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 Katana by Yoshiwara Kuniie, dated 1940, features a wide and thick blade with a deep curvature and long kissaki. It exhibits a fine Ko-itame hada and a nioi-based gunome-midare hamon with abundant kinsuji, creating a magnificent Sōden-Bizen style. The blade comes with an NBTHK Hozon Token certificate and is in very healthy condition, though it has a minor forging flaw (Kitaeware) on the omote side.
Certificate reading — 銘 於日本荘吉原国家精鍛之 皇紀二千六百年五月吉祥日
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1926-1989) · nagasa 71.4cm · sori 2.55cm
Tokyo · around 1926-1989
5 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.
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
¥900,000
