This is a katana by Echizen no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masateru, a student of Hojoji Masahiro who established the Edo Hojoji school. The blade measures 75.4cm and features a healthy, well-made construction reminiscent of Hizen-to, with a bright jigane and a moist suguha-cho hamon with active workings. It comes with a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki by Sato Kanzan Sensei and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Token.
Certificate reading — 銘 越前守法城寺橘正照
mei · Hojoji · Edo · nagasa 75.4cm · sori 1.81cm
































Soshu-den · Tajima
20 pieces on the market now
The Hojoji name (法城寺) begins as a place in Tajima province, where, the published sources relate, the Nanbokucho naginata master Kunimitsu lived at that spot and so took the place for his name, the man and the locality becoming one. The Meikan records a first generation of this Kunimitsu working in the Joji era (1362-68) and a second at Oei, the koto root from which the line descends. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kunimitsu國光 | 1345-1350 | 22 |
| Masahiro正弘 | 1658-1671 | 26 |
| Sadakuni貞國 | 1658-1673 | 8 |
| Yoshitsugu吉次 | 1661-1673 | 6 |
| Masateru正照 | 1684-1688 | 5 |
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 sitePlease contact us promptly after the item's arrival. Except where the item is defective, we cannot accept returns. For returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. In the case of a defective item, we bear the cost.
This is a katana by Echizen no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masateru, a student of Hojoji Masahiro who established the Edo Hojoji school. The blade measures 75.4cm and features a healthy, well-made construction reminiscent of Hizen-to, with a bright jigane and a moist suguha-cho hamon with active workings. It comes with a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki by Sato Kanzan Sensei and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Token.
Certificate reading — 銘 越前守法城寺橘正照
mei · Hojoji · Edo · nagasa 75.4cm · sori 1.81cm
































Soshu-den · Tajima
20 pieces on the market now
The Hojoji name (法城寺) begins as a place in Tajima province, where, the published sources relate, the Nanbokucho naginata master Kunimitsu lived at that spot and so took the place for his name, the man and the locality becoming one. The Meikan records a first generation of this Kunimitsu working in the Joji era (1362-68) and a second at Oei, the koto root from which the line descends. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kunimitsu國光 | 1345-1350 | 22 |
| Masahiro正弘 | 1658-1671 | 26 |
| Sadakuni貞國 | 1658-1673 | 8 |
| Yoshitsugu吉次 | 1661-1673 | 6 |
| Masateru正照 | 1684-1688 | 5 |
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 sitePlease contact us promptly after the item's arrival. Except where the item is defective, we cannot accept returns. For returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. In the case of a defective item, we bear the cost.