The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
This is a katana made by Toshihide (堀井兼吉, Horii Kanekichi), a student of Horii Taneaki. He was also known as Zuizen and Shiga Taro, and was a representative swordsmith of the early Showa period. The blade features a hirazukuri iori-mune, ubu-nakago, with a ko-itame hada mixed with mokume, ji-nie, and chikei. The hamon is notare mixed with gunome, with deep nioi, yubashiri, ko-ashi, and kinsuji, appearing bright and clear. It is accompanied by a Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1926-1989) · nagasa 25.5cm
Hokkaido · around 1926-1989
2 pieces on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
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 siteWithin one week of the item's arrival (cooling-off is possible within Japan only). For defects that differ from the purchase conditions, we will accept the return and refund the payment. For other cases such as overseas, we will consult separately.
