This is a wakizashi by the 1st generation Hojoji Masahiro, active during the Kanbun era (1661-1673) in Musashi province. Masahiro was a leading smith of the Edo-Hojoji school, known for his Kanbun-shintō-sugata blades with a dense itame jigane and a hamon that can be suguha mixed with notare and gunome-ashi, or a plain gunome-midare. This smith is rated jō-saku and wazamono.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo-Hojoji · Shinto
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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 site
This is a wakizashi by the 1st generation Hojoji Masahiro, active during the Kanbun era (1661-1673) in Musashi province. Masahiro was a leading smith of the Edo-Hojoji school, known for his Kanbun-shintō-sugata blades with a dense itame jigane and a hamon that can be suguha mixed with notare and gunome-ashi, or a plain gunome-midare. This smith is rated jō-saku and wazamono.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo-Hojoji · Shinto
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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 site
