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.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchThis blade is attributed to Kaifu (海部) during the Muromachi period (late 15th-mid 16th century). Kaifu is the name of the clan and school that ruled Awa province (Today’s Tokushima prefecture). From the beginning of the Kamakura period (late 12th century), they started sword-forging by taking advantage of its geographical location where iron sand was abundant near the Kaifu River. Their sword-forging was active and reached its heyday during the Sengoku Jidai (Warring state period in the late 15th-early 16th century). Kaifu clan was destroyed by Chosokabe Motochika in 1575. After the event, the school’s presence was hindered in the region. However, when the Hachisuka clan took control of Awa province, the clan invited the members of the Kaifu school and let them live near the Tokushima castle, forging blades for the clan. The school continued at the end of the Edo period. Historical Background The late Muromachi period overlaps with the Sengoku period (戦国時代, “Warring States Period”), a time marked by ongoing military conflict and political fragmentation across Japan. In this turbulent era, the samurai class played a central role as both warriors and political actors. Swords were vital to the samurai not just as weapons but also as symbols of personal honor and status. A well-forged sword was regarded as an extension of the samurai’s soul, used in both battle and ceremonial practices. As warfare intensified, demand for high-quality blades grew rapidly. Feudal lords (大名, daimyō) sought to equip their armies with superior weapons, turning to renowned swordsmiths like Moritaka for craftsmanship that combined functionality with aesthetic value. It is appraised as a Hozon Token (保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai: 日本美術刀剣保存協会). *Please keep in mind that there are a few Kitae Kizu on the blade of this Katana. Fuchi-Kashira This Fuchi-Kashira (縁頭) is decorated with a kiku design (菊, chrysanthemum). Chrysanthemum is one of the flowers that symbolize fall, and people have appreciated it very much since ancient times. A long time ago, the chrysanthemum was used as a medicine to obtain a long life in China, and it was brought to Japan with this thought in the Nara period (648-781). As its petals form radially, the chrysanthemum has been likened to the sun. That is why this flower pattern is treated as the symbol of perpetual youth and longevity or good health. “Kiku no Gomon (菊の御紋)” is a kind of chrysanthemum pattern, and it has been used as the crest of the Emperor and the royal family in Japan, so it is well-known as a noble pattern. Tsuka and Menuki The motif of this Menuki appears to be a feather broom (羽根箒, Hanebouki). The feather broom, traditionally made with bird feathers bound to a handle, was used in Shinto rituals and for dusting delicate objects such as artworks or altars. In a decorative context, it can carry connotations of purity, cleansing away dust or spiritual impurity. Tsuba and Habaki This mokko-shaped tsuba features a family crest known as Gosan-no-Kiri (五三の桐). The Kiri (paulownia) motif typically consists of three upright clusters of blossoms and three leaves, and the number of flowers in each cluster indicates the rank of the design. This crest is famously associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan’s most prominent Samurai leaders. According to historical accounts, Hideyoshi originally used the Omodaka (arrowhead) crest, but Oda Nobunaga—his lord and a major warlord of the Warring States period—granted him permission to use the Kiri design. The paulownia motif was once reserved for the imperial family and high-ranking officials; today, it is widely recognized as the emblem of the Japanese government. The Gosan-no-Kiri pattern later became popular among Samurai families, and ordinary households are now permitted to adopt it as their family crest. A traditional belief holds that the sacred bird Hōō (鳳凰, Fenghuang) rests upon the paulownia tree, which is why the plant came to be regarded as holy. Additionally, the surface of the tsuba is decorated using the nanako-ji technique (魚々子地), a meticulous method that creates a dense field of tiny, evenly raised dots. Saya This Saya is covered with black lacquer. Due to its high waterproof effect, lacquer has been used since ancient times in Asia. The blade of a Japanese sword is made of iron, and moisture is the greatest enemy of iron. For the purpose of carrying the blade without degrading it, people devised a method of coating the scabbard with lacquer. To prevent not only moisture but also rain and snow from penetrating the inside of the scabbard, it was necessary to apply multiple layers of lacquer. The Nushi (塗師, lacquerers) was born precisely because advanced techniques were required to handle the complicated processes. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on December 4th in the 6th year of Reiwa (2024). They appraised it as Hozon Touken, the blade worth preserving for Japanese society.
Kaifu School海部派
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Wakimono · Awa
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The Kaifu group (Kaifu-ha, 海部) takes its name from the Kaifu district of Awa Province on Shikoku, in the region of present-day Tokushima. The Kotō Meizukushi and the Kokon Meizukushi place the founder as Kaifu Tarō Ujiyoshi (海部太郎氏吉), set around the Kōryaku era (1379-1381), and record a second strand said to descend from a pupil of Naminohira around the Ōan era (1368-1375) who signed with the single character Fuji (藤). No blade securely traces back to those origins, and the setsumei are consistent that the group's documented activity belongs to the Muromachi period, growing conspicuous from its latter half. The smiths who appear by name on the designated blades are Ujiyoshi (氏吉), Ujishige (氏重), Yasuyoshi (泰吉) with a Daiei 5 (1525) example, and Yasunaga (泰長), placed around the Daiei era; one tantō by Ujishige is read as the earliest of the line, end of Nanbokuchō into early Muromachi. A shintō continuation survives in Fujiwara Ujiyoshi of Kaifu in Ama district, working in the Kyōhō era (1716-1736), whose hand the setsumei describes as late kotō in appearance, his ancestors' manner carried forward without absorbing other provinces' shifts. Forging across the group runs to ko-itame or itame that often flows and inclines toward masame near the edge, with ji-nie and chikei that the setsumei repeatedly call subdued or lacking strong brilliance; shirake-utsuri and a faintly blackish kanairo recur. The temper is most often a suguha base, from a narrow line on the tantō to a broad suguha mixed with ko-notare, gunome, and midare, the nioiguchi frequently hazy and oceanic (bōyō) rather than tight, with ko-nie, kinsuji, and sunagashi; bōshi turn back in ō-maru with long kaeri or run midare-komi with a togari tendency.
The signature Kaifu form is the hira-zukuri tantō of wide mihaba and slight uchizori, carrying a bonji with suken and gomabashi cut as deep kaki-nagashi grooves, the long mei boldly chiselled in thick strokes. The setsumei also note the kiriba-zukuri wakizashi known as Kaifu mountain swords (Kaifu no yamatō), and a high, thick build of utilitarian character; a flowing masame-tinged jigane with hazy temper and a coarse, bōbō nie reads as the group's ordinary signature, while finer pieces in the same idiom step above it. For kantei, a deeply tempered suguha-based blade whose ko-itame carries dense ji-nie can at a glance suggest Go Yoshihiro, and the group's drift toward a Naminohira manner and the old saying that Kaifu work "changed into E" mark the lines along which it is read. The standing of these smiths rests on cutting character: the meibutsu Iwakiri Kaifu, a katana by Ujiyoshi recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō, takes its name from its sharpness, was held by the Miyoshi of Awa with whom Miyoshi Nagayoshi is said to have won martial exploits, and passed thereafter to the Kuroda of Fukuoka. The Ujishige tantō once in the collection of Itō Miyoji is published in the Kōzan Oshigata; a katana by the later Yamato Daijō Ujishige stands at Hiromine Shrine; and two wakizashi by Fujiwara Ujiyoshi were given to the Imperial Household Agency by volunteers from Tokushima. Signed Kaifu blades are few, which makes each named example reference material for the group as a whole. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Ujiyoshi氏吉 | 1492-1501 | 3 |
| Ujishige氏重 | 1655-1658 | 2 |
| Yasunaga泰長 | 1521-1528 | 1 |
| Yasuyoshi泰吉 | 1504-1521 | 1 |
| Ujiyoshi氏吉 | 1596-1615 | 0 |
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.
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 siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
Certificate reading — 無銘（海部）