After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchKashu Katsumitsu was a swordsmith of Kaga Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture) who was active during the mid-Muromachi period, and is known as one of the representative figures among the Kashu swordsmith groups. This work, although significantly suriage, still maintains a difference in width at the moto and saki with funbari, and possesses a beautiful combined taihai of a tachi and katana with a so-called sakizori where the sori begins above the koshimoto; the jigane is itame with strong masame, and the hamon is gunome mixed with choji with a bright nioiguchi, with active ashi and yo within the ha, the heads of the choji-ba breaking off to form small tobiyaki-like shapes, with sunagashi, and the boshi is sugu returning in maru. The accompanying han-dachi koshirae features a robust ishime-nuri on the saya, and the kanagu are a matching set (ichisakumono) with unmon in katakiribori which has dignity, and the state of preservation is also good. There is no rattling in the tsuka and it is firm, but since the tsuba-nari is loud, I recommend that semegane be applied. When drawn from the saya and held in a kamae, the balance is good with the center of gravity at the hand, giving a sense of excellent handling.
Certificate reading — 銘 勝（以下切）
NihontoWatchOffered by Toushin
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Kaga · around 1521-1528
Tōken Taikan top 76%
1 piece on the market now
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
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 siteAs a rule we do not accept returns, except when we have sent a different item from the one ordered or when there is a significant discrepancy between the description and the item. If you wish to return an item, please contact us within 3 days of its arrival and then send it back.
¥660,000