The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
This is a tachi by Imaizumi Toshimitsu, forged in 1959 (Showa 34), the year he was certified as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Okayama Prefecture. It is a magnificent piece with a long nagasa, wide mihaba, thick kasane, deep koshi-zori, and an ikubi-kissaki. The jitetsu is tightly forged ko-itame with fine ji-nie, and the hamon features gunome with kawazu-ko-choji and juka-choji, showing deep nioi and bright nie.
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1926-1989) · nagasa 84cm · sori 3cm
Okayama · around 1926-1989
2 pieces on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
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, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
¥1,300,000
This is a tachi by Imaizumi Toshimitsu, forged in 1959 (Showa 34), the year he was certified as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Okayama Prefecture. It is a magnificent piece with a long nagasa, wide mihaba, thick kasane, deep koshi-zori, and an ikubi-kissaki. The jitetsu is tightly forged ko-itame with fine ji-nie, and the hamon features gunome with kawazu-ko-choji and juka-choji, showing deep nioi and bright nie.
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1926-1989) · nagasa 84cm · sori 3cm
Okayama · around 1926-1989
2 pieces on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
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, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
¥1,300,000
