NihontoWatchKurihara Hikosaburo Akihide, who left behind great achievements in the restoration and development of Gendaito, with works designated as Tokubetsu Hozon Token in both daisho. Kurihara Hikosaburo Akihide was a former member of the House of Representatives born in Meiji 12 in Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, and was a rare individual who struggled to overcome national crises from the Meiji era through the first half of the Showa era, as Japan sought a path toward modernization and wavered between the great powers. From early on, he aspired to restore the Japanese sword, learned forging under the second generation Masa-o, and established the Nihonto Tanren Denshusho within the garden of his residence in Akasaka Hikawacho (the former site of the Katsu Kaishu residence); with Kasama Shigetsugu and others as instructors, and including the Nihonto Gakuin, he raised no fewer than 150 swordsmiths. The Ningen Kokuho swordsmiths Miyairi Akihira (Yukihira) and Amada Akitsugu were also disciples who swung hammers and honed their skills at the same Denshusho. Placing the headquarters of the Dai Nihon Tosho Kyokai in his own residence and holding Shinsaku Nihonto Tenrankai, he promoted the prosperity of swordsmiths, togishi, sayashi, and others, and was one of the great contributors who protected this field through the two major crises of the destruction of Japanese sword culture: the Haitorei and the defeat in the war. This work is a daisho set, which is extremely rare for his work. The sho, a wakizashi, has a somewhat high sori and a taihai ending in a kokissaki, with a finely packed jigane and a midareba in nioi-deki, showing the Bizen-den style favored by Akihide; however, the dai, a katana, has hitatsura-ba at the koshimoto, and at the monouchi the yaki is high enough to reach the shinogi-ji, becoming nijuba and sanjuba, with ashi connecting to form circular shapes; from this expression, which rages so violently that I have never seen the like before, it possesses a breathtaking power that can only be emitted one step before collapse, and is dazzling to the eyes. It is a masterpiece among his works that makes one feel the surge of his tireless study and his indomitable, hot passion for the restoration of Japanese sword culture.
NihontoWatchOffered by Iida Koendo
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
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.
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 siteFor returns at the customer's convenience, please notify us within two days of the item's arrival. Items that have been altered cannot be accepted. Return shipping is at the customer's expense. Costs other than the item price (bank transfer fees, cash-on-delivery fees, etc.) cannot be refunded. Items delivered overseas cannot be returned or refunded.
¥2,200,000