This is a healthy katana by Iehira, active in Kanazawa as a retainer smith for the Kaga Maeda family during the mid-Edo period. It features a shallow sori, well-forged bright jigane, and bright gunome midare hamon. Certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK, this blade also has a valuable production date.
NihontoWatchmei · Kanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 69.5cm · sori 0.9cm
Kaga · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
3 pieces on the market now
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 siteThis is a healthy katana by Iehira, active in Kanazawa as a retainer smith for the Kaga Maeda family during the mid-Edo period. It features a shallow sori, well-forged bright jigane, and bright gunome midare hamon. Certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK, this blade also has a valuable production date.
NihontoWatchmei · Kanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 69.5cm · sori 0.9cm
Kaga · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
3 pieces on the market now
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 site
