Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
This antique katana is signed by Shimousa Daijo Fujiwara Kanemasa, an early Edo period smith from Echizen province. He was a descendant of Echizen Kanenori and mastered the Mino den tradition. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and is accompanied by a full koshirae mounting and shirasaya.
NihontoWatchmei · Nara · Kanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 69.1cm · sori 1.6cm
Echizen · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
3 pieces on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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 siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
This antique katana is signed by Shimousa Daijo Fujiwara Kanemasa, an early Edo period smith from Echizen province. He was a descendant of Echizen Kanenori and mastered the Mino den tradition. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and is accompanied by a full koshirae mounting and shirasaya.
NihontoWatchmei · Nara · Kanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 69.1cm · sori 1.6cm
Echizen · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
3 pieces on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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 siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
