Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
This katana is signed by Echizen no Kami Fujiwara Yoshikado, the first generation, who began forging around 1624. He received the title Echizen no Kami and later became a retained smith for the Mito domain in 1672. The blade is accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate.
Certificate reading — 銘 越前守藤原吉門 濃州関善良家拾三代目
NihontoWatchmei · Kanei (1624-1644) · nagasa 69.9cm · sori 2.2cm
Mino-den · Mino · around 1624-1644
Tōken Taikan top 49%
1 piece on the market now
Mino-den · Mino
4 pieces on the market now
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kaneshige兼重 | 1504-1521 | 0 |
| Kaneyoshi兼吉 | 1854-1860 | 0 |
| Kanekado兼門 | 1428-1429 | 0 |
| Yoshikado吉門 | 1624-1644 | 0 |
| Chikanori近則 | 1818-1864 | 0 |
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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 siteReturns possible within 3 days of arrival. Customer pays return shipping and bank transfer fees. Excluded: condition differs from sale, 3+ days passed, overseas delivery, in-store purchases, and deposit transactions.
¥1,050,000
