Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
This is a wakizashi by Ushu Shonai Ju Naokazu, dated to October 1866 during the turbulent late Edo period. The blade features a wide mihaba, thick kasane, and a fine ko-itame hada with an attractive rounded hamon. It comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon and Tokubetsu Kicho certificates.
Auction status: live on sword-auction.com.
NihontoWatchmei · Koka (1844-1848) · nagasa 36.5cm · sori 0.8cm
Uzen · around 1844-1848
Tōken Taikan top 95%
2 pieces on the market now
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
This is a wakizashi by Ushu Shonai Ju Naokazu, dated to October 1866 during the turbulent late Edo period. The blade features a wide mihaba, thick kasane, and a fine ko-itame hada with an attractive rounded hamon. It comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon and Tokubetsu Kicho certificates.
Auction status: live on sword-auction.com.
NihontoWatchmei · Koka (1844-1848) · nagasa 36.5cm · sori 0.8cm
Uzen · around 1844-1848
Tōken Taikan top 95%
2 pieces on the market now
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
