NihontoWatchThis Gendaito katana is attributed to Kanemasa, a famous swordsmith active in Gifu prefecture during the early Showa era. The blade comes with a full koshirae mounting and an NTHK Kanteisho certificate, issued in 2024. Kanemasa was known for his Shihozume-gitae forging technique and was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in Gifu Prefecture.
NihontoWatchKanemasa兼正
Offered by Samurai Museum
Mino · around 1926-1989
1 piece on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
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.
The NTHK’s principal certificate, issued for a blade of considerable quality. It confirms a genuine signature, or, for an unsigned (mumei) work, records the judges’ attribution to a smith or school. The paper carries a detailed worksheet with a numerical point score.
The NTHK (Nihon Tōken Hozon Kai, the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword) is the oldest of Japan’s sword-appraisal bodies, founded in 1910, decades before the NBTHK. After the death of its long-serving head it divided into two successor societies, the NTHK and the NTHK-NPO, both of which continue to hold shinsa. NTHK certificates are known for a detailed worksheet that records a numerical point score alongside the judges’ written opinion, and the society is especially respected for its attribution of unsigned (mumei) work.
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