This is a wakizashi made by Kai Masachika of the Mihara school in Bingo province during the late Muromachi period. The blade features a straight hamon with bright nioiguchi and some kinsuji. It comes with a Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a shirasaya.
Certificate reading — 銘 備後國三原住貝正近作
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Kai-Mihara · Muromachi · nagasa 54.1cm · sori 1.7cm
Yamato-den · Bingo · around 1532-1555
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 60%
2 pieces on the market now
Yamato-den · Bingo
Phase: Sue-Mihara末三原· 1394–1596
4 pieces on the market now
Where Ko-Mihara closes at the end of the Nanbokuchō period, Sue-Mihara takes up the Bingo tradition through the Muromachi era. The setsumei place the later production in the same Mihara orbit but spread across several named hands and affiliated branches: Kai Mihara Masamori, whose Muromachi katana often carry the long "Mihara-jū Kai _" signature; and the closely tied Hokke Ichijō line, whose founder Ichijō is traditionally called a son of Mihara Masaie and whose generations continued from the Ōei era into the late Muromachi. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masamune正宗 | 1469-1487 | 0 |
| Masaoki正興 | 1521-1528 | 0 |
| Nagashige長重 | 1487-1489 | 0 |
| Kaneyasu兼安 | 1469-1487 | 0 |
| Takakane高兼 | 1504-1521 | 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 siteReturns accepted within 3 days of delivery for defective items or significant discrepancies; customer bears return shipping and bank fees.
This is a wakizashi made by Kai Masachika of the Mihara school in Bingo province during the late Muromachi period. The blade features a straight hamon with bright nioiguchi and some kinsuji. It comes with a Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a shirasaya.
Certificate reading — 銘 備後國三原住貝正近作
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Kai-Mihara · Muromachi · nagasa 54.1cm · sori 1.7cm
Yamato-den · Bingo · around 1532-1555
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 60%
2 pieces on the market now
Yamato-den · Bingo
Phase: Sue-Mihara末三原· 1394–1596
4 pieces on the market now
Where Ko-Mihara closes at the end of the Nanbokuchō period, Sue-Mihara takes up the Bingo tradition through the Muromachi era. The setsumei place the later production in the same Mihara orbit but spread across several named hands and affiliated branches: Kai Mihara Masamori, whose Muromachi katana often carry the long "Mihara-jū Kai _" signature; and the closely tied Hokke Ichijō line, whose founder Ichijō is traditionally called a son of Mihara Masaie and whose generations continued from the Ōei era into the late Muromachi. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masamune正宗 | 1469-1487 | 0 |
| Masaoki正興 | 1521-1528 | 0 |
| Nagashige長重 | 1487-1489 | 0 |
| Kaneyasu兼安 | 1469-1487 | 0 |
| Takakane高兼 | 1504-1521 | 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 siteReturns accepted within 3 days of delivery for defective items or significant discrepancies; customer bears return shipping and bank fees.
