War at home and trade abroad made Muromachi Bizen the busiest forge region in Japan: a century of Sengoku demand after the Ōnin War, and export missions to Ming China carrying blades by the tens of thousands.
It has arrived, it has arrived! Although the association lists the province as unknown, this tachi is a celebrated sword handed down through generations as the work of Bitchu Aoe Nagatsugu, a lineage continuing since the Showa era of the Kamakura period (circa 1313, 710 years ago). This blade is by the 3rd generation Nagatsugu from the Oei era of the early Muromachi period (circa 1394, 629 years ago); while listed as province unknown, I will provide the commentary identifying it as Sue-Aoe Nagatsugu in accordance with the sayagaki. Regarding the sugata of this tachi, it was originally a long tachi of 2 shaku 6 sun, shortened by a later warrior to suit his own swordsmanship for use as a sashiryo. It presents an elegant tachi sugata with a high sori and little difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba. The jigane is a well-tightened ko-itame hada, exhibiting sumihada in places with midare-utsuri appearing in the ji. The horimono consists of bo-hi. The hamon is a sharply defined nioi-deki suguruha, truly manifesting the characteristics of an Aoe masterpiece. The jigane is exceptionally good, and both the ji and ha are healthy; it is a tachi that beautifully displays the traits of Aoe from the early Muromachi period. Although listed as province unknown, chronologically Nagatsugu only existed in Aoe during this period, so it is safe to consider it Aoe Nagatsugu. Owning an Aoe sword is a true object of desire for sword collectors. Having received this from an old connoisseur with the request to pass it on to the next generation at a low price, we are offering it at a special bargain. Aoe produced many master smiths such as Sadatsugu, Tsunetsugu, and Tsuguie, who are famous as Goban Kaji for Emperor Go-Toba. Please do enjoy this piece.
NihontoWatchOei (1394-1428) · nagasa 67.8cm · sori 1.8cm
Bizen-den · Bitchu · around 1394-1428
Fujishiro Chu saku · Tōken Taikan top 39%
1 piece on the market now
Where Nagatsugu 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Bizen-den · Bitchu
Phase: Sue-Aoe末青江· 1334–1500
3 pieces on the market now
Sue-Aoe names the closing chapter of the Bitchū tradition, the work made after the Aoe smiths reached the height of their powers in the Nanbokuchō era and then carried the lineage forward into Muromachi decline. The window is anchored by the hands the NBTHK repeatedly groups together as the representative smiths of the period: Tsuguyoshi (次吉), Tsugunao or Tsuginao (次直), and Moritsugu (守次), with Naotsugu (直次), Yoshitsugu (吉次), and a Sadatsugu (貞次) name carried down from the late Kamakura masters into this later age. Dated blades fix the chronology firmly, from a Moritsugu tantō of Enbun 3 (1358) and a Naotsugu in the Ryakuō years through Tsuguyoshi pieces of Teiji 2 (1363) and Kōan 2 (1362). These men succeeded the late-Kamakura-into-early-Nanbokuchō generation that produced Sadatsugu and the earlier Moritsugu, and they worked at the moment the Southern Court's fortunes were turning, after which the school thinned out. The very tail of the line surfaces in obscure later Bitchū hands such as Munesada and Sōtei of Kasaoka, dated Bunmei 13 (1481), whose lineage the records leave unknown and whose work the setsumei describe as nearly indistinguishable from late Bizen. Sugata is the first tell. Setsumei after setsumei records a wide mihaba with little taper from base to tip, thin kasane, sun-nobi proportion in the tantō and an extended chū-kissaki or outright ō-kissaki in the larger blades, the broad Nanbokuchō build that the earlier Aoe never carried. The jihada keeps the school signature of ko-itame mixed with mokume, finely standing, with mottled jifu and patches of sumihada drifting through the steel. Above all the period is read in its utsuri: streak-like suji-utsuri rises near the edge and stacks into the layered dan-utsuri the catalogues prize, seen plainly on the Tsugiyoshi tachi of Tokuju 21 and the dated Tsuguyoshi tantō of Juyo 58.
Two tempers divide the leading hands. Tsuguyoshi favors a tight, bright suguha with ko-ashi and saka-ashi; Tsugunao favors the flamboyant saka-chōji-midare with its reverse slant, ashi and yō pouring in, that matured around Enbun. Against this the Ko-Aoe of the mid-Kamakura ran ko-nie-deki with a subdued, shizumi nioiguchi over a refined chirimen-hada, while the late-Kamakura Chū-Aoe of Sadatsugu and Moritsugu stood between, the nie growing calmer and the reverse-slanting yakiba only beginning to foreshadow the later drama. Crucially the period remained nioi-deki where other provinces took up Sōshū nie, a holding distinction the setsumei mark out by name. For kantei the cluster reads together. A broad Nanbokuchō sugata, dan-utsuri over sumihada, ō-sujikai file marks on the tang, and a nioiguchi that is tight and clear point to this window rather than to Bizen of the same age; the choice between bright suguha and reverse saka-chōji then separates Tsuguyoshi from Tsugunao, while Naotsugu's forceful reverse-chisel mei and nezumi-ashi, and Moritsugu's kinsuji in a tight suguha, mark their own hands. The named masters carry strong provenance: a Tsugiyoshi wakizashi dated Enbun 2 descended in the Maeda family, a Yoshitsugu tantō passed to the Sakai of Himeji by gift of Tokugawa Ietsuna, and an ō-suriage den Tsuguyoshi katana ran through the Yanagisawa house with Hon'ami origami from Mitsuatsu. Honma's own remark singling out Tsugiyoshi and Tsuginao as the makers of the clearest chōji in tantō fixes their standing at the close of the Aoe story. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tsuguyoshi次吉 | 1357-1368 | 16 |
| Kagetsugu景次 | 1379-1381 | 0 |
| Arihiro有弘 | 1381-1384 | 0 |
| Arisue有末 | 1489-1492 | 0 |
| Toshitsugu年次 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
Bizen in the Muromachi period
War at home and trade abroad made Muromachi Bizen the busiest forge region in Japan: a century of Sengoku demand after the Ōnin War, and export missions to Ming China carrying blades by the tens of thousands.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
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 returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
It has arrived, it has arrived! Although the association lists the province as unknown, this tachi is a celebrated sword handed down through generations as the work of Bitchu Aoe Nagatsugu, a lineage continuing since the Showa era of the Kamakura period (circa 1313, 710 years ago). This blade is by the 3rd generation Nagatsugu from the Oei era of the early Muromachi period (circa 1394, 629 years ago); while listed as province unknown, I will provide the commentary identifying it as Sue-Aoe Nagatsugu in accordance with the sayagaki. Regarding the sugata of this tachi, it was originally a long tachi of 2 shaku 6 sun, shortened by a later warrior to suit his own swordsmanship for use as a sashiryo. It presents an elegant tachi sugata with a high sori and little difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba. The jigane is a well-tightened ko-itame hada, exhibiting sumihada in places with midare-utsuri appearing in the ji. The horimono consists of bo-hi. The hamon is a sharply defined nioi-deki suguruha, truly manifesting the characteristics of an Aoe masterpiece. The jigane is exceptionally good, and both the ji and ha are healthy; it is a tachi that beautifully displays the traits of Aoe from the early Muromachi period. Although listed as province unknown, chronologically Nagatsugu only existed in Aoe during this period, so it is safe to consider it Aoe Nagatsugu. Owning an Aoe sword is a true object of desire for sword collectors. Having received this from an old connoisseur with the request to pass it on to the next generation at a low price, we are offering it at a special bargain. Aoe produced many master smiths such as Sadatsugu, Tsunetsugu, and Tsuguie, who are famous as Goban Kaji for Emperor Go-Toba. Please do enjoy this piece.
NihontoWatchOei (1394-1428) · nagasa 67.8cm · sori 1.8cm
Bizen-den · Bitchu · around 1394-1428
Fujishiro Chu saku · Tōken Taikan top 39%
1 piece on the market now
Where Nagatsugu 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Bizen-den · Bitchu
Phase: Sue-Aoe末青江· 1334–1500
3 pieces on the market now
Sue-Aoe names the closing chapter of the Bitchū tradition, the work made after the Aoe smiths reached the height of their powers in the Nanbokuchō era and then carried the lineage forward into Muromachi decline. The window is anchored by the hands the NBTHK repeatedly groups together as the representative smiths of the period: Tsuguyoshi (次吉), Tsugunao or Tsuginao (次直), and Moritsugu (守次), with Naotsugu (直次), Yoshitsugu (吉次), and a Sadatsugu (貞次) name carried down from the late Kamakura masters into this later age. Dated blades fix the chronology firmly, from a Moritsugu tantō of Enbun 3 (1358) and a Naotsugu in the Ryakuō years through Tsuguyoshi pieces of Teiji 2 (1363) and Kōan 2 (1362). These men succeeded the late-Kamakura-into-early-Nanbokuchō generation that produced Sadatsugu and the earlier Moritsugu, and they worked at the moment the Southern Court's fortunes were turning, after which the school thinned out. The very tail of the line surfaces in obscure later Bitchū hands such as Munesada and Sōtei of Kasaoka, dated Bunmei 13 (1481), whose lineage the records leave unknown and whose work the setsumei describe as nearly indistinguishable from late Bizen. Sugata is the first tell. Setsumei after setsumei records a wide mihaba with little taper from base to tip, thin kasane, sun-nobi proportion in the tantō and an extended chū-kissaki or outright ō-kissaki in the larger blades, the broad Nanbokuchō build that the earlier Aoe never carried. The jihada keeps the school signature of ko-itame mixed with mokume, finely standing, with mottled jifu and patches of sumihada drifting through the steel. Above all the period is read in its utsuri: streak-like suji-utsuri rises near the edge and stacks into the layered dan-utsuri the catalogues prize, seen plainly on the Tsugiyoshi tachi of Tokuju 21 and the dated Tsuguyoshi tantō of Juyo 58.
Two tempers divide the leading hands. Tsuguyoshi favors a tight, bright suguha with ko-ashi and saka-ashi; Tsugunao favors the flamboyant saka-chōji-midare with its reverse slant, ashi and yō pouring in, that matured around Enbun. Against this the Ko-Aoe of the mid-Kamakura ran ko-nie-deki with a subdued, shizumi nioiguchi over a refined chirimen-hada, while the late-Kamakura Chū-Aoe of Sadatsugu and Moritsugu stood between, the nie growing calmer and the reverse-slanting yakiba only beginning to foreshadow the later drama. Crucially the period remained nioi-deki where other provinces took up Sōshū nie, a holding distinction the setsumei mark out by name. For kantei the cluster reads together. A broad Nanbokuchō sugata, dan-utsuri over sumihada, ō-sujikai file marks on the tang, and a nioiguchi that is tight and clear point to this window rather than to Bizen of the same age; the choice between bright suguha and reverse saka-chōji then separates Tsuguyoshi from Tsugunao, while Naotsugu's forceful reverse-chisel mei and nezumi-ashi, and Moritsugu's kinsuji in a tight suguha, mark their own hands. The named masters carry strong provenance: a Tsugiyoshi wakizashi dated Enbun 2 descended in the Maeda family, a Yoshitsugu tantō passed to the Sakai of Himeji by gift of Tokugawa Ietsuna, and an ō-suriage den Tsuguyoshi katana ran through the Yanagisawa house with Hon'ami origami from Mitsuatsu. Honma's own remark singling out Tsugiyoshi and Tsuginao as the makers of the clearest chōji in tantō fixes their standing at the close of the Aoe story. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tsuguyoshi次吉 | 1357-1368 | 16 |
| Kagetsugu景次 | 1379-1381 | 0 |
| Arihiro有弘 | 1381-1384 | 0 |
| Arisue有末 | 1489-1492 | 0 |
| Toshitsugu年次 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
Bizen in the Muromachi period
War at home and trade abroad made Muromachi Bizen the busiest forge region in Japan: a century of Sengoku demand after the Ōnin War, and export missions to Ming China carrying blades by the tens of thousands.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
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 returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
