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 katana by Nagashima Yoshikatsu, a student of Katsumura Tokukatsu from the Katsumura Kobo workshop in Hitachi province during the late Edo period (1865). The blade features a Shinogizukuri shape with an O-kissaki, Itame jigane with jinie and chikei, and a Midare hamon with togari-ba. It comes with a black lacquered koshirae and a silver habaki, accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
NihontoWatchmei · Katsumura Kobo · Keio (1865-1868) · nagasa 76.9cm · sori 1.3cm
Hitachi · around 1865-1868
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
This is a katana by Nagashima Yoshikatsu, a student of Katsumura Tokukatsu from the Katsumura Kobo workshop in Hitachi province during the late Edo period (1865). The blade features a Shinogizukuri shape with an O-kissaki, Itame jigane with jinie and chikei, and a Midare hamon with togari-ba. It comes with a black lacquered koshirae and a silver habaki, accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
NihontoWatchmei · Katsumura Kobo · Keio (1865-1868) · nagasa 76.9cm · sori 1.3cm
Hitachi · around 1865-1868
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
