This katana was made by Sukemitsu in Kaei 7 (1854), when he was 34 years old. Sukemitsu, originally Yokoyama Kijuro, was born in Edo in 1820 and studied under the Bizen Osafune Yokoyama school. He became a swordsmith for the Mito domain in 1849 and was invited to the weapon manufacturing facility on Mt. Shirahata. The blade comes with a棕梠微塵塗込鞘打刀拵 (shuro mijin nurikome saya uchigatana koshirae) and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Token by the NBTHK.
Certificate reading — 銘 於水府長船祐光造之 嘉永七年二月日
NihontoWatchmei · nagasa 76.9cm · sori 2.1cm
Hitachi · around 1854-1860
Fujishiro Chu saku · Tōken Taikan top 95%
3 pieces on the market now
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
This katana was made by Sukemitsu in Kaei 7 (1854), when he was 34 years old. Sukemitsu, originally Yokoyama Kijuro, was born in Edo in 1820 and studied under the Bizen Osafune Yokoyama school. He became a swordsmith for the Mito domain in 1849 and was invited to the weapon manufacturing facility on Mt. Shirahata. The blade comes with a棕梠微塵塗込鞘打刀拵 (shuro mijin nurikome saya uchigatana koshirae) and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Token by the NBTHK.
Certificate reading — 銘 於水府長船祐光造之 嘉永七年二月日
NihontoWatchmei · nagasa 76.9cm · sori 2.1cm
Hitachi · around 1854-1860
Fujishiro Chu saku · Tōken Taikan top 95%
3 pieces on the market now
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
