Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
This wakizashi is attributed to Kongo Byoe, a smith from Chikuzen Province, and features a classic suguha hamon with visible utsuri. It comes with an attractive koshirae, including a round iron tsuba and shakudo menuki. The blade is accompanied by an NBTHK Hozon Token certificate.
NihontoWatchmumei · Kongo Byoe · Muromachi · nagasa 46.4cm · sori 1cm
Wakimono · Chikuzen
10 pieces on the market now
The Kongōbyōe school (Kongōbyōe-ha) flourished in Chikuzen Province during the Nanbokuchō period alongside the more celebrated Samonji lineage. Based in the Reizen district, the school takes its name from the artisan Kongōbyōe, though signed examples are exceedingly rare, with the earliest documented work being a tantō by Sadamori dated Shōhei 25 (1370) and designated an Important Art Object. This blade's signature—"Chikushū Reizen Sadamori"[[c:1]]—confirms the school's geographic center and provides a stylistic benchmark for attributions within the tradition. Kongōbyōe blades exhibit a distinctive Yamato temperament (Yamato kishitsu) in both jigane and hamon, setting them apart from typical Kyūshū productions. The forging characteristically combines large itame with nagare-hada and prominent mokume-hada, creating surface texture that stands out conspicuously. The jigane tends toward a dark, slightly blackish tone with frequent chikei interwoven throughout.
The hamon is invariably a narrow suguha or hoso-suguha, occasionally tinged with shallow notare or small gunome inflections. The nioiguchi displays a characteristic tight feeling (shimari-gokoro) with well-adhering ko-nie, while modest kinsuji and sunagashi create refined scenery spanning ji and ha. Near the cutting edge, nagare-hada often transitions to masame, and hotsure appears along the habuchi. The school's output demonstrates what period connoisseurs termed "metal flavor" (kanamono), reflecting Kyūshū forging traditions while maintaining the refined sensibility of Yamato technique. Extant works attributed to Ko-Kongōbyōe typically survive as greatly shortened (ō-suriage) blades with Nanbokuchō proportions—wide mihaba, shallow sori, and ō-kissaki—presenting dignified, powerful forms despite their modified state. The combination of dark-toned jigane densely filled with fine chikei, tight nioiguchi, and restrained nie activity creates a sober yet engaging aesthetic that distinguishes the school within the broader Chikuzen tradition. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sadamori貞盛 | 1345-1350 | 24 |
| Morimitsu盛光 | 1558-1570 | 0 |
| Moriyasu盛安 | 1532-1555 | 0 |
| Moriyoshi盛吉 | 1532-1555 | 0 |
| Morihisa盛久 | 1521-1528 | 0 |
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
¥350,000
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