NihontoWatchIt has appeared, it has appeared; Mihara, located in the central-eastern part of present-day Hiroshima Prefecture, has works from Ko-Mihara represented by the famous Mihara Masaie of Bingo who migrated from Yamato in ancient times, to Sue-Mihara represented by Masachika, but while it is natural that there are works of Chu-Mihara if Ko-Mihara and Sue-Mihara exist, works from the Chu-Mihara period are mysteriously almost never seen, and this Bishu Kageshige is a tosho from the Eiwa era (1375) (651 years ago) of the Nanbokucho period of Ko-Mihara through the Oei era (1394) (632 years ago) of the early Muromachi period which is called Chu-Mihara, and this zaimei sword is a wonderful and precious meito just by the fact of its existence. The sugata of this sword shows a refined form with a slightly high shinogi and a difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba with a high sori, the jigane shows mokume-hada with masame-hada and also mixes in o-hada with a faint midare-utsuri appearing in the ji, and the hamon is in a ko-cho style with the moto yaki-otoshi, based on a nioi-deki gunome-ba with yaki of coagulated nie, well expressing the antiquity of the period. It was likely originally made as a tachi for a mounted warrior; having received this from an old collector who said that because works of Chu-Mihara do not exist and this sword by Bishu Kageshige is wonderful and precious even as reference material, and since I have grown old please pass it on cheaply to someone who will cherish it, I am specially offering this precious meito by Bishu Kageshige from 650 years ago at an exceptional bargain price, please by all means enjoy it.
Certificate reading — 銘 備州景重
NihontoWatchOffered by Nipponto
7 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Yamato-den · Bingo · around 1375-1381
1 piece on the market now
Yamato-den · Bingo
Phase: Ko-Mihara古三原· 1288–1393
7 pieces on the market now
Ko-Mihara (古三原) opens the Mihara story at its Bingo base, where a body of smiths gathered from the close of the Kamakura period and through the Nanbokuchō era. The setsumei treat the term as a chronological bracket rather than a separate workshop: works of this span are "collectively termed Ko-Mihara," with Masaie and Masahiro repeatedly named as the leading figures, and Masahiro held by tradition to be Masaie's son. The province's web of shōen estates tied to Kinai temples such as Tōji and Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangendō) drew the early smiths into regular contact with the central provinces, and the Yamato-den temperament that the records read in these blades is referred to that exchange. A second current runs alongside it: because some pieces show an Aoe manner, the appraisals also weigh influence from neighbouring Bitchū, as the Chikatsugu tachi of Shōhei 7 (1352) makes plain, sitting on the seam between Yamato bearing and Aoe surface. In the ji, the early hand keeps an itame-tending ground that takes on mokume, nagare, and a masame-like flow, with the grain inclined to stand (hada-dachi) and fine ji-nie set densely across it; a pale shirake-utsuri recurs as the most cited diagnostic, though the Masaie ōdachi of around Jōji instead shows a darkish steel with a midare-utsuri-like cast. The temper holds to a refined chū-suguha with ko-ashi and yō, the nioiguchi drawn tight or shizumi, the habuchi breaking into hotsure, kuichigai-ba, uchi-noke, and a nijūba suggestion, with fine kinsuji and sunagashi threading through.
The bōshi runs sugu, closing in yakizume, ko-maru, or maru with hakikake at the tip. The records keep these early works the cleaner pole of the school: a quiet, controlled Yamato manner whose forging shows "not the slightest looseness," set against the coarser, looser later Sue-Mihara of the closing Muromachi, where the disciplined suguha and tight ground give way. For kantei, the early phase reads as Yamato bearing without Yamato vigour: the nie of ji and ha runs weaker than in the Nara schools proper, the steel turns whitish, and the nioiguchi tightens, so a bright clean suguha with pointed bōshi can be mistaken at a glance for Aoe until the broad shinogi-ji, high shinogi, standing mokume, and hotsure with kuichigai-ba declare Mihara. Masaie and Masahiro divide on sugata: Masaie is the man of the bold ō-kissaki and the ōdachi, while Masahiro keeps ordinary chū-kissaki proportions and a freer, midare-gokoro edge with deeper kaeri, as in the Meibutsu Ō-Mihara cited by name. Because Yamato habit left few signed Mihara works, the early phase rests heavily on mumei and kinzogan attributions, several of them given to Masaie by Hon'ami Kōtoku, while dated and signed survivors stay scarce and so carry weight as reference material. Provenance threads through the great houses, the signed Masaie tachi presented to Emperor Meiji by the Shimazu family and another Masaie transmitted in the Date. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masahiro正廣 | 1362-1389 | 35 |
| Masaie正家 | 1353-1375 | 29 |
| Kaneyasu兼安 | 1352-1369 | 12 |
| Masanobu正信 | 1376-1394 | 4 |
| Noritada則忠 | 1352-1356 | 0 |
Yamato in the Nanbokuchō period
When the Southern Court made its capital at Yoshino, in Yamato itself, the province’s schools were at their height: the late Tegai line, Shikkake Norinaga, and the pure masame of Hōshō. Their technique was already spreading across the provinces.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
¥750,000