This katana is an excellent work by the first generation Nobuyoshi, a swordsmith from Kyoto in Yamashiro province during the Kan'ei and Shoho eras of the early Edo period. He was known for his straight temper lines and was counted among the five great smiths of Kyoto. The blade features a refined shape with normal width and thickness, a curvature of 1.52cm, and a medium kissaki. The koshirae includes a black lacquered saya with fine thread wrapping, a tsuba with a triple tomoe and gourd arabesque brass inlay, and a hilt wrapped in white samegawa with menuki depicting Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Noto no Kami Noritsune.
NihontoWatchmei · Shinto · nagasa 69.39cm · sori 1.52cm
Yamashiro · around 1644-1648
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 49%
5 pieces on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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 siteIf, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
