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.
This is a katana made by Amata Akitsugu, a Living National Treasure, in 1982. It features a robust Kamakura period tachi-style form with a nagasa of 74.7 cm. The blade exhibits a fine ko-itame hada with thick ji-nie and a vibrant gunome-choji midare hamon, reflecting Akitsugu's mastery of Bizen tradition and his self-developed tamahagane.
Certificate reading — 銘 天田昭次作之 昭和五十七年仲春吉日
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1926-1989) · nagasa 74.7cm · sori 2.3cm
Niigata · around 1926-1989
Tōken Taikan top 87%
6 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.
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 siteFor one-of-a-kind items such as swords, sword fittings, and antiques, please contact us about a return within 3 days of the item's arrival and ship it back within 8 days. Refunds are issued the same day the returned item arrives.
¥3,300,000
This is a katana made by Amata Akitsugu, a Living National Treasure, in 1982. It features a robust Kamakura period tachi-style form with a nagasa of 74.7 cm. The blade exhibits a fine ko-itame hada with thick ji-nie and a vibrant gunome-choji midare hamon, reflecting Akitsugu's mastery of Bizen tradition and his self-developed tamahagane.
Certificate reading — 銘 天田昭次作之 昭和五十七年仲春吉日
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1926-1989) · nagasa 74.7cm · sori 2.3cm
Niigata · around 1926-1989
Tōken Taikan top 87%
6 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.
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 siteFor one-of-a-kind items such as swords, sword fittings, and antiques, please contact us about a return within 3 days of the item's arrival and ship it back within 8 days. Refunds are issued the same day the returned item arrives.
¥3,300,000
