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.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchA work by Masazane, a swordsmith active in the early Edo period, is available for sale with uchigatana equipment from the period at a very reasonable price. Masazane seems to be a Hojo family swordsmith judging by his style. The condition of the sword is a little cloudy from old polishing, but there are no flaws or chips, but there is a very small rust around the matsuba of the kisaki. Both sides of the sword are engraved with different shaped grooves (one thicker groove on the sashiomote and two thinner ones on the sashiura). The hada is a well-packed itame with very active chikei. The hamon is overall a niedeki gunome with very active hataraki, including alaniye, kinsen, and ashi, which is spectacular. The nakago is engraved with the name "Minamoto Masazane, who lives in Musashi". All metal fittings used on the uchigatana are of the period, and the tsuka is tightly wrapped with a small diamond shape. The scabbard is very textured with a swirling pattern. There is a dent on the corner of the Kojiri. Add this katana to your collection, as it is ideal for iai and bat, but also has features to be appreciated and enjoyed closely. Blade length: 67.3 cm Curvature: 1.8 cm Number of Mekugi hole: 1 Sakihaba: 20.1 mm Sakikasane: 4.7 mm Motohaba: 29.6 mm Motokasane: 6.8 mm Signature: Musashi Ju Minamoto Masazane Era: Shinto Structure: Shinogi-zukuri, Iori-mune Jigane: Itame Hamon: Suguha Boshi: Massugu Haitte Komaru ni Kaeru Weight: 940 g(without Saya) Nakago: Ubu Original Registration No.: Hyogo 16209 Please contact us if the katana you are looking for is not listed here.
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Wakimono · Yamato · around 1532-1555
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Wakimono · Yamato
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The Kanabō (金房) smiths worked in Nanto, the old name for Nara in Yamato province, from the end of the Muromachi period into the early Shintō era. Their relationship to any of the five established Yamato schools is not clearly fixed in the record, and the NBTHK setsumei treat the group as one that rose and flourished in Nara during the late Muromachi decades, with dated examples encountered from the Eishō era onward. The blades here name several hands. Masatsugu (政次), who signed as Kanabō Hyōe no Jō Masatsugu and as Kanefusa Hyōe no Jō Masatsugu, is described as the representative and best-known smith of the line. Masasada (政定), signing Kanefusa Saemon-no-jō Masasada, left an uchigatana dated Eiroku 2 (1559). " Rather than the classical Yamato-den manner of the earlier five schools, the Kanabō hand reads as a Muromachi uchigatana idiom that shares points with the Sue-Bizen and Sue-Seki spheres. The kitae is itame that flows into nagare and tends toward masame, with the grain often standing and growing large, and a whitish utsuri appearing in places. The hamon divides between two registers the setsumei repeatedly cite: a large gunome-based midare, the "hips" of the gunome opening out and mixed at times with togari-ba, chōji, or ko-notare; and a suguha carried on a tight nioiguchi.
Across both, ashi and yō enter well and stand out, ko-nie and ji-nie adhere, and sunagashi with kinsuji run through; the nioiguchi frequently takes a shizumi, subdued cast. The bōshi runs midare-komi, often with hakikake and a pointed or ko-maru return. The build tends to broad mihaba with sakizori on the swords, while naginata are conspicuously common, a production read as answering the demands of the warrior monks (sōhei) of Kōfukuji and the great Nanto temples. For kantei, the line is held by the flowing masame-tending itame, the broad gunome-midare with prominent ashi and yō over a tight or subdued nioiguchi, and the marked presence of naginata and long polearm blades among extant work. The setsumei single out Masatsugu's polearms as typical of his hand, several preserved with their vermilion-lacquer nagamaki mounts (shunuri nagamaki koshirae) and one black-lacquer naginata mounting, the fittings inferred to have been made together with the blade. The records grant that true masterworks within the group are rare, yet they describe individual blades by Masatsugu and Masasada with fine jigane, skillfully cut horimono, and workmanship judged excellent and dignified. Within the wider Yamato sphere the Kanabō stand as a late, utilitarian offshoot whose polearms and serviceable swords carry the group's name into the NBTHK register. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masatsugu政次 | 1492-1570 | 4 |
| Masazane正眞 | 1532-1555 | 0 |
| Masasada政定 | 1521-1559 | 1 |
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.
As a general rule, returns/exchanges are not accepted on Japanese sword orders unless damaged upon delivery. Other items: returns/exchanges accepted within 7 days of delivery. Cancellation for personal reasons incurs a 30% restocking fee (70% refunded). Return shipping must be prepaid and insured by the buyer; shipping/handling fees are non-refundable. Contact katana@tozando.co.jp to initiate a return.