The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
(Heian Period, around the Kasho era) (848) (1178 years ago) It has arrived, it has arrived. Ohara Sanemori of Hoki Province from over a thousand years ago is incredibly famous as the son of Yasutsuna of Hoki, who is said to be the oldest smith and is famous for the Dojigiri Yasutsuna in Touken Ranbu. This wakizashi was cherished enough to have an orikaeshi-mei, but it is truly regrettable that it must now be treated as a kibo-mei (wishful signature). The sugata of this wakizashi shows an elegant wakizashi-sugata with a difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba and a graceful sori. The jigane is itame-hada mixed with mokume-hada, and from the moto, a faint utsuri appears in the ji, giving it a refined atmosphere. The hamon is finished in nioi-deki with ko-nie, fired in a sugu-cho style and well-executed. The koshirae is also magnificent: the fuchi-kashira are shakudo-ji with motifs of Ebisu and Daikoku, the menuki are shakudo-ji with a Hotei motif, the tsuba is shakudo-ji, and the kozuka features a motif from the Records of the Three Kingdoms. It features a luxurious Edo-period dashi-zame tsuka and a magnificent ichibu-kizami kuro-ro-nuri saya that could not be reproduced today. This wonderful koshirae adds even more splendor to this wakizashi. While Ohara Sanemori is extremely famous, even without seeing extant works, one can see from the luxury of the koshirae that this piece has been cherished in this manner since long ago. This wakizashi was entrusted to us by an old family who had carefully passed it down for generations as a wakizashi by Ohara Sanemori; they mentioned that as they have grown old, they wish to pass it on to someone who will treasure it. Therefore, we are offering it at a super-bargain price to those who are interested. Please do enjoy it.
NihontoWatchHeian · nagasa 44.8cm · sori 1.2cm
Wakimono · Hoki · around 1175-1199
Tōken Taikan top 5%
2 pieces on the market now
Ohara Sanemori (大原真守) of Hoki Province is traditionally transmitted as a son of Yasutsuna, the founding figure of the Ko-Hoki school. Together with related smiths--Aritsuna, Sadatsuna, Yasuie, and Sanekage--this group flourished from the late Heian period into the early Kamakura period. Sanemori's signed works employ a comparatively long inscription, characteristically a six-character mei cut with a thick chisel, of which the variant closely resembling the tachi preserved at Wakayama Toshogu (Important Cultural Property) is the most frequently cited. Extant signed works are "exceedingly rare," and the several signature variants make definitive authentication a continuing subject of study.
The NBTHK consistently distinguishes Ko-Hoki from contemporaneous Ko-Bizen, noting that while both schools temper predominantly small-pattern midare, "upon closer examination their character differs somewhat." Sanemori's kitae is itame-hada mixed with mokume, with the grain tending to stand; fine ji-nie adheres, chikei enters, and jifu-like textures are intermingled with jifu-utsuri standing out. A defining feature is that "the steel often takes on a blackish tone." His hamon is based on suguha mixed with ko-midare, ko-choji, and ko-gunome--"overall a fine-patterned irregularity"--with ko-ashi and yo entering well. The nioiguchi tends toward urumi (a moist, soft quality) and at times shows shizumi (subdued character), while kinsuji, nie-suji, and sunagashi appear with frequency. The boshi is typically sugu to ko-maru, and carved works--placed characteristically at the koshi-moto--include bonji, suken, and koshi-bi, providing "valuable material for understanding the distinctive nature of Sanemori's carvings." Within the Ko-Hoki group, Sanemori's tempering is noted for presenting "somewhat smaller-scale patterns of irregularity" compared to Yasutsuna.
The setsumei repeatedly invoke an atmosphere of "archaic, artless dignity" and "rustic, provincial flavor" when describing these works, a quality that "in one vein recalls Awataguchi Kuniyasu and Ayanokoji Sadatoshi." The classical sugata--slender, with funbari, high koshizori, and ko-kissaki--is described as appearing "more frequently in this smith's work" than in his father's. Multiple blades bear the addendum character "Katsu" (勝) on the ura of the nakago, a feature of unknown meaning that is "valuable as documentary material," also recorded in the Tsuchiya Oshigata.
Wakimono · Hoki
Phase: Ko-Hoki古伯耆· 966–1334
4 pieces on the market now
Ko-Hoki occupies the deepest stratum of the school, the chapter in which the Hoki name first enters the record at all. The published commentary places Yasutsuna roughly contemporary with Sanjo Munechika in the late Heian period, correcting the older reference-book dating that pushed him back to the Daido era (806 to 810), and the gap between that legend and the inferred reality is itself a measure of how far back this phase reaches. Gathered around Yasutsuna is the Ohara group: Masamori (read also as Sanemori), transmitted as his son, with Aritsuna, Sadatsuna, Yasuie and Masakage (Sanekage) named beside him, a circle the setsumei describes as flourishing from the late Heian into the early Kamakura period. Hoki Kunimune extends the manner toward the Kamakura age, his work judged to stand apart from Bizen Saburo Kunimune and possibly to predate him. Signed survivals at this antiquity are thin, more frequent under Yasutsuna than any other hand, and the meibutsu Dojigiri Yasutsuna fixes the period's highest reference. The style of this phase is read first in the steel. The setsumei return blade after blade to itame with standing grain, mixed with o-itame and mokume in large pattern, thick ji-nie, entering chikei and patchy jifu that rises into jifu-utsuri or midare-utsuri across a ground of darkish, blackish (kanai-iro) tone. The temper rests on a suguha base broken into ko-midare, with ko-choji, ko-gunome and shallow ko-notare mingled small in scale, the nie lying thick and the nioiguchi tending to urumi or shizumi; kinsuji and sunagashi run insistently, and many blades drop the edge above the machi in yakiotoshi.
The sugata keeps an archaic koshizori tachi form with funbari and a small kissaki, the boshi running straight to ko-maru or yakizume. Against the later Sue-Hoki the contrast is one of vigor and individuality: where the late phase settles this rustic register into something tamer and more regular, Ko-Hoki stands open, dark and forceful, each hand still distinct, Yasutsuna's midare running larger while Sadatsuna's finest signed work brightens unusually toward Bizen. For kantei the recurring task is to separate Hoki from Ko-Bizen, whose contemporaneous ko-midare it superficially resembles. The setsumei draw the line on close view: Ko-Bizen steel is bright and tight, while the Hoki ji stands open and dark with conspicuous large itame, a clouded nioiguchi, and kinsuji and sunagashi working through a softer provincial edge that carries an ancient fragrance (koko). A thread of Yamato spirit is read in certain pieces, such as the unsigned Yasutsuna long held in the Maeda house, and Sadatsuna's o-sujikai yasurime point toward Aoe even as judgment keeps him in Ko-Hoki. Yasutsuna and Masamori head the phase, and the signature habit of cutting tsuna (綱) larger than yasu (安) and shifted to the right is a noted diagnostic. The Dojigiri stands above the named works, with the Imperial Yasunori tachi and Sadatsuna and Kunimune blades transmitted through the Tokugawa, the Satake of Dewa, and the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira, the provenance running through the houses that held the country. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Yasutsuna安綱 | 987-1150 | 35 |
| Ohara大原 | 987-1596 | 16 |
| Sadatsuna貞綱 | 1184-1185 | 19 |
| Hiroyoshi廣賀 | 1532-1565 | 6 |
| Aritsuna有綱 | 1181-1182 | 5 |
The Heian period (794 to 1185)
The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
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.
¥380,000
(Heian Period, around the Kasho era) (848) (1178 years ago) It has arrived, it has arrived. Ohara Sanemori of Hoki Province from over a thousand years ago is incredibly famous as the son of Yasutsuna of Hoki, who is said to be the oldest smith and is famous for the Dojigiri Yasutsuna in Touken Ranbu. This wakizashi was cherished enough to have an orikaeshi-mei, but it is truly regrettable that it must now be treated as a kibo-mei (wishful signature). The sugata of this wakizashi shows an elegant wakizashi-sugata with a difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba and a graceful sori. The jigane is itame-hada mixed with mokume-hada, and from the moto, a faint utsuri appears in the ji, giving it a refined atmosphere. The hamon is finished in nioi-deki with ko-nie, fired in a sugu-cho style and well-executed. The koshirae is also magnificent: the fuchi-kashira are shakudo-ji with motifs of Ebisu and Daikoku, the menuki are shakudo-ji with a Hotei motif, the tsuba is shakudo-ji, and the kozuka features a motif from the Records of the Three Kingdoms. It features a luxurious Edo-period dashi-zame tsuka and a magnificent ichibu-kizami kuro-ro-nuri saya that could not be reproduced today. This wonderful koshirae adds even more splendor to this wakizashi. While Ohara Sanemori is extremely famous, even without seeing extant works, one can see from the luxury of the koshirae that this piece has been cherished in this manner since long ago. This wakizashi was entrusted to us by an old family who had carefully passed it down for generations as a wakizashi by Ohara Sanemori; they mentioned that as they have grown old, they wish to pass it on to someone who will treasure it. Therefore, we are offering it at a super-bargain price to those who are interested. Please do enjoy it.
NihontoWatchHeian · nagasa 44.8cm · sori 1.2cm
Wakimono · Hoki · around 1175-1199
Tōken Taikan top 5%
2 pieces on the market now
Ohara Sanemori (大原真守) of Hoki Province is traditionally transmitted as a son of Yasutsuna, the founding figure of the Ko-Hoki school. Together with related smiths--Aritsuna, Sadatsuna, Yasuie, and Sanekage--this group flourished from the late Heian period into the early Kamakura period. Sanemori's signed works employ a comparatively long inscription, characteristically a six-character mei cut with a thick chisel, of which the variant closely resembling the tachi preserved at Wakayama Toshogu (Important Cultural Property) is the most frequently cited. Extant signed works are "exceedingly rare," and the several signature variants make definitive authentication a continuing subject of study.
The NBTHK consistently distinguishes Ko-Hoki from contemporaneous Ko-Bizen, noting that while both schools temper predominantly small-pattern midare, "upon closer examination their character differs somewhat." Sanemori's kitae is itame-hada mixed with mokume, with the grain tending to stand; fine ji-nie adheres, chikei enters, and jifu-like textures are intermingled with jifu-utsuri standing out. A defining feature is that "the steel often takes on a blackish tone." His hamon is based on suguha mixed with ko-midare, ko-choji, and ko-gunome--"overall a fine-patterned irregularity"--with ko-ashi and yo entering well. The nioiguchi tends toward urumi (a moist, soft quality) and at times shows shizumi (subdued character), while kinsuji, nie-suji, and sunagashi appear with frequency. The boshi is typically sugu to ko-maru, and carved works--placed characteristically at the koshi-moto--include bonji, suken, and koshi-bi, providing "valuable material for understanding the distinctive nature of Sanemori's carvings." Within the Ko-Hoki group, Sanemori's tempering is noted for presenting "somewhat smaller-scale patterns of irregularity" compared to Yasutsuna.
The setsumei repeatedly invoke an atmosphere of "archaic, artless dignity" and "rustic, provincial flavor" when describing these works, a quality that "in one vein recalls Awataguchi Kuniyasu and Ayanokoji Sadatoshi." The classical sugata--slender, with funbari, high koshizori, and ko-kissaki--is described as appearing "more frequently in this smith's work" than in his father's. Multiple blades bear the addendum character "Katsu" (勝) on the ura of the nakago, a feature of unknown meaning that is "valuable as documentary material," also recorded in the Tsuchiya Oshigata.
Wakimono · Hoki
Phase: Ko-Hoki古伯耆· 966–1334
4 pieces on the market now
Ko-Hoki occupies the deepest stratum of the school, the chapter in which the Hoki name first enters the record at all. The published commentary places Yasutsuna roughly contemporary with Sanjo Munechika in the late Heian period, correcting the older reference-book dating that pushed him back to the Daido era (806 to 810), and the gap between that legend and the inferred reality is itself a measure of how far back this phase reaches. Gathered around Yasutsuna is the Ohara group: Masamori (read also as Sanemori), transmitted as his son, with Aritsuna, Sadatsuna, Yasuie and Masakage (Sanekage) named beside him, a circle the setsumei describes as flourishing from the late Heian into the early Kamakura period. Hoki Kunimune extends the manner toward the Kamakura age, his work judged to stand apart from Bizen Saburo Kunimune and possibly to predate him. Signed survivals at this antiquity are thin, more frequent under Yasutsuna than any other hand, and the meibutsu Dojigiri Yasutsuna fixes the period's highest reference. The style of this phase is read first in the steel. The setsumei return blade after blade to itame with standing grain, mixed with o-itame and mokume in large pattern, thick ji-nie, entering chikei and patchy jifu that rises into jifu-utsuri or midare-utsuri across a ground of darkish, blackish (kanai-iro) tone. The temper rests on a suguha base broken into ko-midare, with ko-choji, ko-gunome and shallow ko-notare mingled small in scale, the nie lying thick and the nioiguchi tending to urumi or shizumi; kinsuji and sunagashi run insistently, and many blades drop the edge above the machi in yakiotoshi.
The sugata keeps an archaic koshizori tachi form with funbari and a small kissaki, the boshi running straight to ko-maru or yakizume. Against the later Sue-Hoki the contrast is one of vigor and individuality: where the late phase settles this rustic register into something tamer and more regular, Ko-Hoki stands open, dark and forceful, each hand still distinct, Yasutsuna's midare running larger while Sadatsuna's finest signed work brightens unusually toward Bizen. For kantei the recurring task is to separate Hoki from Ko-Bizen, whose contemporaneous ko-midare it superficially resembles. The setsumei draw the line on close view: Ko-Bizen steel is bright and tight, while the Hoki ji stands open and dark with conspicuous large itame, a clouded nioiguchi, and kinsuji and sunagashi working through a softer provincial edge that carries an ancient fragrance (koko). A thread of Yamato spirit is read in certain pieces, such as the unsigned Yasutsuna long held in the Maeda house, and Sadatsuna's o-sujikai yasurime point toward Aoe even as judgment keeps him in Ko-Hoki. Yasutsuna and Masamori head the phase, and the signature habit of cutting tsuna (綱) larger than yasu (安) and shifted to the right is a noted diagnostic. The Dojigiri stands above the named works, with the Imperial Yasunori tachi and Sadatsuna and Kunimune blades transmitted through the Tokugawa, the Satake of Dewa, and the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira, the provenance running through the houses that held the country. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Yasutsuna安綱 | 987-1150 | 35 |
| Ohara大原 | 987-1596 | 16 |
| Sadatsuna貞綱 | 1184-1185 | 19 |
| Hiroyoshi廣賀 | 1532-1565 | 6 |
| Aritsuna有綱 | 1181-1182 | 5 |
The Heian period (794 to 1185)
The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
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.
¥380,000
