This is a Ko-Kinko Yamagane Tsuba, featuring an intricate design of Kamons (family crests) with two Tomoe Mons and four other mons perfectly balanced. Made of Shakudo and Yamagane, it dates to the Late Muromachi Period and boasts an outstanding original finish. The tsuba comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certification, indicating its exceptional quality and historical value.
Certificate reading — 無銘（古金工）
NihontoWatchBETA
Ko-kinko School
Muromachi
Unsigned
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Kinko
The term Ko-kinkō (古金工) denotes a collective category of metalworkers whose lineages extend from archaic times and continue through the Momoyama period, representing traditions that predate the formalized schools of the Edo period. Rather than constituting a single unified workshop, this attribution encompasses multiple regional traditions that shared certain technical and aesthetic principles while maintaining distinct local characteristics. Learn more →
A Hozon-certified fitting of notably superior craftsmanship and condition, often with signature or workmanship of high reference value.
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 sitePurchases are final and items cannot be returned unless otherwise stated.
This is a Ko-Kinko Yamagane Tsuba, featuring an intricate design of Kamons (family crests) with two Tomoe Mons and four other mons perfectly balanced. Made of Shakudo and Yamagane, it dates to the Late Muromachi Period and boasts an outstanding original finish. The tsuba comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certification, indicating its exceptional quality and historical value.
Certificate reading — 無銘（古金工）
NihontoWatchBETAKo-kinko School
Muromachi
Unsigned
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Kinko
The term Ko-kinkō (古金工) denotes a collective category of metalworkers whose lineages extend from archaic times and continue through the Momoyama period, representing traditions that predate the formalized schools of the Edo period. Rather than constituting a single unified workshop, this attribution encompasses multiple regional traditions that shared certain technical and aesthetic principles while maintaining distinct local characteristics. Learn more →
A Hozon-certified fitting of notably superior craftsmanship and condition, often with signature or workmanship of high reference value.
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 sitePurchases are final and items cannot be returned unless otherwise stated.
