Weight: 1043g excluding saya, 764g for the toshin alone. It has arrived—a work by the famous Kotetsu, renowned as a Saijo Owazamono, which has been cherished through generations and is highly coveted by everyone. However, please treat this as a kibo-mei (hopeful signature). Based on the handwriting of the meibun, the character for "Ko" appears to be leaping, identifying it as a "Hanetora" (leaping tiger) signature Kotetsu; nevertheless, please regard it as a kibo-mei. The sugata exhibits a somewhat wide shinogi-haba with a slight difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba, and a shallow sori. The jigane is forged in itame-hada with jinie appearing on the ji. The hamon is in nioi-deki with konie, featuring a suguha-style base with many gunome-ashi, well-covered in nie and brightly tempered. Kotetsu was a master swordsmith who took Edo by storm as a Saijo Owazamono. His works are incredibly famous, notably due to the Shinsengumi commander Kondo Isami’s legendary line, "Tonight’s Kotetsu cuts well." Because he began making swords at the age of 50 (known as the "Hanpyaku" signature), despite his fame, the surviving number of katana, wakizashi, and tanto is less than 300, making them exceptionally rare and precious. However, this sword is a kibo-mei of Kotetsu. Kotetsu is the number one most longed-for sword. It is a work one wishes to own once in a lifetime. A koshirae is also included. On this occasion, we received this from an old family who had cherished it for generations, believing it to be a genuine Kotetsu. Upon learning it is a kibo-mei, they expressed disappointment but asked us to pass it on at a low price to someone who will still treasure it. Therefore, we are offering it at a special bargain price. Even as a kibo-mei, if used for iai practice, a Kotetsu-style sword would be the finest choice.
NihontoWatch
Shinto · Musashi
4 pieces on the market now
Nagasone Okisato, who took the smithing name Kotetsu (虎徹), began his career not at the forge of the swordsmith but at that of the armorer, working as a katchūshi in Echizen Province. Around Meireki 2 (1656), when he was about fifty years of age, he relocated to Edo and changed his profession to swordsmithing, settling in the area of Tōeizan and Shinobugaoka. The setsumei record that his common name was Sannojō; he first signed Okisato, and after taking Buddhist vows styled himself Kotetsu Nyūdō. The written form of the name itself moved through stages, beginning with the characters 古鉄 ("old iron"), shifting to 虎徹, and from the eighth month of Kanbun 4 (1664) onward to the variant forms 乕徹 and 馬徹. His dated blades run from Meireki 2 to Enpō 5 (1677), the latter being the last year for which work survives. His pupil and adopted son Nagasone Okimasa (興正) succeeded him as the second generation, working from Kanbun 13 (1673) to Genroku 3 (1690); the registers note that certain blades signed by the master were in fact Okimasa's daisaku, or substitute work. The setsumei describe a shared vocabulary that holds across the line. The foundation is a strong jigane, forged as a tightly packed ko-itame in which ji-nie adheres thickly, fine chikei enter, and the steel reads bright and clear; a mottled inclusion the catalogues call teko-tetsu or tekkotsu appears as a recognized trait. The sugata is the robust Kanbun-shinto silhouette, with shallow sori, marked taper from base to tip, and a chū-kissaki. Most blades open with a short straight yakidashi.
The hamon falls into two recorded phases: the earlier hyōtan-ba, a gourd pattern in which large and small gunome connect with pronounced rises and falls, and the later juzu-ba, the rosary-bead temper of round-headed gunome linked along an even line, often worked over a shallow notare. Thick ashi enter, the nioi runs deep, ko-nie lies thickly, and kinsuji and sunagashi play within the nioiguchi, which is consistently bright. " Several blades carry horimono cut by the smith's own hand, from Fūjin and Raijin to Kurikara and Sanskrit seed-syllables, and the cutting reputation is documented through gold-inlaid kinzōgan test inscriptions on the tang. For the collector, recognition turns on these named points: the juzu-ba of the mature work, the bright order of ji and ha, the teko-tetsu in the ground, and the long signature in fine chisel-work centered on the shinogi-suji, with the first character cut so as to overlap the mekugi-ana. The catalogues distinguish the earlier hane-tora manner of writing the tora character from the later hako-tora phase, which they treat as a dating tool. The cutting-test inscriptions give Kotetsu a place among the swords valued for performance as well as form, and the rarity of certain shapes adds weight: tantō by his hand number perhaps fewer than ten, and in those the Sōshū-den feeling is described as especially strong. Named works carry provenance through the front rank of collecting, among them a katana transmitted in the Nabeshima family of Hizen and known as "Nabeshima Tetsu," confirmed by a sayagaki of Satō Kanzan, and blades formerly held by figures such as Inukai Bokudō. Okimasa stands a step behind his master in the registers, his deeper nioi and thicker nie read as a personal voice within the inherited juzu-ba. The line occupies a central position in the study of Edo shinto, its work measured by the strength of its steel and the discipline of its bright temper. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kotetsu虎徹 | 1644-1677 | 128 |
| Okimasa興正 | 1661-1690 | 26 |
| Nagasone Kotetsu長曽祢興里 | c.1597-1678 | 4 |
| Okihisa興久 | 1673-1681 | 2 |
| Toranyudo虎入道 | 1661-1673 | 2 |
Edo: the shogun’s market
Edo held Japan’s largest sword-wearing population, gathered by the alternate attendance system. The shogunal smith Yasutsugu was granted the Aoi crest for his tangs; many of Kotetsu’s blades carry gold-inlaid cutting attestations. Proof mattered here.
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
For 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.
Weight: 1043g excluding saya, 764g for the toshin alone. It has arrived—a work by the famous Kotetsu, renowned as a Saijo Owazamono, which has been cherished through generations and is highly coveted by everyone. However, please treat this as a kibo-mei (hopeful signature). Based on the handwriting of the meibun, the character for "Ko" appears to be leaping, identifying it as a "Hanetora" (leaping tiger) signature Kotetsu; nevertheless, please regard it as a kibo-mei. The sugata exhibits a somewhat wide shinogi-haba with a slight difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba, and a shallow sori. The jigane is forged in itame-hada with jinie appearing on the ji. The hamon is in nioi-deki with konie, featuring a suguha-style base with many gunome-ashi, well-covered in nie and brightly tempered. Kotetsu was a master swordsmith who took Edo by storm as a Saijo Owazamono. His works are incredibly famous, notably due to the Shinsengumi commander Kondo Isami’s legendary line, "Tonight’s Kotetsu cuts well." Because he began making swords at the age of 50 (known as the "Hanpyaku" signature), despite his fame, the surviving number of katana, wakizashi, and tanto is less than 300, making them exceptionally rare and precious. However, this sword is a kibo-mei of Kotetsu. Kotetsu is the number one most longed-for sword. It is a work one wishes to own once in a lifetime. A koshirae is also included. On this occasion, we received this from an old family who had cherished it for generations, believing it to be a genuine Kotetsu. Upon learning it is a kibo-mei, they expressed disappointment but asked us to pass it on at a low price to someone who will still treasure it. Therefore, we are offering it at a special bargain price. Even as a kibo-mei, if used for iai practice, a Kotetsu-style sword would be the finest choice.
NihontoWatchShinto · Musashi
4 pieces on the market now
Nagasone Okisato, who took the smithing name Kotetsu (虎徹), began his career not at the forge of the swordsmith but at that of the armorer, working as a katchūshi in Echizen Province. Around Meireki 2 (1656), when he was about fifty years of age, he relocated to Edo and changed his profession to swordsmithing, settling in the area of Tōeizan and Shinobugaoka. The setsumei record that his common name was Sannojō; he first signed Okisato, and after taking Buddhist vows styled himself Kotetsu Nyūdō. The written form of the name itself moved through stages, beginning with the characters 古鉄 ("old iron"), shifting to 虎徹, and from the eighth month of Kanbun 4 (1664) onward to the variant forms 乕徹 and 馬徹. His dated blades run from Meireki 2 to Enpō 5 (1677), the latter being the last year for which work survives. His pupil and adopted son Nagasone Okimasa (興正) succeeded him as the second generation, working from Kanbun 13 (1673) to Genroku 3 (1690); the registers note that certain blades signed by the master were in fact Okimasa's daisaku, or substitute work. The setsumei describe a shared vocabulary that holds across the line. The foundation is a strong jigane, forged as a tightly packed ko-itame in which ji-nie adheres thickly, fine chikei enter, and the steel reads bright and clear; a mottled inclusion the catalogues call teko-tetsu or tekkotsu appears as a recognized trait. The sugata is the robust Kanbun-shinto silhouette, with shallow sori, marked taper from base to tip, and a chū-kissaki. Most blades open with a short straight yakidashi.
The hamon falls into two recorded phases: the earlier hyōtan-ba, a gourd pattern in which large and small gunome connect with pronounced rises and falls, and the later juzu-ba, the rosary-bead temper of round-headed gunome linked along an even line, often worked over a shallow notare. Thick ashi enter, the nioi runs deep, ko-nie lies thickly, and kinsuji and sunagashi play within the nioiguchi, which is consistently bright. " Several blades carry horimono cut by the smith's own hand, from Fūjin and Raijin to Kurikara and Sanskrit seed-syllables, and the cutting reputation is documented through gold-inlaid kinzōgan test inscriptions on the tang. For the collector, recognition turns on these named points: the juzu-ba of the mature work, the bright order of ji and ha, the teko-tetsu in the ground, and the long signature in fine chisel-work centered on the shinogi-suji, with the first character cut so as to overlap the mekugi-ana. The catalogues distinguish the earlier hane-tora manner of writing the tora character from the later hako-tora phase, which they treat as a dating tool. The cutting-test inscriptions give Kotetsu a place among the swords valued for performance as well as form, and the rarity of certain shapes adds weight: tantō by his hand number perhaps fewer than ten, and in those the Sōshū-den feeling is described as especially strong. Named works carry provenance through the front rank of collecting, among them a katana transmitted in the Nabeshima family of Hizen and known as "Nabeshima Tetsu," confirmed by a sayagaki of Satō Kanzan, and blades formerly held by figures such as Inukai Bokudō. Okimasa stands a step behind his master in the registers, his deeper nioi and thicker nie read as a personal voice within the inherited juzu-ba. The line occupies a central position in the study of Edo shinto, its work measured by the strength of its steel and the discipline of its bright temper. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kotetsu虎徹 | 1644-1677 | 128 |
| Okimasa興正 | 1661-1690 | 26 |
| Nagasone Kotetsu長曽祢興里 | c.1597-1678 | 4 |
| Okihisa興久 | 1673-1681 | 2 |
| Toranyudo虎入道 | 1661-1673 | 2 |
Edo: the shogun’s market
Edo held Japan’s largest sword-wearing population, gathered by the alternate attendance system. The shogunal smith Yasutsugu was granted the Aoi crest for his tangs; many of Kotetsu’s blades carry gold-inlaid cutting attestations. Proof mattered here.
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
For 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.
