Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchThis wakizashi is signed by Omi no Kami Fujiwara Tsuguhiro, a high-ranking student of 3rd generation Yasutsugu and a renowned smith from the early Edo period. It features a well-balanced form with a slightly extended kissaki and a graceful sori. The jitetsu shows ko-itame mixed with mokume, with masame appearing in the shinogi-ji and ha-kata, indicative of Mino-line smiths. The hamon is a bright nie-deki with active ara-nie and sunagashi, displaying gunome-midare mixed with gunome-choji, reminiscent of large kaeruko-choji or Kanefusa-midare. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a shirasaya.
Certificate reading — 銘 近江守藤原継広 越前住
NihontoWatchOffered by Toushin
Echizen · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 60%
6 pieces on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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.
¥330,000