NihontoWatch*The fuchi, kashira, and kojiri are period honka brass ganseki-ishime issaku kanagu. Although it is mumei, we are introducing this sword which has been appraised by the Nihon To Hozon Kai as Yakuwa Yasutake. *The appraisal has been passed, but the certificate will arrive in late October. The maker of this sword, Yakuwa Yasutake, was born on December 7, 1909 (Meiji 42), in Sakegawa Village, Yamagata Prefecture. In 1935 (Showa 10), he went to Tokyo and joined the Nihonto Tanren Kai. Later, he studied under his fellow townsmen Ikeda Yasumitsu and Abe Yasushige. On November 13, 1944 (Showa 19), he received the tosho mei "Yasutake" from Army Minister Sugiyama and offered a dedicatory sword to Yasukuni Jinja. After the end of World War II, he resumed sword making in 1954 (Showa 29). Thereafter, demonstrating his ability by producing tachi for the Ise Jingu Shikinen Sengu, he received the "Masamune Sho," the highest award in the sword world, in 1981 (Showa 56), and was certified as a Mukansa tosho by the Nippon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai. This is a unique and peerless achievement for a Yasukuni tosho. (Yasutake is the only person among the Yasukuni tosho to be further certified as a Mukansa tosho.) He continued his energetic activities and released many ambitious works during the era when gendaito were neglected, but he passed away in Showa 58, much to everyone's regret. * "Mukansa tosho" is the highest rank for a modern swordsmith, a status granted to those who meet strict conditions such as winning 15 prizes including 8 or more special prizes at exhibitions over many years. * "Yasukuni tosho" refers to the group of swordsmiths who produced approximately 8,100 swords over 12 years from Showa 8 (1933) until the end of the war in Showa 20 within the grounds of Yasukuni Jinja (originally called Tokyo Shokonsha founded in Meiji 2, renamed in Meiji 12). Now, let us look at this sword. There is a slight difference between the motohaba and sakihaba, with a small sori resulting in a linear sugata toward the kissaki. The shinogi is high and the kasane is also thick. The solid tsukuri is characteristic of a Yasukuni tosho, faithfully expressing the fundamentals of a sword that does not break, does not bend, and cuts well. Furthermore, the hamon is a nioi-gachi gunome mixed with notare-ba in the middle of the toshin, with nie seen in places within the ha. It enters the kissaki with a slight ko-midare quality, becoming nie-duku and hakikake, returning to the yokote in ko-maru. It can be said to be a sword that possesses both practical martial utility and artistic beauty. This is the reason why he was the one and only Mukansa tosho among the Yasukuni tosho. The niku-oki of the ha is suitable for cutting everything from straw to take-makiwara and hard objects like bamboo. It is balanced with the center of gravity toward the point, allowing the kissaki to move well. As for the koshirae, the fuchi, kashira, and kojiri are issaku jidai. The tsuba and menuki are also honka jidai-mono. The tsuka-maki is silk, the tsuka-same is ichimai-maki, and the saya is a new dark brown ishime-nuri; since the exterior is new, it will not cost any more money, so it is also recommended for martial arts use. I believe the cost-performance and time-performance are better than buying a cheap sword and repairing this and that. How about it? Please cherish this encounter; thank you. The kurigata is made of iron.
Offered by Token Hasegawa
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Tokyo · around 1926-1989
1 piece 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.
¥550,000