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.
This is a Tokubetsu Hozon wakizashi by Shozen, featuring a rare two-character signature (ubu-mei). It is a powerful blade with a high yakiba extending over the shinogi-ji and a motohaba exceeding 32mm. Shozen, a descendant of Itakura Seki Masatoshi, worked in Owari Nagoya during the Edo period, Enpo era, and was known for his excellent cutting ability.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo · nagasa 55.2cm · sori 1.2cm
Owari · around 1673-1681
4 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 site¥500,000
This is a Tokubetsu Hozon wakizashi by Shozen, featuring a rare two-character signature (ubu-mei). It is a powerful blade with a high yakiba extending over the shinogi-ji and a motohaba exceeding 32mm. Shozen, a descendant of Itakura Seki Masatoshi, worked in Owari Nagoya during the Edo period, Enpo era, and was known for his excellent cutting ability.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo · nagasa 55.2cm · sori 1.2cm
Owari · around 1673-1681
4 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 site¥500,000
