In the Sengoku era the school served a second warrior court: the Later Hōjō at Odawara, whose patronage kept the Tsunahiro line forging hitatsura for the uchigatana age until the castle fell to Hideyoshi in 1590.
It has appeared, it has appeared—the emergence of a historically magnificent and famous meito. A Soshu swordsmith of the Muromachi period who faithfully preserved the traditions since Masamune, characterized by nie, chikei, and kinsuji, and who left behind masterpieces following in the footsteps of Hiromitsu and Akihiro. The first generation of Soshu Ju Tsunahiro, a representative swordsmith of the Soshu school whom everyone admires, originally used the mei Masahiro. He was summoned to Odawara by Hojo Ujitsuna and was granted the character "Tsuna" from Ujitsuna's name, changing his name to Tsunahiro. This sword is by the third generation Soshu Ju Tsunahiro, Yamamura Uemon. He was born in the Muromachi period, Tenbun 16 (1547) (478 years ago), and was granted Kamakura Ogigayatsu by Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the early Edo period, Keicho 10 (1605) (420 years ago) (at age 58), he traveled to Tsugaru at the invitation of the first daimyo of the Tsugaru Hirosaki Clan (47,000 koku), Oura Tamenobu—the builder of the famous Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture, where over 2 million tourists gather during the cherry blossom season. It is a historically magnificent and famous story in the sword world that he forged 300 koshi of swords and was bestowed 30 pieces of gold and a saddled horse upon his return home. Originally a long sword with a nagasa of approximately 2 shaku 5 sun, a later samurai, wishing to make it his own sashiryo, slightly performed machi-okuri to match his own swordsmanship. It presents a goso (grand/powerful) sugata with a wide moto-mihaba, wide saki-mihaba, and a large kissaki. The jigane is a tight itame-hada with chikei appearing in the ji. The hamon, as you can see, is a magnificent and varied gunome; featuring gunome-ba with split heads in yahazu style, round-headed gunome-ba, and ko-notare. The nioiguchi is tight with ko-nie, and the ji features various shapes of highly active tobiyaki, resulting in a hitatsura-ba (full-tempered) with a spirited and charming edge. The boshi turns back in a round shape and is skillfully executed. The Soshu-den hitatsura-ba of Soshu Ju Tsunahiro is a work that is the object of envy for sword enthusiasts. On this occasion, an elderly collector mentioned, "I have grown old, so please pass on this popular Soshu-den meito by Soshu Ju Tsunahiro to someone at a low price," and thus we are offering it at a special bargain price. Please by all means enjoy this goso and precious meito by the famous third generation Soshu Ju Tsunahiro, who left his name in history.
NihontoWatchden · Tenmon (1532-1555) · nagasa 72.9cm · sori 1.6cm
Soshu-den · Sagami · around 1592-1605
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 37%
1 piece on the market now
Where Tsunahiro stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Soshu-den · Sagami
Phase: Sue-Sōshū末相州· 1356–1868
19 pieces on the market now
When the great Kamakura masters had passed and the country slid into the wars of the late Muromachi, a residual Soshu-den held on in Sagami under a new patron. The Later Hojo, ruling from Odawara castle, kept smiths at hand, and it was from this orbit that the leading name of the window emerged: Tsunahiro, transmitted as a retained smith of the Odawara Hojo who took the character tsuna from Hojo Ujitsuna. The first generation's earliest dated works fall in the Tenbun era, and the line runs forward in the conventional reckoning through Tensho, Keicho, Kan'ei, and Manji, the third generation drawn west to Tsugaru by Tamenobu to forge daisho before returning home. Around him stood a wider Sagami population working the same idiom: Hirotsugu of Kamakura, whose strongest hands cluster near the Meio and Tenbun years; Hiromasa and Soso, names carried across several indistinct generations; Masahiro, reaching back toward Joji; and the Odawara group of Yasuharu, Yasukuni, and Fusamune, the last praised above all for his carving. These smiths inherited the manner of the Nanbokucho apex at a remove of generations rather than by direct descent from the mainline of Masamune and Sadamune. The signature of the phase is the open declaration of the full temper. The forging stays itame mixed with mokume, the grain inclined to stand (hadadachi-gokoro), with ji-nie and chikei; over it the smiths ran a notare-and-gunome ground that climbs the upper half into hitatsura, tobiyaki and muneyaki firing across ji and mune, sunagashi and kinsuji threading the ha. This is the hitatsura and o-midare learned from Hiromitsu and Akihiro, but pushed toward display: the Hirotsugu katana of the 61st Juyo runs its temper so high it reaches the shinogi, mixing choji, togariba, and yahazu-gata into a demonstrative yakidaka pattern.
The contrast with the classic apex is precise and the appraisers mark it. Where Masamune raised nie to its deepest refinement over a bright, clear steel, the Sue-Soshu ji tends to shirake, a whitish cast standing in for that clarity, and the nioiguchi inclines to shizumi, a sunken or subdued quality rather than depth. The 238th Jubi record states the point plainly for the first-generation Tsunahiro: the ji and ha carry abundant nie, yet the very shape of the hamon departs from that of Hiromitsu and Akihiro. The temper is broader and busier across the surface, but it lacks the quiet command and the leaping interior activity of the original. To kantei the window is to separate this demonstrative late temper from the classic Soshu-den it imitates: a standing itame with shirake, a wide hitatsura worked with yahazu and crescent tobiyaki, a nioiguchi that sinks rather than deepens, and signatures reading Soshu-ju with full given names rather than the o-suriage mumei of the great forebears. The named hands carry the distinctions, Fusamune through his dense, precise horimono of kurikara and bonji, Tsunahiro through his crescent tobiyaki and high monouchi fire, Hirotsugu through a hitatsura vigorous enough to recall Hasebe. Provenance keeps these blades close to power: several rest in the Imperial collection at the Kunaicho, one bearing the ownership inscription of Akimoto Yoshihide of Kozuke, another the Hachiman Daibosatsu invocation of a Sengoku warrior, the Tsunahiro commission tied by its dated nakago to the Tsugaru house. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tsunahiro綱廣 | 1532-1555 | 12 |
| Fusamune總宗 | 1504-1521 | 5 |
| Hiromasa廣正 | 1444-1456 | 4 |
| Kiyohira清平 | 1673-1681 | 4 |
| Tsunaie綱家 | 1532-1555 | 3 |
In the Sengoku era the school served a second warrior court: the Later Hōjō at Odawara, whose patronage kept the Tsunahiro line forging hitatsura for the uchigatana age until the castle fell to Hideyoshi in 1590.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
It has appeared, it has appeared—the emergence of a historically magnificent and famous meito. A Soshu swordsmith of the Muromachi period who faithfully preserved the traditions since Masamune, characterized by nie, chikei, and kinsuji, and who left behind masterpieces following in the footsteps of Hiromitsu and Akihiro. The first generation of Soshu Ju Tsunahiro, a representative swordsmith of the Soshu school whom everyone admires, originally used the mei Masahiro. He was summoned to Odawara by Hojo Ujitsuna and was granted the character "Tsuna" from Ujitsuna's name, changing his name to Tsunahiro. This sword is by the third generation Soshu Ju Tsunahiro, Yamamura Uemon. He was born in the Muromachi period, Tenbun 16 (1547) (478 years ago), and was granted Kamakura Ogigayatsu by Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the early Edo period, Keicho 10 (1605) (420 years ago) (at age 58), he traveled to Tsugaru at the invitation of the first daimyo of the Tsugaru Hirosaki Clan (47,000 koku), Oura Tamenobu—the builder of the famous Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture, where over 2 million tourists gather during the cherry blossom season. It is a historically magnificent and famous story in the sword world that he forged 300 koshi of swords and was bestowed 30 pieces of gold and a saddled horse upon his return home. Originally a long sword with a nagasa of approximately 2 shaku 5 sun, a later samurai, wishing to make it his own sashiryo, slightly performed machi-okuri to match his own swordsmanship. It presents a goso (grand/powerful) sugata with a wide moto-mihaba, wide saki-mihaba, and a large kissaki. The jigane is a tight itame-hada with chikei appearing in the ji. The hamon, as you can see, is a magnificent and varied gunome; featuring gunome-ba with split heads in yahazu style, round-headed gunome-ba, and ko-notare. The nioiguchi is tight with ko-nie, and the ji features various shapes of highly active tobiyaki, resulting in a hitatsura-ba (full-tempered) with a spirited and charming edge. The boshi turns back in a round shape and is skillfully executed. The Soshu-den hitatsura-ba of Soshu Ju Tsunahiro is a work that is the object of envy for sword enthusiasts. On this occasion, an elderly collector mentioned, "I have grown old, so please pass on this popular Soshu-den meito by Soshu Ju Tsunahiro to someone at a low price," and thus we are offering it at a special bargain price. Please by all means enjoy this goso and precious meito by the famous third generation Soshu Ju Tsunahiro, who left his name in history.
NihontoWatchden · Tenmon (1532-1555) · nagasa 72.9cm · sori 1.6cm
Soshu-den · Sagami · around 1592-1605
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 37%
1 piece on the market now
Where Tsunahiro stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Soshu-den · Sagami
Phase: Sue-Sōshū末相州· 1356–1868
19 pieces on the market now
When the great Kamakura masters had passed and the country slid into the wars of the late Muromachi, a residual Soshu-den held on in Sagami under a new patron. The Later Hojo, ruling from Odawara castle, kept smiths at hand, and it was from this orbit that the leading name of the window emerged: Tsunahiro, transmitted as a retained smith of the Odawara Hojo who took the character tsuna from Hojo Ujitsuna. The first generation's earliest dated works fall in the Tenbun era, and the line runs forward in the conventional reckoning through Tensho, Keicho, Kan'ei, and Manji, the third generation drawn west to Tsugaru by Tamenobu to forge daisho before returning home. Around him stood a wider Sagami population working the same idiom: Hirotsugu of Kamakura, whose strongest hands cluster near the Meio and Tenbun years; Hiromasa and Soso, names carried across several indistinct generations; Masahiro, reaching back toward Joji; and the Odawara group of Yasuharu, Yasukuni, and Fusamune, the last praised above all for his carving. These smiths inherited the manner of the Nanbokucho apex at a remove of generations rather than by direct descent from the mainline of Masamune and Sadamune. The signature of the phase is the open declaration of the full temper. The forging stays itame mixed with mokume, the grain inclined to stand (hadadachi-gokoro), with ji-nie and chikei; over it the smiths ran a notare-and-gunome ground that climbs the upper half into hitatsura, tobiyaki and muneyaki firing across ji and mune, sunagashi and kinsuji threading the ha. This is the hitatsura and o-midare learned from Hiromitsu and Akihiro, but pushed toward display: the Hirotsugu katana of the 61st Juyo runs its temper so high it reaches the shinogi, mixing choji, togariba, and yahazu-gata into a demonstrative yakidaka pattern.
The contrast with the classic apex is precise and the appraisers mark it. Where Masamune raised nie to its deepest refinement over a bright, clear steel, the Sue-Soshu ji tends to shirake, a whitish cast standing in for that clarity, and the nioiguchi inclines to shizumi, a sunken or subdued quality rather than depth. The 238th Jubi record states the point plainly for the first-generation Tsunahiro: the ji and ha carry abundant nie, yet the very shape of the hamon departs from that of Hiromitsu and Akihiro. The temper is broader and busier across the surface, but it lacks the quiet command and the leaping interior activity of the original. To kantei the window is to separate this demonstrative late temper from the classic Soshu-den it imitates: a standing itame with shirake, a wide hitatsura worked with yahazu and crescent tobiyaki, a nioiguchi that sinks rather than deepens, and signatures reading Soshu-ju with full given names rather than the o-suriage mumei of the great forebears. The named hands carry the distinctions, Fusamune through his dense, precise horimono of kurikara and bonji, Tsunahiro through his crescent tobiyaki and high monouchi fire, Hirotsugu through a hitatsura vigorous enough to recall Hasebe. Provenance keeps these blades close to power: several rest in the Imperial collection at the Kunaicho, one bearing the ownership inscription of Akimoto Yoshihide of Kozuke, another the Hachiman Daibosatsu invocation of a Sengoku warrior, the Tsunahiro commission tied by its dated nakago to the Tsugaru house. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tsunahiro綱廣 | 1532-1555 | 12 |
| Fusamune總宗 | 1504-1521 | 5 |
| Hiromasa廣正 | 1444-1456 | 4 |
| Kiyohira清平 | 1673-1681 | 4 |
| Tsunaie綱家 | 1532-1555 | 3 |
In the Sengoku era the school served a second warrior court: the Later Hōjō at Odawara, whose patronage kept the Tsunahiro line forging hitatsura for the uchigatana age until the castle fell to Hideyoshi in 1590.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
