This is a katana by Ichi no Seki Muneaki, a swordsmith from Mutsu (Rikuchu) province, who was a student of Koyama Munetsugu. The blade features a small gunome hamon and a ko-itame hada mixed with mokume. It is a powerful sword weighing over 1kg, yet well-balanced, and comes with a shirasaya and a sayagaki by Sensei Kanzan.
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Koyama · Ansei-Keio (1854-1866) · nagasa 75.2cm · sori 2cm
Rikuchu · around 1854-1866
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
3 pieces on the market now
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 siteThis is a katana by Ichi no Seki Muneaki, a swordsmith from Mutsu (Rikuchu) province, who was a student of Koyama Munetsugu. The blade features a small gunome hamon and a ko-itame hada mixed with mokume. It is a powerful sword weighing over 1kg, yet well-balanced, and comes with a shirasaya and a sayagaki by Sensei Kanzan.
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Koyama · Ansei-Keio (1854-1866) · nagasa 75.2cm · sori 2cm
Rikuchu · around 1854-1866
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
3 pieces on the market now
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 site
