This is a sun-nobi wakizashi by Hasebe Kunishige, a renowned smith of the Nanbokucho period. The Hasebe school in Kyoto, contemporary with Akihiro and Hiromitsu of Soshu, perfected the flamboyant hitatsura style characteristic of the Soshu tradition. This piece exhibits the school's unique notare-style gunome hamon and a basic itame-hada with strong masame, creating a mystical and profound yakiba that resembles rising flames, embodying the elegance of Yamashiro and the splendor of Soshu.
Certificate reading — 銘 長谷部国重
NihontoWatchmei · Hasebe · Nanbokucho · nagasa 26cm
Soshu-den · Yamashiro
4 pieces on the market now
The Hasebe school (長谷部) took its base in Kyoto, at Gojo-bomon Inokuma in Yamashiro, where it settled during the Nanbokucho period after a longer migration that the published sources now read as a movement out of Yamato, through maturation in Sagami, and at last into the capital. Its founder, Hasebe Kunishige, carried the Soshu-den learned in the orbit of Masamune, counted in the old reckoning among the Masamune-juttetsu, and his Yamato substrate shows through the Soshu manner in his steel. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kunishige國重 | 1334-1360 | 54 |
| Kuninobu國信 | 1334-1363 | 41 |
| Kunihira國平 | 1336-1364 | 3 |
| Kageshige景重 | 1532-1555 | 0 |
| Kunishige國重 | 1370-1372 | 0 |
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 siteCooling-off available within one week after arrival, Japan domestic only. Defective items may be returned; no refund if condition differs from sale or item was used.
This is a sun-nobi wakizashi by Hasebe Kunishige, a renowned smith of the Nanbokucho period. The Hasebe school in Kyoto, contemporary with Akihiro and Hiromitsu of Soshu, perfected the flamboyant hitatsura style characteristic of the Soshu tradition. This piece exhibits the school's unique notare-style gunome hamon and a basic itame-hada with strong masame, creating a mystical and profound yakiba that resembles rising flames, embodying the elegance of Yamashiro and the splendor of Soshu.
Certificate reading — 銘 長谷部国重
NihontoWatchmei · Hasebe · Nanbokucho · nagasa 26cm
Soshu-den · Yamashiro
4 pieces on the market now
The Hasebe school (長谷部) took its base in Kyoto, at Gojo-bomon Inokuma in Yamashiro, where it settled during the Nanbokucho period after a longer migration that the published sources now read as a movement out of Yamato, through maturation in Sagami, and at last into the capital. Its founder, Hasebe Kunishige, carried the Soshu-den learned in the orbit of Masamune, counted in the old reckoning among the Masamune-juttetsu, and his Yamato substrate shows through the Soshu manner in his steel. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kunishige國重 | 1334-1360 | 54 |
| Kuninobu國信 | 1334-1363 | 41 |
| Kunihira國平 | 1336-1364 | 3 |
| Kageshige景重 | 1532-1555 | 0 |
| Kunishige國重 | 1370-1372 | 0 |
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 siteCooling-off available within one week after arrival, Japan domestic only. Defective items may be returned; no refund if condition differs from sale or item was used.
