NihontoWatchOrdering Number: AS26451Katana in Shirasaya with Koshirae (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)Signature: Naniwa Gassan Unryūshi Minamoto Sadakazu Tsukuru Kore浪華月山雲龍子源貞一造之Sayagaki: This sword is genuine and an excellent work by Imperial Household Artist Naniwa Gassan Unryūshi Sadakazu. Blade length: 2 shaku 5 sun 5 bu. Forged in the Yamato tradition using secret techniques, with bohi carved on both sides. Made around the Keio era (1865–1868). Appraised by his great-grandson, Sadatoshi, in the third month of Heisei 23 (2011). (Kaō)(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo Saku, Jyojyo Saku, Jyo Saku and Regular Saku).This blade is ranked as Jyojyo Saku among the works of Naniwa Gassan Unryūshi Minamoto Sadakazu.Habaki: Double gold-foiled habaki.Blade Length: 77.0 cm (30.31 in).Curvature: 1.0 cm (0.39 in).Mekugi Hole: 3.Width at Base (Motohaba): 3.54 cm (1.39 in).Width at Yokote: 2.58 cm (1.02 in).Thickness of rim (Kasane): 0.79 cm (0.31 in).Sword Weight: 950 g.Era: Late Edo period.Shape: A magnificent, long blade with a wide mihaba, ubu nakago, shallow curvature, and an elongated kissaki. Bohi are carved on both sides.Jigane: Tightly forged masame hada with vivid, flowing grain that displays exceptional vitality.Hamon: Suguha with fine ko-ashi. The boshi is finished in hakikake.Features: Gassan Sadakazu was a master swordsmith of Settsu Province. His personal name was Gassan Yagorō. He was born in 1836 in Sukoshi Village, Ōmi Province, and was adopted by Gassan Sadayoshi at the age of seven. He began his training around the age of eleven and is said to have mastered the distinctive ayasugi-hada by the age of twenty. Even after the Haitōrei (Sword Abolishment Edict) of 1876, he devoted himself entirely to swordmaking. In 1893, he exhibited a sword at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it received an award, and the following year one of his works was purchased by Emperor Meiji. In 1906, he was appointed an Imperial Household Artist (Teishitsu Gigei-in). He
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Shinshinto · Osaka · around 1926-1989
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 60%
7 pieces on the market now
Where Sadakatsu stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
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Shinshinto · Settsu
28 pieces on the market now
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sadaharu貞晴 | 1865-1868 | 0 |
| Sadayoshi貞吉 | 1926-1989 | 0 |
| Yoshiaki吉明 | 1844-1848 | 0 |
| Naonobu直信 | 1854-1860 | 0 |
| Sadayoshi貞吉 | 1830-1863 | 0 |
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.
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