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 is a long and magnificent katana by Katsumura Norikatsu, a prominent smith from the Katsumura Kobo workshop in Hitachi province during the late Edo period (1863). It features a well-packed masame hada with ji-nie and chikei, and a vibrant hamon of suguha, ko-midare, ko-gunome, and asai notare. The blade is accompanied by a shirasaya and a silver foil habaki, and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK.
NihontoWatchmei · Katsumura Kobo · Ansei (1854-1860) · nagasa 74.5cm · sori 2cm
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
This is a long and magnificent katana by Katsumura Norikatsu, a prominent smith from the Katsumura Kobo workshop in Hitachi province during the late Edo period (1863). It features a well-packed masame hada with ji-nie and chikei, and a vibrant hamon of suguha, ko-midare, ko-gunome, and asai notare. The blade is accompanied by a shirasaya and a silver foil habaki, and is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK.
NihontoWatchmei · Katsumura Kobo · Ansei (1854-1860) · nagasa 74.5cm · sori 2cm
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
