.
This is a katana signed by Kanefuyu with a Kinson Kaoh, featuring a gold dust inscription. The blade dates to the Nanbokucho period. A flaw is noted in the description: the forging pattern is visible within the groove.
Certificate reading — 銘 （金粉銘）包友 本阿（花押）（光遜）
NihontoWatchTeiji (1362-1368) ND · nagasa 70.8cm · sori 2cm
Yamato-den · Yamato · around 1362-1368
1 piece on the market now
Where Kanetomo 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.
Yamato-den · Yamato
Phase: Ko-Tegai古手掻· 1200–1394
36 pieces on the market now
Ko-Tegai (古手掻) is the founding and classical phase of the Tegai school, spanning the late Kamakura period through the Nanbokuchō era. 1288-1293). Kanenaga is reckoned among the foremost Yamato masters: his signed tachi are celebrated for combining the dignity of Kamakura form with the disciplined grain of the Yamato tradition, and several are designated at the highest levels. The mainline continued through a second-generation Kanenaga and the founder's sons and pupils — Kanetsugu (包次), Kanekiyo (包清), and the early Kanezane (包眞) — into the Nanbokuchō period. In workmanship Ko-Tegai is orthodox Yamato-den.
The jigane is itame with conspicuous masame, especially along the shinogi-ji, thick with ji-nie and threaded by chikei. The hamon is built on a narrow, nie-laden suguha, frequently broken by ko-midare and ko-gunome, with nijūba and hotsure along the habuchi and abundant kinsuji and sunagashi; the bōshi runs sugu to a ko-maru or hakikake finish, often continuing into muneyaki. Early works show a slender, deeply koshizori tachi-sugata with a small kissaki, broadening into the more powerful forms of the Nanbokuchō period. The school's masame-rich grain and quiet, nie-active suguha distinguish its blades from the choji-based exuberance of contemporaneous Bizen work and place Tegai squarely within the five Yamato schools. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kanenaga包永 | 1288-1312 | 62 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1362-1370 | 8 |
| Kanetoshi包俊 | 1381-1384 | 4 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1317-1333 | 4 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1429-1441 | 3 |
Yamato in the Nanbokuchō period
When the Southern Court made its capital at Yoshino, in Yamato itself, the province’s schools were at their height: the late Tegai line, Shikkake Norinaga, and the pure masame of Hōshō. Their technique was already spreading across the provinces.
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 sitePrice on request
This is a katana signed by Kanefuyu with a Kinson Kaoh, featuring a gold dust inscription. The blade dates to the Nanbokucho period. A flaw is noted in the description: the forging pattern is visible within the groove.
Certificate reading — 銘 （金粉銘）包友 本阿（花押）（光遜）
NihontoWatchTeiji (1362-1368) ND · nagasa 70.8cm · sori 2cm
Yamato-den · Yamato · around 1362-1368
1 piece on the market now
Where Kanetomo 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.
Yamato-den · Yamato
Phase: Ko-Tegai古手掻· 1200–1394
36 pieces on the market now
Ko-Tegai (古手掻) is the founding and classical phase of the Tegai school, spanning the late Kamakura period through the Nanbokuchō era. 1288-1293). Kanenaga is reckoned among the foremost Yamato masters: his signed tachi are celebrated for combining the dignity of Kamakura form with the disciplined grain of the Yamato tradition, and several are designated at the highest levels. The mainline continued through a second-generation Kanenaga and the founder's sons and pupils — Kanetsugu (包次), Kanekiyo (包清), and the early Kanezane (包眞) — into the Nanbokuchō period. In workmanship Ko-Tegai is orthodox Yamato-den.
The jigane is itame with conspicuous masame, especially along the shinogi-ji, thick with ji-nie and threaded by chikei. The hamon is built on a narrow, nie-laden suguha, frequently broken by ko-midare and ko-gunome, with nijūba and hotsure along the habuchi and abundant kinsuji and sunagashi; the bōshi runs sugu to a ko-maru or hakikake finish, often continuing into muneyaki. Early works show a slender, deeply koshizori tachi-sugata with a small kissaki, broadening into the more powerful forms of the Nanbokuchō period. The school's masame-rich grain and quiet, nie-active suguha distinguish its blades from the choji-based exuberance of contemporaneous Bizen work and place Tegai squarely within the five Yamato schools. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kanenaga包永 | 1288-1312 | 62 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1362-1370 | 8 |
| Kanetoshi包俊 | 1381-1384 | 4 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1317-1333 | 4 |
| Kanekiyo包清 | 1429-1441 | 3 |
Yamato in the Nanbokuchō period
When the Southern Court made its capital at Yoshino, in Yamato itself, the province’s schools were at their height: the late Tegai line, Shikkake Norinaga, and the pure masame of Hōshō. Their technique was already spreading across the provinces.
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 sitePrice on request
