After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchQ903. Sankaku (3 sided) yari. From tip to start of the nakago: 12″ 30.3 cm. At its widest the blade is 2.8 cm. Nakago nagasa: 17 5/16″ 44 cm. Overall in shirasaya: 36 3/8″ 92 cm. This is signed Soshu Ju Sukehiro. The hada is itame mokume with chikei. The hamon is suguba with plenty of subtle hataraki, worked in ko nie of course. The boshi is ko maru with a long kaeri. There is a bonji – a Buddhist symbol – carved at the base: Marishiten (chase devils and enemy). The blade is in a professional polish and mounted in well made shirasaya in excellent condition. Other than a very few, insignificant instances of less than perfectly tight grain there is nothing to warn you about. This yari comes with a Tokubetsu Hozon paper from the NBTHK in Tokyo, dated 2020 and attesting to the quality and signature, with mid Muromachi given as the time of manufacture. There were five or so generations of Sukehiro working in the 14th and 15th centuries, carrying forward the wonderful craft and art of the Soshu Den. Whichever it was who made this yari, he did nice work. You should take it home with you. 2 pounds, 2 ounces.
NihontoWatchOffered by Japanese Sword Books and Tsuba
Sagami · around 1429-1441
1 piece on the market now
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first 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.
NBTHK official site3-day return window from receipt.