Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
This wakizashi by Kiyotsugu features a practical late Muromachi period form with a shallow sori and saki-zori. The tang is ubu with one mekugi-ana, bearing a simple two-character signature 'Kiyotsugu'. It comes with an elaborate kuro-roiro kihada-mon nuri saya wakizashi koshirae and has passed Hozon Token certification in December 2025.
NihontoWatchmei · Seki · Muromachi · nagasa 46.4cm · sori 1cm
Mino · around 1504-1521
Tōken Taikan top 87%
2 pieces on the market now
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
¥350,000
This wakizashi by Kiyotsugu features a practical late Muromachi period form with a shallow sori and saki-zori. The tang is ubu with one mekugi-ana, bearing a simple two-character signature 'Kiyotsugu'. It comes with an elaborate kuro-roiro kihada-mon nuri saya wakizashi koshirae and has passed Hozon Token certification in December 2025.
NihontoWatchmei · Seki · Muromachi · nagasa 46.4cm · sori 1cm
Mino · around 1504-1521
Tōken Taikan top 87%
2 pieces on the market now
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
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 siteDomestic: items may be returned within 7 days in original condition for a full refund (buyer covers transport). Overseas orders: no-refunds, no-returns.
¥350,000
