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.
This is an iaito (practice sword) made by Motohisa, whose real name is Isao Hashimoto, a student of Fujiwara Takenori. It features a hon-zukuri iori-mune construction with a ko-itame hada mixed with mokume, ji-nie, and chikei. The hamon is gunome-midare with active ashi and yo, a soft nioiguchi, and bright nie. The blade has bo-hi carvings on both sides and comes with a kuro-ro-nuri saya uchigatana koshirae.
NihontoWatchmei · Gendaito · nagasa 72.6cm · sori 1.8cm
Aichi · around 1926-1989
2 pieces on the market now
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.
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
Within 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.
¥480,000
