After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchThe Chiyozuru school traces its roots to Rai Kuniyasu in Yamashiro (Kyôto), from whose lineage the first generation Morihiro descended – either as a son or adopted son. When Chiyozuru Kuniyasu relocated to Echizen province around 1337, settling in Takefu in search of the right spring water for forging, he established the school that would bear the Chiyozuru name. These swordsmiths became known collectively as the Echizen Rai, carrying the refined Rai tradition northward to a province that would go on to produce blades of lasting distinction. The Morihiro name itself continued for approximately four generations into the early Muromachi period. At 78.8cm with a deep 2.4cm curvature, this blade was almost certainly worn as a tachi on horseback earlier in its life. What makes it extraordinary is that it has never been shortened – after more than 600 years, the nakago remains completely ubu, untouched since the day it left the forge. The shirasaya carries a sayagaki by Dr. Kanzan Satô, former co-chairman of the NBTHK. The NBTHK awarded it Tokubetsu Hozon in 2019, and the NTHK-NPO previously designated it Yûshûsaku (Highly Excellent Masterwork) in 2014 – their highest honour, confirmed by five judges’ stamps. It was subsequently featured in the NTHK-NPO Book of Yûshûsaku Masterwork Swords. The hamon is a lively ko-gunome-midare with togari peaks and valleys, said to echo the cedar forest tree lines of Echizen – a vivid and energetic temper line with threads of kinsuji and sunagashi running through it. The jihada is a rich mix of nagare-hada with itame and mokume, animated by dark swirls of chikei. A delicate shirake-utsuri reflects the hamon deep in the body of the blade, a characteristic of Echizen work along the Sea of Japan coast. Full-length bo-higrooves finished with kakudome (squared ends) run the length of the blade, forming an I-beam construction that lightens the sword without sacrificing strength. The accompanying longevity koshirae carries a unified matsu (pine) theme throughout its fittings – tsuba by the Nishigaki school from Higo, fuchi-kashira by the Sonobe school from Edo – a presentation worthy of a sword of this age and quality.
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Yamashiro-den · Echizen · around 1394-1428
Tōken Taikan top 21%
1 piece on the market now
Where Morihiro 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.
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Yamashiro-den · Echizen
9 pieces on the market now
The Chiyozuru lineage took root in Echizen Province during the Nanbokuchō period, and the setsumei consistently trace its origin to Rai Kuniyasu (来国安). He is said to have been born in Yamashiro Province, with one tradition holding him a grandson of Rai Kunisue; he later moved to Echizen, where the meikan place him around the Jōji and Sadaji eras (ca. 1362 to 1368). A parallel tradition, recorded on the signed tachi attributed to Morihiro, names Chiyozuru Kuniyasu[[c:1]] as a disciple of Rai Kuniyasu and the founder of the line. From this root descend the smiths the blades document: Morihiro (守弘), placed in the Kuniyasu line across two generations, the first set in the Ōei era (1394 to 1428) and the second in the Kakitsu (1441 to 1444) and Bun'an (1444 to 1449) eras; and Mitsuyuki of Tsuruga[[c:2]], recorded as a student of Echizen Kuniyuki and known from a rare Kakei-dated tantō. The Yamashiro inheritance runs through the whole group, even as the workmanship moves away from the Kyoto homeland into a provincial Hokuriku register. Two stylistic strands run through the corpus, and recognizing the hand means reading where a given blade falls between them. The Rai-derived work, seen in the katana attributed to Rai Kuniyasu, shows itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, the grain tending to stand (hada-dachi) with thick ji-nie and frequent chikei; the steel carries a whitish or, in places, slightly blackish cast that the setsumei read as a provincial inflection of Yamashiro.
The hamon on these is a chū-suguha mixed with ko-gunome, the edge breaking into hotsure, kuichigai-ba, and nijūba, with ashi, yō, kinsuji, and sunagashi running through and a bright nioiguchi; the bōshi enters midare-komi or shallow notare-komi, turning in ko-maru with hakikake, at times vigorous enough to give a flame-like (kaen) impression. The Morihiro strand turns toward a gunome-based midareba with a chōji tendency, tobiyaki, and muneyaki, the forging moving toward masame near the edge; the setsumei mark this gunome-toned, nie-laden manner as differing in character from the Rai style and proper to the later line. For kantei, the setsumei set the diagnostic problem plainly: a Chiyozuru blade can at first glance resemble the orthodox Yamashiro Rai work, particularly around Rai Kunimitsu, yet careful reading of the standing grain, the whitish or blackish jigane, and the rustic activity in the bōshi beyond what the Kyoto homeland shows directs the attribution to Echizen. The boldest Nanbokuchō pieces, wide in mihaba with ō-kissaki and muneyaki, invite comparison with Hokuriku contemporaries such as Etchū Tametsugu (越中為継), but the character of ji and ha keeps them within the Chiyozuru fold. Signed examples anchor the line: Morihiro tachi and a Kakitsu 1 (1441) dated wakizashi carrying his Tōzaemon no Jō name, and the Mitsuyuki tantō whose Kakei date makes it documentary material of high value, dated works of the group being extremely scarce. The Morihiro tachi of Jūyō-Bijutsuhin standing is recorded in the Kōzan Oshigata, Kokon Kajibikō, and Kantō Zuiroku. Across the corpus the line holds a distinct place among Nanbokuchō and early Muromachi Hokuriku smiths, carrying a Yamashiro pedigree into a workmanship the appraisers read as its own. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kuniyasu國安 | 1345-1350 | 4 |
| Ieyoshi家善 | 1487-1489 | 0 |
| Kagemori景守 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Munemitsu宗光 | 1441-1444 | 0 |
| Iemasa家正 | 1492-1501 | 0 |
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first 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 siteAll swords come with a three-day inspection period beginning from the date of delivery. If not satisfied, the sword may be returned within this period for a full refund of the purchase price. Outside of this period, all sales are final. Swords purchased on a layaway payment plan are not eligible for the three-day inspection period.