This is a late Edo period Tanto signed by Kazunao (一直) in 1836, forged in Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata Prefecture). Kazunao was an active swordsmith from the late Edo through early Meiji period, studying under Ikeda Ryūken Isshū, a distinguished disciple of Suishinshi Masahide. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Certificate and a Hozon Certificate for its koshirae.
NihontoWatchmei · Shin-shinto · nagasa 26.4cm
Uzen · around 1844-1848
Tōken Taikan top 95%
2 pieces on the market now
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
This is a late Edo period Tanto signed by Kazunao (一直) in 1836, forged in Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata Prefecture). Kazunao was an active swordsmith from the late Edo through early Meiji period, studying under Ikeda Ryūken Isshū, a distinguished disciple of Suishinshi Masahide. The blade comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Certificate and a Hozon Certificate for its koshirae.
NihontoWatchmei · Shin-shinto · nagasa 26.4cm
Uzen · around 1844-1848
Tōken Taikan top 95%
2 pieces on the market now
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
