This is a wakizashi by Hirofusa, a swordsmith from Kuwana, Ise Province, active in the late Edo period around 1865. It features a wide body and thick kasane in hirazukuri style, with a ko-itame hada and gunome hamon with yahazuba and ko-notare. The blade comes with a shirasaya and a gold-plated habaki, and is accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token certificate.
NihontoWatchmei · Mishina · Edo · nagasa 36.4cm · sori 0.5cm
Ise · around 1848-1867
3 pieces on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Under the Tokugawa peace the daishō became a regulated uniform, and demand gathered in the castle towns, above all Edo itself. The craft split two ways: brilliant display work for connoisseurs, and tested blades whose cutting results were sometimes inlaid in gold.
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
¥650,000
