This katana is signed by Ikkanshi Muneaki, a swordsmith from Mutsu province who was a retainer of the Ichinoseki domain. He studied under Koyama Munetsugu in Edo and received the character "Mune" in 1856. The blade features a ko-gunome hamon and a ko-itame hada mixed with mokume, with a bright nioiguchi. It is a powerful sword weighing over 1kg, yet well-balanced in shirasaya, and comes with a shirasaya with a sayagaki by Dr. Honma Kunzan.
NihontoWatchmei · Koyama · Ansei-Keio (1854-1866) · nagasa 75.2cm · sori 2cm
Rikuchu · around 1854-1866
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
2 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 siteThis katana is signed by Ikkanshi Muneaki, a swordsmith from Mutsu province who was a retainer of the Ichinoseki domain. He studied under Koyama Munetsugu in Edo and received the character "Mune" in 1856. The blade features a ko-gunome hamon and a ko-itame hada mixed with mokume, with a bright nioiguchi. It is a powerful sword weighing over 1kg, yet well-balanced in shirasaya, and comes with a shirasaya with a sayagaki by Dr. Honma Kunzan.
NihontoWatchmei · Koyama · Ansei-Keio (1854-1866) · nagasa 75.2cm · sori 2cm
Rikuchu · around 1854-1866
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
2 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 site
