Sengoku Seki was an industry: smiths organized under their tutelary Kasuga shrine, arming the war bands of central Japan. Magoroku Kanemoto’s sanbonsugi and the finest Kanesada work prove quality survived inside mass production.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchAbout Kaneyoshi Kaneyoshi is known as the founder of the Zenjo school, the largest among the seven schools of Mino Seki. He is one of the most prominent master smiths of Mino Province, with confirmed sword production from the end of the Nanboku-cho period through the early Muromachi period and into the Oei era. According to the Nihonto Meikan, Kaneyoshi's origins are in the Ko-o era (Ko-o 1390); he was originally from Yamato Province and is said to be the same person as, or the son of, Tegai Kaneyoshi. His name is recorded as Seijiro, and his Buddhist name as Zenjo. It is thought that there were seven generations of Kaneyoshi during the Muromachi period, and the descendants of the Zenjo school produced such master smiths as Magoroku Kanemoto, Kanefusa, Ujifusa, and Kanemichi (the founder of the Mishina school {Iga no Kami Kinmichi, Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi, Etchu no Kami Masatoshi}).
NihontoWatchOffered by Yazawa Shokai
3 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Mino-den · Mino
3 pieces on the market now
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kaneshige兼重 | 1504-1521 | 0 |
| Kaneyoshi兼吉 | 1854-1860 | 0 |
| Kanekado兼門 | 1428-1429 | 0 |
| Yoshikado吉門 | 1624-1644 | 0 |
| Chikanori近則 | 1818-1864 | 0 |
Mino in the Muromachi period
Sengoku Seki was an industry: smiths organized under their tutelary Kasuga shrine, arming the war bands of central Japan. Magoroku Kanemoto’s sanbonsugi and the finest Kanesada work prove quality survived inside mass production.
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¥1,250,000