Sixty years of war between two courts drove blades long and broad, and Osafune met the demand: Kanemitsu and Chōgi led forges serving the provincial warriors who did the fighting, while Sōshū influence arrived with the armies to create Sōden-Bizen.
This katana is attributed to Osafune Tsunehiro from the Nanbokucho period, originating from Bizen province. It features a well-forged blade with a vibrant hamon and is accompanied by a black roiro saya uchigatana koshirae. The sword is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK.
NihontoWatchmumei · Osafune · Nanbokucho · nagasa 69.6cm · sori 1.7cm
Bizen-den · Bizen · around 1329-1331
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku
1 piece on the market now
Tsunehiro (恒弘) was a smith of the Osafune school in Bizen Province, active during the late Nanbokucho period. Although sword reference works place a first generation around the Gentoku era at the end of the Kamakura period, "almost no extant works by that figure are seen." The Tsunehiro whose works survive in appreciable number is the later smith, counted among the group of makers associated with the so-called ko-sori-mono — "small-curvature" or "slight-sori" pieces that constitute a distinctive stylistic current of the late Nanbokucho era. While the Kokon Kaji Biko advances the theory that Tsunehiro belonged to Chogi's line, the NBTHK observes that "neither the workmanship nor the manner of signing resembles Chogi," and places him instead among smiths whose jigane and hamon are "characteristic of the small-sori works of the later Nanbokucho period."
The forging in Tsunehiro's blades shows itame-hada mixed with mokume, overall tending toward nagare-gokoro, with fine ji-nie, thick chikei, and jifu intermixed; utsuri stands out, sometimes with a "whitish tendency." The hamon is principally a gunome with kataochi-like elements — mixed with togariba, ko-gunome, and pointed forms — tightened down with sunagashi and kinsuji, producing an overall small-patterned effect. The nioiguchi tends toward shimari-gokoro, occasionally with a slight shizumi tendency, while at the yakigashira one observes yubashiri-like effects. The boshi enters in midare-komi, tending toward a pointed feeling with vigorous hakikake. Signature characters are "notably small and placed close to the ridge."
The NBTHK characterizes Tsunehiro's finest works as masterpieces in which "the jigane is well consolidated, the nioiguchi is clear and bright, and both ji and ha are kenzen." His blades share traits broadly with other ko-sori-mono smiths such as Moriyuki and Mitsuhiro, yet Tsunehiro's individual manner — the kataochi-like gunome with its small-patterned, tightened character — is recognized as a distinctive stylistic contribution within the late Nanbokucho Osafune tradition.
Bizen-den · Bizen
29 pieces on the market now
The Kozori (小反り) form a loose body of Bizen smiths who worked at and around Osafune in the closing decades of the Nanbokucho period and on into early Muromachi, and the NBTHK defines them less by descent than by exclusion: they are the late-Osafune hands who fall outside the specific lineages of Kanemitsu, Chogi, Motoshige and the Omiya group, gathered under one name as a convenience. The reading of the name itself has been explained in several ways, and the published sources are candid that it resists a clean definition; the prevailing sense is the ko-sori, the slight or shallow reverse-curvature of the blades, the shape running to a deep koshizori with marked funbari and a small point in the older pieces and growing heavy in the kasane toward Oei. The body has no single founder. Smiths such as Moromitsu (師光), recorded as the father of the Oei master Morimitsu, anchor the group through dated tachi; Iesuke and Iemori carry Hatakeda blood; Nariie descends from Kagehide; Morisuke, Shigeyoshi, Tsunehiro, Hidemitsu, Motomasa and others fill out the periphery, several of whose lines run several generations and whose precise generation-by-generation reading the institution leaves to further study. Across these hands runs a shared vocabulary, and the recurring word for it is scale. The jigane is the constant: an itame mixed with mokume and nagare, the grain standing a little (hada-tachi), fine ji-nie attaching, dark chikei-toned and at times jifu-like passages crossing the steel, and over it the midare-utsuri (sometimes a bo-utsuri or straight sugu-utsuri) that places the group squarely in the Bizen-den. The temper is nioi-based with ko-nie, built on a shallow ko-notare into which the smiths set ko-gunome running connected and threaded, pointed togariba, angular squared elements, open-waisted koshi-biraki gunome and modest choji, the whole kept small and crowded (kozumu), with ko-ashi and yo entering and fine sunagashi and kinsuji playing through. The boshi answers in midare-komi, pointing or settling to a ko-maru with hakikake.
Within the shared idiom each hand has its tell: Moromitsu tempers the most subdued, low-lying midare; Nariie's gunome crowds where Kanemitsu's opens; Hidemitsu and Hidemitsu of the Koreha branch lean to a reverse-slanting saka-gakari and saka-ashi near the Aoe manner, and turn now and then to a quiet chu-suguha; Tsunehiro favours a kataochi-like gunome; Iesuke and Iemori, working into Oei, open the valleys toward the early-Muromachi pattern. A collector seeks Kozori for legibility rather than flourish. Many of the best survivors are ubu, signed and dated tachi, and that dated file (Joji, Oan, Eiwa, Shitoku, Eitoku, Meitoku into Oei) gives the late history of Osafune a year-by-year spine, prized as reference material for the period; the names also map a province pulled between the Northern and Southern courts, Morisuke's Joji dates reading as Northern Court alignment. To kantei the group is to read it against its neighbours: the small, crowded, nioi-toned midare and the standing itame with kawarigane chikei separate it from the bolder, more uniform gunome of the Kanemitsu mainline of the Nanbokucho height, while the open koshi-biraki valleys and the heavier, sakizori late sugata point forward to and distinguish it from the more decorative Oei-Bizen of Morimitsu and Yasumitsu (a threshold several Kozori blades, in NBTHK phrasing, already anticipate). Among the members the institution ranks Moromitsu and Nariie high (Nariie held equal to the Kanemitsu pupil Masamitsu), Iesuke beside the leading Oei names, and Hidemitsu the leading hand of the Koreha branch. Provenance, though thinly recorded for some, reaches real houses: blades descend through the Kuroda, Kaga Maeda, Shonai Sakai and Hojo families, with examples in the Hayashibara Museum and the national museums, and the occasional Imperial line. A signed, dated Kozori blade comes to hand only from time to time, a quiet, datable window onto Osafune as it closed its Nanbokucho age. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Hidemitsu秀光 | 1375-1392 | 19 |
| Iesuke家助 | 1394-1428 | 11 |
| Iemori家守 | 1377-1406 | 15 |
| Nariie成家 | 1352-1362 | 21 |
| Moromitsu師光 | 1375-1390 | 7 |
Bizen in the Nanbokuchō period
Sixty years of war between two courts drove blades long and broad, and Osafune met the demand: Kanemitsu and Chōgi led forges serving the provincial warriors who did the fighting, while Sōshū influence arrived with the armies to create Sōden-Bizen.
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 siteWithin one week of the item's arrival (cooling-off is possible within Japan only). For defects that differ from the purchase conditions, we will accept the return and refund the payment. For other cases such as overseas, we will consult separately.
¥1,350,000
This katana is attributed to Osafune Tsunehiro from the Nanbokucho period, originating from Bizen province. It features a well-forged blade with a vibrant hamon and is accompanied by a black roiro saya uchigatana koshirae. The sword is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK.
NihontoWatchmumei · Osafune · Nanbokucho · nagasa 69.6cm · sori 1.7cm
Bizen-den · Bizen · around 1329-1331
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku
1 piece on the market now
Tsunehiro (恒弘) was a smith of the Osafune school in Bizen Province, active during the late Nanbokucho period. Although sword reference works place a first generation around the Gentoku era at the end of the Kamakura period, "almost no extant works by that figure are seen." The Tsunehiro whose works survive in appreciable number is the later smith, counted among the group of makers associated with the so-called ko-sori-mono — "small-curvature" or "slight-sori" pieces that constitute a distinctive stylistic current of the late Nanbokucho era. While the Kokon Kaji Biko advances the theory that Tsunehiro belonged to Chogi's line, the NBTHK observes that "neither the workmanship nor the manner of signing resembles Chogi," and places him instead among smiths whose jigane and hamon are "characteristic of the small-sori works of the later Nanbokucho period."
The forging in Tsunehiro's blades shows itame-hada mixed with mokume, overall tending toward nagare-gokoro, with fine ji-nie, thick chikei, and jifu intermixed; utsuri stands out, sometimes with a "whitish tendency." The hamon is principally a gunome with kataochi-like elements — mixed with togariba, ko-gunome, and pointed forms — tightened down with sunagashi and kinsuji, producing an overall small-patterned effect. The nioiguchi tends toward shimari-gokoro, occasionally with a slight shizumi tendency, while at the yakigashira one observes yubashiri-like effects. The boshi enters in midare-komi, tending toward a pointed feeling with vigorous hakikake. Signature characters are "notably small and placed close to the ridge."
The NBTHK characterizes Tsunehiro's finest works as masterpieces in which "the jigane is well consolidated, the nioiguchi is clear and bright, and both ji and ha are kenzen." His blades share traits broadly with other ko-sori-mono smiths such as Moriyuki and Mitsuhiro, yet Tsunehiro's individual manner — the kataochi-like gunome with its small-patterned, tightened character — is recognized as a distinctive stylistic contribution within the late Nanbokucho Osafune tradition.
Bizen-den · Bizen
29 pieces on the market now
The Kozori (小反り) form a loose body of Bizen smiths who worked at and around Osafune in the closing decades of the Nanbokucho period and on into early Muromachi, and the NBTHK defines them less by descent than by exclusion: they are the late-Osafune hands who fall outside the specific lineages of Kanemitsu, Chogi, Motoshige and the Omiya group, gathered under one name as a convenience. The reading of the name itself has been explained in several ways, and the published sources are candid that it resists a clean definition; the prevailing sense is the ko-sori, the slight or shallow reverse-curvature of the blades, the shape running to a deep koshizori with marked funbari and a small point in the older pieces and growing heavy in the kasane toward Oei. The body has no single founder. Smiths such as Moromitsu (師光), recorded as the father of the Oei master Morimitsu, anchor the group through dated tachi; Iesuke and Iemori carry Hatakeda blood; Nariie descends from Kagehide; Morisuke, Shigeyoshi, Tsunehiro, Hidemitsu, Motomasa and others fill out the periphery, several of whose lines run several generations and whose precise generation-by-generation reading the institution leaves to further study. Across these hands runs a shared vocabulary, and the recurring word for it is scale. The jigane is the constant: an itame mixed with mokume and nagare, the grain standing a little (hada-tachi), fine ji-nie attaching, dark chikei-toned and at times jifu-like passages crossing the steel, and over it the midare-utsuri (sometimes a bo-utsuri or straight sugu-utsuri) that places the group squarely in the Bizen-den. The temper is nioi-based with ko-nie, built on a shallow ko-notare into which the smiths set ko-gunome running connected and threaded, pointed togariba, angular squared elements, open-waisted koshi-biraki gunome and modest choji, the whole kept small and crowded (kozumu), with ko-ashi and yo entering and fine sunagashi and kinsuji playing through. The boshi answers in midare-komi, pointing or settling to a ko-maru with hakikake.
Within the shared idiom each hand has its tell: Moromitsu tempers the most subdued, low-lying midare; Nariie's gunome crowds where Kanemitsu's opens; Hidemitsu and Hidemitsu of the Koreha branch lean to a reverse-slanting saka-gakari and saka-ashi near the Aoe manner, and turn now and then to a quiet chu-suguha; Tsunehiro favours a kataochi-like gunome; Iesuke and Iemori, working into Oei, open the valleys toward the early-Muromachi pattern. A collector seeks Kozori for legibility rather than flourish. Many of the best survivors are ubu, signed and dated tachi, and that dated file (Joji, Oan, Eiwa, Shitoku, Eitoku, Meitoku into Oei) gives the late history of Osafune a year-by-year spine, prized as reference material for the period; the names also map a province pulled between the Northern and Southern courts, Morisuke's Joji dates reading as Northern Court alignment. To kantei the group is to read it against its neighbours: the small, crowded, nioi-toned midare and the standing itame with kawarigane chikei separate it from the bolder, more uniform gunome of the Kanemitsu mainline of the Nanbokucho height, while the open koshi-biraki valleys and the heavier, sakizori late sugata point forward to and distinguish it from the more decorative Oei-Bizen of Morimitsu and Yasumitsu (a threshold several Kozori blades, in NBTHK phrasing, already anticipate). Among the members the institution ranks Moromitsu and Nariie high (Nariie held equal to the Kanemitsu pupil Masamitsu), Iesuke beside the leading Oei names, and Hidemitsu the leading hand of the Koreha branch. Provenance, though thinly recorded for some, reaches real houses: blades descend through the Kuroda, Kaga Maeda, Shonai Sakai and Hojo families, with examples in the Hayashibara Museum and the national museums, and the occasional Imperial line. A signed, dated Kozori blade comes to hand only from time to time, a quiet, datable window onto Osafune as it closed its Nanbokucho age. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Hidemitsu秀光 | 1375-1392 | 19 |
| Iesuke家助 | 1394-1428 | 11 |
| Iemori家守 | 1377-1406 | 15 |
| Nariie成家 | 1352-1362 | 21 |
| Moromitsu師光 | 1375-1390 | 7 |
Bizen in the Nanbokuchō period
Sixty years of war between two courts drove blades long and broad, and Osafune met the demand: Kanemitsu and Chōgi led forges serving the provincial warriors who did the fighting, while Sōshū influence arrived with the armies to create Sōden-Bizen.
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 siteWithin one week of the item's arrival (cooling-off is possible within Japan only). For defects that differ from the purchase conditions, we will accept the return and refund the payment. For other cases such as overseas, we will consult separately.
¥1,350,000
