Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
This antique katana features a kiritsuke-mei, indicating that the original signature of Soushu Jyu Sukehiro was cut due to shortening and later re-engraved by Hyoshinshi Hideyo. The blade is attributed to Soushu Jyu Sukehiro, a smith active in the late Muromachi period in Sagami province, known for forging blades in the Soshu tradition. It comes with an NBTHK Hozon Certificate and a koshirae case.
NihontoWatchkiritsuke-mei · Muromachi · nagasa 64.1cm · sori 1.4cm
Sagami · around 1469-1487
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 31%
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad 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 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.
