Two courts, sixty years of war, and the most dramatic silhouettes in the sword’s history: broad blades, extended points, true ōdachi later cut down into the majestic katana collectors prize. The Sōshū manner was the style of the age.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchThis blade is attributed to the work of Kodai Hōju (後代宝寿) during the mid Nanbokucho-early Muromachi period (mid 14th-early 15th century). The term Kodai means “later generation” and indicates that the blade was attributed to a later smith of the Hōju tradition rather than by its earliest masters. The Hōju School was a group of swordsmiths active in Mutsu Province (present-day Tōhoku region in northern Japan) from the late Heian period through the Nanbokuchō period (approximately the late 12th to 14th centuries). The school is known for producing robust and practical blades that were highly valued by warriors of the time. According to the authentication paper issued by the NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai), this blade is attributed to a later-generation Hōju smith. Based on this attribution, it is believed to have been forged during the late Kamakura to Nanbokuchō period, approximately the 14th century. Hōju swordsmiths belonged to Mogusa school, which functioned as the head branch. Mogusa school’s foundation dates back to the late 11th century when Oshu Fujiwara clan started to rule Mutsu no Kuni. And they were based in the city called Hiraizumi(平泉). There aren’t many remaining signed blades forged by Mogusa swordsmiths except Hōju. Hōju is the most famous one among Mogusa schools. Mutsu no Kuni had been ruled by the Oshu Fujiwara clan until Minamoto no Yoritomo(the shogun of the Kamakura government)ousted them. Many Hōju swordsmiths moved to other parts of Japan as their master lost power. There are so many famous swordsmiths who were originally from this school, and they built the foundation of sword-forging in other parts of Japan, such as Bizen province. Hōju swordsmiths were deeply involved in the formation of iconic Japanese sword’s characteristics. Hōju is written as 宝(Treasure)＆寿( Longevity) in Japanese. Because of the name, swords forged by Hojyu were believed to bring good luck and were treated as great gifts among Samurai. This blade is appraised as a Hozon Touken (保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai: 日本美術刀剣保存協会). *Please keep in mind that there are a few Kitae Kizu on this blade. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on May 28th in the 21st year of Heisei (2009). They appraised it as Hozon Touken, the blade worth preserving for Japanese society.
Hoju School宝寿派
Offered by Samurai Museum
As written by the shop
Wakimono · Oshu
Among the swordsmiths said by old transmitted records to have worked in Ōshū (Mutsu and the wider northeast) from the Nara and Heian periods through the Kamakura age, the setsumei repeatedly observe that, of works actually surviving today, almost the only name that can be confirmed is Hōju (宝寿). The line is set within the Maikusa (Mokusa) sphere of Ōshū smiths, a group transmitted from the early Kamakura period onward; one tachi is described as a branch of the Maikusa smiths of Mutsu, and a Nanbokuchō entry pairs Hōju with Maikusa and, after Nanbokuchō, the Gassan group. The name itself was carried across a long span, from Kamakura through Nanbokuchō and into the Muromachi Ōei era, so that "Hōju" denotes a lineage rather than a single hand. A complicating thread runs through the corpus: one blade dated Enkyō 4 (1311) is signed Yamato-kuni-jū Tōmoto Hōju, raising the question of movement between Ōshū and Yamato, with the setsumei suggesting exchange of smiths through Shugendō mountain practice. Dated survivors anchor the chronology firmly, with inscriptions of Shōchū 2 (1325), Eiwa 2 (1376), Eitoku 2 (1382), and a run of Ōei years (5, 6, 12, 14, 22, 25). The shared hand the setsumei describe is an archaic northern one. The forging is itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, frequently with ō-itame, the grain standing up (hada-dachi) and at times an ayasugi-like or, near the edge, masame tendency; thick ji-nie gathers and bold chikei enter, the steel inclining to a blackish tone with a whitish cast, and shirake-utsuri rising in the ground. The temper is built on suguha and suguha-chō passing into ko-midare, or a shallow notare joined with ko-gunome and ko-notare; the habuchi shows frequent hotsure, kinsuji and sunagashi run vigorously, and a yaki-otoshi often drops the hardened edge at the machi.
The nioiguchi tends to shizumi and urumi, subdued and moist rather than bright, though certain pieces run brighter. The bōshi enters midare-komi or yakizume with hakikake, and the carvings, bonji over a sankō-tsuka-ken, are rustic yet carry an elegant taste. To recognize the hand, read the standing large-grained hada, the dark steel with whitish utsuri, and the quiet nioiguchi, set against the heroic koshizori tachi form. For kantei, the diagnostic cluster is the combination of standing ō-itame with bold chikei, blackish steel under whitish utsuri, yaki-otoshi at the base, and the subdued nioiguchi with hotsure, kinsuji, and sunagashi, the whole carrying a frankly provincial character that the setsumei treat as the lineage's signature. Signature study is itself a kantei tool: the two-character Hōju mei of the Eitoku-era tachi recorded in Honma's inventory of the Imperial collection is read against an orikaeshi-mei example dated Eitoku, certified an Important Art Object, to date later works by the same chisel. Named survivors map the standing: two signed tachi recorded in Honma's inventory of the Imperial collection, the kinzōgan-mei katana carrying a Hon'ami Kōchū origami of Kyōhō 7 (1722), the Shōchū 2 tachi held by Mitake Shrine, and an ubu mumei ōdachi transmitted as a hereditary treasure of the Murakami, the maritime warriors of the Seto Inland Sea. Ubu, signed, and dated Hōju, especially those not descending past early Nanbokuchō, the setsumei prize as reference material for an Ōshū tradition otherwise known largely through this one enduring name. Learn more →
The Nanbokuchō period (1333 to 1392)
Two courts, sixty years of war, and the most dramatic silhouettes in the sword’s history: broad blades, extended points, true ōdachi later cut down into the majestic katana collectors prize. The Sōshū manner was the style of the age.
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 siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
¥1,350,000
Certificate reading — 無銘（後代宝寿）