The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
Weight: 847g (toshin only) It has arrived, a tachi by Hoju has arrived. During the Heian period—the same early formative era of the nihonto as Hoki Yasutsuna, Kobizen Tomonari, Kobizen Masatsune, and Sanjo Munechika—the three generations of the Oshu Fujiwara (Kiyohira, Motohira, and Hidehira) brought forth an era of glory in Mutsu Province (modern-day Aomori, Yamagata, Morioka, and Miyagi). In the land of Hiraizumi, famous for the golden temple of Chuson-ji, they gave form to an ideal of peace and beauty amidst a world of conflict. While the Mokusa kaji were active in the surrounding areas at that time, no works of theirs currently remain. Following the fall of the three Fujiwara generations, extant works by the old Hoju kaji, considered descendants of the Mokusa school, exist from the early Kamakura period through the Nanbokucho period, such as this sword. Although this sword has a mei, it is indistinct and has been kiwame as Hoju (later generation). It is a precious ubu tachi manufactured around the Enbun era of the Nanbokucho period (1356), approximately 670 years ago. The sugata of this sword shows a thick moto-kasane, high shinogi, and a wide moto-mihaba with a significant difference from the saki-mihaba, displaying a magnificent Nanbokucho period tachi style. The jigane is forged in itame-hada mixed with a great deal of masame-hada, and the ji exhibits active, white midare-utsuri, possessing a wonderful and antique flavor. The hamon is a deep nie-nioi notare-midare mixed with many gunome; the ha is intricately disordered with many hataraki, fired in an old, archaic style. We have received this sword, kiwame as Hoju, from an old family who stated, "We have grown old, so please pass this on to someone who will cherish it." For this reason, we are offering it at a special, ultra-low price. Please enjoy this historically precious Hoju tachi from the Nanbokucho period 700 years ago, of which very few extant works remain.
NihontoWatchHeian · nagasa 70.8cm · sori 2.4cm
Wakimono · Oshu
Among the swordsmiths said by old transmitted records to have worked in Ōshū (Mutsu and the wider northeast) from the Nara and Heian periods through the Kamakura age, the setsumei repeatedly observe that, of works actually surviving today, almost the only name that can be confirmed is Hōju (宝寿). The line is set within the Maikusa (Mokusa) sphere of Ōshū smiths, a group transmitted from the early Kamakura period onward; one tachi is described as a branch of the Maikusa smiths of Mutsu, and a Nanbokuchō entry pairs Hōju with Maikusa and, after Nanbokuchō, the Gassan group. The name itself was carried across a long span, from Kamakura through Nanbokuchō and into the Muromachi Ōei era, so that "Hōju" denotes a lineage rather than a single hand. A complicating thread runs through the corpus: one blade dated Enkyō 4 (1311) is signed Yamato-kuni-jū Tōmoto Hōju, raising the question of movement between Ōshū and Yamato, with the setsumei suggesting exchange of smiths through Shugendō mountain practice. Dated survivors anchor the chronology firmly, with inscriptions of Shōchū 2 (1325), Eiwa 2 (1376), Eitoku 2 (1382), and a run of Ōei years (5, 6, 12, 14, 22, 25). The shared hand the setsumei describe is an archaic northern one. The forging is itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, frequently with ō-itame, the grain standing up (hada-dachi) and at times an ayasugi-like or, near the edge, masame tendency; thick ji-nie gathers and bold chikei enter, the steel inclining to a blackish tone with a whitish cast, and shirake-utsuri rising in the ground. The temper is built on suguha and suguha-chō passing into ko-midare, or a shallow notare joined with ko-gunome and ko-notare; the habuchi shows frequent hotsure, kinsuji and sunagashi run vigorously, and a yaki-otoshi often drops the hardened edge at the machi.
The nioiguchi tends to shizumi and urumi, subdued and moist rather than bright, though certain pieces run brighter. The bōshi enters midare-komi or yakizume with hakikake, and the carvings, bonji over a sankō-tsuka-ken, are rustic yet carry an elegant taste. To recognize the hand, read the standing large-grained hada, the dark steel with whitish utsuri, and the quiet nioiguchi, set against the heroic koshizori tachi form. For kantei, the diagnostic cluster is the combination of standing ō-itame with bold chikei, blackish steel under whitish utsuri, yaki-otoshi at the base, and the subdued nioiguchi with hotsure, kinsuji, and sunagashi, the whole carrying a frankly provincial character that the setsumei treat as the lineage's signature. Signature study is itself a kantei tool: the two-character Hōju mei of the Eitoku-era Imperial Household tachi is read against an orikaeshi-mei example dated Eitoku, certified an Important Art Object, to date later works by the same chisel. Named survivors map the standing: two signed tachi in the Imperial collection, the kinzōgan-mei katana carrying a Hon'ami Kōchū origami of Kyōhō 7 (1722), the Shōchū 2 tachi held by Mitake Shrine, and an ubu mumei ōdachi transmitted as a hereditary treasure of the Murakami, the maritime warriors of the Seto Inland Sea. Ubu, signed, and dated Hōju, especially those not descending past early Nanbokuchō, the setsumei prize as reference material for an Ōshū tradition otherwise known largely through this one enduring name. Learn more →
The Heian period (794 to 1185)
The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
¥850,000
Weight: 847g (toshin only) It has arrived, a tachi by Hoju has arrived. During the Heian period—the same early formative era of the nihonto as Hoki Yasutsuna, Kobizen Tomonari, Kobizen Masatsune, and Sanjo Munechika—the three generations of the Oshu Fujiwara (Kiyohira, Motohira, and Hidehira) brought forth an era of glory in Mutsu Province (modern-day Aomori, Yamagata, Morioka, and Miyagi). In the land of Hiraizumi, famous for the golden temple of Chuson-ji, they gave form to an ideal of peace and beauty amidst a world of conflict. While the Mokusa kaji were active in the surrounding areas at that time, no works of theirs currently remain. Following the fall of the three Fujiwara generations, extant works by the old Hoju kaji, considered descendants of the Mokusa school, exist from the early Kamakura period through the Nanbokucho period, such as this sword. Although this sword has a mei, it is indistinct and has been kiwame as Hoju (later generation). It is a precious ubu tachi manufactured around the Enbun era of the Nanbokucho period (1356), approximately 670 years ago. The sugata of this sword shows a thick moto-kasane, high shinogi, and a wide moto-mihaba with a significant difference from the saki-mihaba, displaying a magnificent Nanbokucho period tachi style. The jigane is forged in itame-hada mixed with a great deal of masame-hada, and the ji exhibits active, white midare-utsuri, possessing a wonderful and antique flavor. The hamon is a deep nie-nioi notare-midare mixed with many gunome; the ha is intricately disordered with many hataraki, fired in an old, archaic style. We have received this sword, kiwame as Hoju, from an old family who stated, "We have grown old, so please pass this on to someone who will cherish it." For this reason, we are offering it at a special, ultra-low price. Please enjoy this historically precious Hoju tachi from the Nanbokucho period 700 years ago, of which very few extant works remain.
NihontoWatchHeian · nagasa 70.8cm · sori 2.4cm
Wakimono · Oshu
Among the swordsmiths said by old transmitted records to have worked in Ōshū (Mutsu and the wider northeast) from the Nara and Heian periods through the Kamakura age, the setsumei repeatedly observe that, of works actually surviving today, almost the only name that can be confirmed is Hōju (宝寿). The line is set within the Maikusa (Mokusa) sphere of Ōshū smiths, a group transmitted from the early Kamakura period onward; one tachi is described as a branch of the Maikusa smiths of Mutsu, and a Nanbokuchō entry pairs Hōju with Maikusa and, after Nanbokuchō, the Gassan group. The name itself was carried across a long span, from Kamakura through Nanbokuchō and into the Muromachi Ōei era, so that "Hōju" denotes a lineage rather than a single hand. A complicating thread runs through the corpus: one blade dated Enkyō 4 (1311) is signed Yamato-kuni-jū Tōmoto Hōju, raising the question of movement between Ōshū and Yamato, with the setsumei suggesting exchange of smiths through Shugendō mountain practice. Dated survivors anchor the chronology firmly, with inscriptions of Shōchū 2 (1325), Eiwa 2 (1376), Eitoku 2 (1382), and a run of Ōei years (5, 6, 12, 14, 22, 25). The shared hand the setsumei describe is an archaic northern one. The forging is itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, frequently with ō-itame, the grain standing up (hada-dachi) and at times an ayasugi-like or, near the edge, masame tendency; thick ji-nie gathers and bold chikei enter, the steel inclining to a blackish tone with a whitish cast, and shirake-utsuri rising in the ground. The temper is built on suguha and suguha-chō passing into ko-midare, or a shallow notare joined with ko-gunome and ko-notare; the habuchi shows frequent hotsure, kinsuji and sunagashi run vigorously, and a yaki-otoshi often drops the hardened edge at the machi.
The nioiguchi tends to shizumi and urumi, subdued and moist rather than bright, though certain pieces run brighter. The bōshi enters midare-komi or yakizume with hakikake, and the carvings, bonji over a sankō-tsuka-ken, are rustic yet carry an elegant taste. To recognize the hand, read the standing large-grained hada, the dark steel with whitish utsuri, and the quiet nioiguchi, set against the heroic koshizori tachi form. For kantei, the diagnostic cluster is the combination of standing ō-itame with bold chikei, blackish steel under whitish utsuri, yaki-otoshi at the base, and the subdued nioiguchi with hotsure, kinsuji, and sunagashi, the whole carrying a frankly provincial character that the setsumei treat as the lineage's signature. Signature study is itself a kantei tool: the two-character Hōju mei of the Eitoku-era Imperial Household tachi is read against an orikaeshi-mei example dated Eitoku, certified an Important Art Object, to date later works by the same chisel. Named survivors map the standing: two signed tachi in the Imperial collection, the kinzōgan-mei katana carrying a Hon'ami Kōchū origami of Kyōhō 7 (1722), the Shōchū 2 tachi held by Mitake Shrine, and an ubu mumei ōdachi transmitted as a hereditary treasure of the Murakami, the maritime warriors of the Seto Inland Sea. Ubu, signed, and dated Hōju, especially those not descending past early Nanbokuchō, the setsumei prize as reference material for an Ōshū tradition otherwise known largely through this one enduring name. Learn more →
The Heian period (794 to 1185)
The curved, ridged tachi took its classic form in the Heian provinces while the court refined its culture in the capital. Its patrons were the military nobility whose feuds ended in the Genpei War, and whose blades became heirlooms almost at once.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
¥850,000
