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 magnificent Katana by the smith Kazuhira (Okubo Towazu), born in 1943 in Kanagawa Prefecture. He was a student of the Living National Treasure Miyairi Akihira and is known for his powerful Soshu-den style, with a strong jigane and bright hamon. The blade is long, wide, and thick, exhibiting a robust form with a deep sori and extended kissaki, and comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
Certificate reading — 銘 相州住和平作（大久保十和形） 昭和六十三年正月吉日
NihontoWatchmei · Soshu · Showa · nagasa 76.9cm · sori 1.8cm
Sagami · around 1926-1989
4 pieces on the market now
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
This is a magnificent Katana by the smith Kazuhira (Okubo Towazu), born in 1943 in Kanagawa Prefecture. He was a student of the Living National Treasure Miyairi Akihira and is known for his powerful Soshu-den style, with a strong jigane and bright hamon. The blade is long, wide, and thick, exhibiting a robust form with a deep sori and extended kissaki, and comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
Certificate reading — 銘 相州住和平作（大久保十和形） 昭和六十三年正月吉日
NihontoWatchmei · Soshu · Showa · nagasa 76.9cm · sori 1.8cm
Sagami · around 1926-1989
4 pieces on the market now
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
