This is a Tachi by Hirotsugu, a smith from Sagami province active during the mid-Muromachi period (1492-1500). It features a flamboyant Soshu-den style hamon with a complex gunome pattern and a flowing itame hada. The blade is accompanied by a koshirae with an inro-kizami saya and a phoenix motif, and comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token paper.
Certificate reading — 銘 広次作
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Soshu · Muromachi · nagasa 71.3cm · sori 2.2cm
Soshu-den · Sagami · around 1492-1501
Fujishiro Jo saku
2 pieces on the market now
Where Hirotsugu stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Soshu-den · Sagami
Phase: Sue-Sōshū末相州· 1356–1868
18 pieces on the market now
When the great Kamakura masters had passed and the country slid into the wars of the late Muromachi, a residual Soshu-den held on in Sagami under a new patron. The Later Hojo, ruling from Odawara castle, kept smiths at hand, and it was from this orbit that the leading name of the window emerged: Tsunahiro, transmitted as a retained smith of the Odawara Hojo who took the character tsuna from Hojo Ujitsuna. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Fusamune總宗 | 1504-1521 | 5 |
| Tsunahiro綱廣 | 1532-1555 | 12 |
| Hiromasa廣正 | 1444-1456 | 4 |
| Kiyohira清平 | 1673-1681 | 4 |
| Tsunaie綱家 | 1532-1555 | 3 |
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 sitePlease contact us by phone within 3 days of the item's arrival and ship it back the next day. The postage and security service fees are the customer's responsibility.
This is a Tachi by Hirotsugu, a smith from Sagami province active during the mid-Muromachi period (1492-1500). It features a flamboyant Soshu-den style hamon with a complex gunome pattern and a flowing itame hada. The blade is accompanied by a koshirae with an inro-kizami saya and a phoenix motif, and comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token paper.
Certificate reading — 銘 広次作
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Soshu · Muromachi · nagasa 71.3cm · sori 2.2cm
Soshu-den · Sagami · around 1492-1501
Fujishiro Jo saku
2 pieces on the market now
Where Hirotsugu stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Soshu-den · Sagami
Phase: Sue-Sōshū末相州· 1356–1868
18 pieces on the market now
When the great Kamakura masters had passed and the country slid into the wars of the late Muromachi, a residual Soshu-den held on in Sagami under a new patron. The Later Hojo, ruling from Odawara castle, kept smiths at hand, and it was from this orbit that the leading name of the window emerged: Tsunahiro, transmitted as a retained smith of the Odawara Hojo who took the character tsuna from Hojo Ujitsuna. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Fusamune總宗 | 1504-1521 | 5 |
| Tsunahiro綱廣 | 1532-1555 | 12 |
| Hiromasa廣正 | 1444-1456 | 4 |
| Kiyohira清平 | 1673-1681 | 4 |
| Tsunaie綱家 | 1532-1555 | 3 |
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 sitePlease contact us by phone within 3 days of the item's arrival and ship it back the next day. The postage and security service fees are the customer's responsibility.
