NihontoWatchNihontoWatchShoami is an authoritative family lineage that served the Ashikaga Shoguns as metalworkers, ranking alongside the Honami of swords. Along with the Goto family and the Umetada family, they formed the three major schools and were a prestigious clan that flourished throughout various regions of Japan for approximately three hundred years, from the Momoyama period until the issuance of the Haitorei at the beginning of the Meiji era. Kyo-Shoami refers to tsuba produced in Kyoto from the early Edo period until around the Genroku era of the mid-Edo period. As the imperial capital and the center of politics, economy, and culture, elegant customs centered around the Imperial Court and court nobles were nurtured, and delicate, graceful works that placed more emphasis on the literary arts than on the military arts became the mainstream. Many works of this school feature elegant and dignified motifs on a round tetsu-ji, executed with ko-sukashi or nikubori-ji-sukashi, and decorated with nunome-zogan using a generous amount of gold. The hitsu-ana are round and wide, and the seppa-dai is not pointed at the ends, forming a koban shape. The itame-hada of the water gate and the dammed-up surging waves are carved with kebori and nikubori; the nunome-zogan of autumn grasses—perhaps Chinese bellflowers dancing in the waves—evokes sunlight, and there is itame-shaped kin-zogan on the water gate frame, providing a sense of perspective. This is a classic example of Kyo-Shoami, utilizing extensive kin-zogan on a design-like, dynamic motif. Early Edo period
Certificate reading — 無銘（京正阿弥）
NihontoWatchOffered by Sanmei
11 on the market
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Iron-tsuba · Yamashiro
11 pieces on the market now
Certifies a genuine fitting worth preserving: a correct signature, or, if unsigned, an identifiable era and school, with recognized artistic and craft value.
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 siteFor a return, please contact us within 7 days of the item's arrival. If specification changes such as dimensions were made at the customer's request, a return cannot be accepted. Shipping and transfer fees are the customer's responsibility.
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