NihontoWatchDotanuki Munekage was a retainer of the Kumamoto Domain in Higo Province, went by the name Hagi Jiemon-no-jo, and is also said to be the same person as Muneyoshi. He was one of the members of the Dotanuki school during the Shinshinto period who was active primarily around the Tenpo era. This work bears a nenkimei of Koka 2 and is an extremely rare naginata in the Kogarasumaru-zukuri style. The hamon is based on a ko-notare mixed with ko-gunome, and it is a straightforward blade that well demonstrates the neat workmanship of the Dotanuki school during the Shinshinto period.
NihontoWatchOffered by Ayakashi
That’s real money, and we couldn’t find current papers for this piece. Before you buy, ask the dealer whether it has been, or can be, submitted to shinsa. — Hoshi Ask me first
10 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Bizen-den · Higo
10 pieces on the market now
The Dōtanuki (同田貫) line took shape in Kikuchi District of Higo Province toward the close of the Muromachi period and carried its activity forward into the shintō era, spanning the Momoyama transition into early Edo. The setsumei of the group's own blades name several of its hands: Ueno no Suke, whose dated work runs from Tenshō through Keichō and who is therefore described as a maker active across the divide between old and new traditions; Fujiwara Masakuni, treated as a leading smith of the school; Masahiro, whose naginata the register notes is absent from the meikan and so supplements that omission; and Matahachi. The accounts further list Samanosuke, Hyōbu, Matahachizaemon, and Kunikatsu among the line's signing smiths. The group is repeatedly framed as a representative Kyūshū lineage of the period, working in the domain that would become the ground of Higo's later military culture. The shared vocabulary of the setsumei is plain and consistent. The sugata is described as sturdy and uncompromising, bukotsu, with wide mihaba, thick kasane, and ample hiraniku, and little difference between base and tip width; on swords the sakizori can be pronounced and the chū-kissaki extended, while the spears and large naginata show flaring, full heads. The kitae is itame, often with nagare and mokume mixed in and a tendency toward hada-dachi, with ji-nie adhering and chikei at times visible.
The hamon moves between two registers: a notare base mixed with ko-gunome, ko-chōji, and ko-togariba, and a quieter suguha with ko-ashi and yō; across both the nioiguchi tends to be tight, nie gathers densely, and sunagashi, kinsuji, tobiyaki, and muneyaki recur. The hand is recognized by this combination of robust unrefined build and a midareba whose tight nioiguchi and clustered nie read as rustic rather than ornamental. The register notes a shizumi-gokoro, a subdued tendency in both ji and ha, that lends a restrained austerity. " The setsumei return again and again to cutting power: the sharpness of these blades is highly praised, and they are recorded as practical weapons carried into use. Provenance survives in mounted form, including a naginata by Masakuni accompanied by a black lacquer mounting with gold maki-e judged contemporary with the blade, and a Matahachi naginata with its black-lacquered pole mounting. Within the line, individual works are singled out as superior examples that convey the school's character, the Ueno no Suke katana of Keichō 16 being read as exceptionally fine among its peers. The register places Dōtanuki as a Higo lineage whose unadorned strength and cutting reputation hold a recognized standing in the shintō-period record. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Muneharu宗春 | 1865-1868 | 0 |
| Kunikatsu國勝 | 1558-1570 | 0 |
| Kagemasa景和 | 1596-1615 | 0 |
| Munehiro宗廣 | 1830-1868 | 0 |
| Kozukenosuke上野介 | 1596-1615 | 0 |
The Shinshintō revival
Around 1800 Suishinshi Masahide argued in his writings that the craft must return to the old masters’ methods: the fukkotō revival. His greatest successor Naotane worked convincingly in Bizen and Sōshū manners that had been dead for centuries.
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.
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¥1,450,000