This is a wakizashi by Fujiwara Yukinaga from the Takada school in Bungo province. It is rated as Ryowazamono (good cutting ability) and comes with Tokubetsu Hozon certification from the NBTHK. The blade features a straight hamon with active nie and nioi, and a flowing mokume hada.
NihontoWatchmei · Takada · Manji (1658-1661) · nagasa 46cm · sori 1cm
Bungo · around 1658-1661
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 60%
1 piece on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Under the Tokugawa peace the daishō became a regulated uniform, and demand gathered in the castle towns, above all Edo itself. The craft split two ways: brilliant display work for connoisseurs, and tested blades whose cutting results were sometimes inlaid in gold.
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
