The divided-courts war impoverished the court society that had sustained Kyōto’s most refined work. With the last Rai masters the classic line effectively closed, while Hasebe and Nobukuni carried the new Sōshū manner into the capital.
Weight (blade only): 703g It has appeared—a sword passed down through generations of an old family as a work by Yamashiro Rai Kunimitsu. However, in the recent Hozon Token shinsa (judgment), it was appraised as a mumei blade by the Chiyozuru school, a lineage of Yamashiro Rai Kuniyuki from the same era, around the Oan period of the Nanbokucho era (1368, 658 years ago). At the time this sword was forged, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (who built Kinkaku-ji) had just celebrated his genpuku and begun his formal political career as Shogun; in Europe, it was a time 658 years ago when the Gascon lords' rebellion against King Edward’s heavy taxes led them to appeal to King Charles V of France, triggering the resumption of the Hundred Years' War just as it seemed to be ending. The Chiyozuru school is said to have originated when Yamashiro Rai Kuniyasu migrated to Echizen. This blade was originally a long tachi of 2 shaku 6 sun, but a later bushi, desperate to make this his personal sashiryo, shortened it to suit his own swordsmanship, resulting in its current mumei state. The moto-kasane and saki-kasane are both somewhat thick, and with the difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba, a slightly extended kissaki, and a graceful sori, it retains the robust and healthy sugata of the Nanbokucho period, feeling heavy in the hand even now. The jigane is a finely packed ko-itame hada, and the horimono consists of skillfully carved bo-hi with soe-hi. The hamon is in nioi-deki with ko-nie, featuring a Yamashiro Rai-style suguha mixed with gunome and warabite-choji; this is likely why it was passed down since ancient times as a work by Yamashiro Rai Kunimitsu. Although it was transmitted by an old family as a masterpiece by Rai Kunimitsu, the recent shinsa identified it as a Chiyozuru of the Rai lineage. As the owners have grown old, they have entrusted it to us to pass on at a low price to someone who will cherish it. While it will become a masterpiece if polished, there is currently some light rust from age, so we are offering it at a special bargain price. Please enjoy this celebrated sword that was long treasured as a Rai Kunimitsu.
Certificate reading — 無銘（千代鶴）
NihontoWatchmumei · Nanbokucho · nagasa 68.5cm · sori 1.8cm
Yamashiro-den · Echizen
12 pieces on the market now
The Chiyozuru lineage took root in Echizen Province during the Nanbokuchō period, and the setsumei consistently trace its origin to Rai Kuniyasu (来国安). He is said to have been born in Yamashiro Province, with one tradition holding him a grandson of Rai Kunisue; he later moved to Echizen, where the meikan place him around the Jōji and Sadaji eras (ca. 1362 to 1368). A parallel tradition, recorded on the signed tachi attributed to Morihiro, names Chiyozuru Kuniyasu[[c:1]] as a disciple of Rai Kuniyasu and the founder of the line. From this root descend the smiths the blades document: Morihiro (守弘), placed in the Kuniyasu line across two generations, the first set in the Ōei era (1394 to 1428) and the second in the Kakitsu (1441 to 1444) and Bun'an (1444 to 1449) eras; and Mitsuyuki of Tsuruga[[c:2]], recorded as a student of Echizen Kuniyuki and known from a rare Kakei-dated tantō. The Yamashiro inheritance runs through the whole group, even as the workmanship moves away from the Kyoto homeland into a provincial Hokuriku register. Two stylistic strands run through the corpus, and recognizing the hand means reading where a given blade falls between them. The Rai-derived work, seen in the katana attributed to Rai Kuniyasu, shows itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, the grain tending to stand (hada-dachi) with thick ji-nie and frequent chikei; the steel carries a whitish or, in places, slightly blackish cast that the setsumei read as a provincial inflection of Yamashiro.
The hamon on these is a chū-suguha mixed with ko-gunome, the edge breaking into hotsure, kuichigai-ba, and nijūba, with ashi, yō, kinsuji, and sunagashi running through and a bright nioiguchi; the bōshi enters midare-komi or shallow notare-komi, turning in ko-maru with hakikake, at times vigorous enough to give a flame-like (kaen) impression. The Morihiro strand turns toward a gunome-based midareba with a chōji tendency, tobiyaki, and muneyaki, the forging moving toward masame near the edge; the setsumei mark this gunome-toned, nie-laden manner as differing in character from the Rai style and proper to the later line. For kantei, the setsumei set the diagnostic problem plainly: a Chiyozuru blade can at first glance resemble the orthodox Yamashiro Rai work, particularly around Rai Kunimitsu, yet careful reading of the standing grain, the whitish or blackish jigane, and the rustic activity in the bōshi beyond what the Kyoto homeland shows directs the attribution to Echizen. The boldest Nanbokuchō pieces, wide in mihaba with ō-kissaki and muneyaki, invite comparison with Hokuriku contemporaries such as Etchū Tametsugu (越中為継), but the character of ji and ha keeps them within the Chiyozuru fold. Signed examples anchor the line: Morihiro tachi and a Kakitsu 1 (1441) dated wakizashi carrying his Tōzaemon no Jō name, and the Mitsuyuki tantō whose Kakei date makes it documentary material of high value, dated works of the group being extremely scarce. The Morihiro tachi of Jūyō-Bijutsuhin standing is recorded in the Kōzan Oshigata, Kokon Kajibikō, and Kantō Zuiroku. Across the corpus the line holds a distinct place among Nanbokuchō and early Muromachi Hokuriku smiths, carrying a Yamashiro pedigree into a workmanship the appraisers read as its own. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kuniyasu國安 | 1345-1350 | 4 |
| Iemasa家正 | 1492-1501 | 0 |
| Ieyoshi家善 | 1487-1489 | 0 |
| Kagemori景守 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Ieyoshi家吉 | 1429-1441 | 0 |
The divided-courts war impoverished the court society that had sustained Kyōto’s most refined work. With the last Rai masters the classic line effectively closed, while Hasebe and Nobukuni carried the new Sōshū manner into the capital.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
Weight (blade only): 703g It has appeared—a sword passed down through generations of an old family as a work by Yamashiro Rai Kunimitsu. However, in the recent Hozon Token shinsa (judgment), it was appraised as a mumei blade by the Chiyozuru school, a lineage of Yamashiro Rai Kuniyuki from the same era, around the Oan period of the Nanbokucho era (1368, 658 years ago). At the time this sword was forged, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (who built Kinkaku-ji) had just celebrated his genpuku and begun his formal political career as Shogun; in Europe, it was a time 658 years ago when the Gascon lords' rebellion against King Edward’s heavy taxes led them to appeal to King Charles V of France, triggering the resumption of the Hundred Years' War just as it seemed to be ending. The Chiyozuru school is said to have originated when Yamashiro Rai Kuniyasu migrated to Echizen. This blade was originally a long tachi of 2 shaku 6 sun, but a later bushi, desperate to make this his personal sashiryo, shortened it to suit his own swordsmanship, resulting in its current mumei state. The moto-kasane and saki-kasane are both somewhat thick, and with the difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba, a slightly extended kissaki, and a graceful sori, it retains the robust and healthy sugata of the Nanbokucho period, feeling heavy in the hand even now. The jigane is a finely packed ko-itame hada, and the horimono consists of skillfully carved bo-hi with soe-hi. The hamon is in nioi-deki with ko-nie, featuring a Yamashiro Rai-style suguha mixed with gunome and warabite-choji; this is likely why it was passed down since ancient times as a work by Yamashiro Rai Kunimitsu. Although it was transmitted by an old family as a masterpiece by Rai Kunimitsu, the recent shinsa identified it as a Chiyozuru of the Rai lineage. As the owners have grown old, they have entrusted it to us to pass on at a low price to someone who will cherish it. While it will become a masterpiece if polished, there is currently some light rust from age, so we are offering it at a special bargain price. Please enjoy this celebrated sword that was long treasured as a Rai Kunimitsu.
Certificate reading — 無銘（千代鶴）
NihontoWatchmumei · Nanbokucho · nagasa 68.5cm · sori 1.8cm
Yamashiro-den · Echizen
12 pieces on the market now
The Chiyozuru lineage took root in Echizen Province during the Nanbokuchō period, and the setsumei consistently trace its origin to Rai Kuniyasu (来国安). He is said to have been born in Yamashiro Province, with one tradition holding him a grandson of Rai Kunisue; he later moved to Echizen, where the meikan place him around the Jōji and Sadaji eras (ca. 1362 to 1368). A parallel tradition, recorded on the signed tachi attributed to Morihiro, names Chiyozuru Kuniyasu[[c:1]] as a disciple of Rai Kuniyasu and the founder of the line. From this root descend the smiths the blades document: Morihiro (守弘), placed in the Kuniyasu line across two generations, the first set in the Ōei era (1394 to 1428) and the second in the Kakitsu (1441 to 1444) and Bun'an (1444 to 1449) eras; and Mitsuyuki of Tsuruga[[c:2]], recorded as a student of Echizen Kuniyuki and known from a rare Kakei-dated tantō. The Yamashiro inheritance runs through the whole group, even as the workmanship moves away from the Kyoto homeland into a provincial Hokuriku register. Two stylistic strands run through the corpus, and recognizing the hand means reading where a given blade falls between them. The Rai-derived work, seen in the katana attributed to Rai Kuniyasu, shows itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, the grain tending to stand (hada-dachi) with thick ji-nie and frequent chikei; the steel carries a whitish or, in places, slightly blackish cast that the setsumei read as a provincial inflection of Yamashiro.
The hamon on these is a chū-suguha mixed with ko-gunome, the edge breaking into hotsure, kuichigai-ba, and nijūba, with ashi, yō, kinsuji, and sunagashi running through and a bright nioiguchi; the bōshi enters midare-komi or shallow notare-komi, turning in ko-maru with hakikake, at times vigorous enough to give a flame-like (kaen) impression. The Morihiro strand turns toward a gunome-based midareba with a chōji tendency, tobiyaki, and muneyaki, the forging moving toward masame near the edge; the setsumei mark this gunome-toned, nie-laden manner as differing in character from the Rai style and proper to the later line. For kantei, the setsumei set the diagnostic problem plainly: a Chiyozuru blade can at first glance resemble the orthodox Yamashiro Rai work, particularly around Rai Kunimitsu, yet careful reading of the standing grain, the whitish or blackish jigane, and the rustic activity in the bōshi beyond what the Kyoto homeland shows directs the attribution to Echizen. The boldest Nanbokuchō pieces, wide in mihaba with ō-kissaki and muneyaki, invite comparison with Hokuriku contemporaries such as Etchū Tametsugu (越中為継), but the character of ji and ha keeps them within the Chiyozuru fold. Signed examples anchor the line: Morihiro tachi and a Kakitsu 1 (1441) dated wakizashi carrying his Tōzaemon no Jō name, and the Mitsuyuki tantō whose Kakei date makes it documentary material of high value, dated works of the group being extremely scarce. The Morihiro tachi of Jūyō-Bijutsuhin standing is recorded in the Kōzan Oshigata, Kokon Kajibikō, and Kantō Zuiroku. Across the corpus the line holds a distinct place among Nanbokuchō and early Muromachi Hokuriku smiths, carrying a Yamashiro pedigree into a workmanship the appraisers read as its own. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kuniyasu國安 | 1345-1350 | 4 |
| Iemasa家正 | 1492-1501 | 0 |
| Ieyoshi家善 | 1487-1489 | 0 |
| Kagemori景守 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Ieyoshi家吉 | 1429-1441 | 0 |
The divided-courts war impoverished the court society that had sustained Kyōto’s most refined work. With the last Rai masters the classic line effectively closed, while Hasebe and Nobukuni carried the new Sōshū manner into the capital.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
