This is a magnificent katana by Onizuka Kuro Minamoto Katsukuni, a smith unrecorded in existing mei-kan, forged with soul at Hachiman-gu Shrine in Mito in 1860 when he was 29 years old. It features a wide body, thick kasane, and a powerful form with a pointed gunome hamon. The blade comes with a kin-mushikui-nuri saya hantachi koshirae, likely made by a Mito kinko artist, and has passed the 2024 Tokubetsu Hozon Token examination.
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Shin-shinto · nagasa 71.9cm · sori 1.5cm
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
This is a magnificent katana by Onizuka Kuro Minamoto Katsukuni, a smith unrecorded in existing mei-kan, forged with soul at Hachiman-gu Shrine in Mito in 1860 when he was 29 years old. It features a wide body, thick kasane, and a powerful form with a pointed gunome hamon. The blade comes with a kin-mushikui-nuri saya hantachi koshirae, likely made by a Mito kinko artist, and has passed the 2024 Tokubetsu Hozon Token examination.
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Shin-shinto · nagasa 71.9cm · sori 1.5cm
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.