NihontoWatchIkkansai Shigemasa, whose real name was Sakai Hiroshi, was born in Meiji 38 in Otowa-cho, Shizuoka City, as the third son of Sakai Yasujiro (the younger brother of the tosho Miyaguchi Masatoshi). In Taisho 10, he became a disciple of the master Kasama Shigetsugu. After nearly 15 years of training, Shigemasa received the character "Shige" from Kasama Shigetsugu. His first mei was Shigemasa (繁正). Later, he changed the mei to Shigemasa (繁政). From Showa 8, he crafted swords at the Yasukuni Jinja Nihonto Tanrenkai and the Okura Nihonto Tanrenjo. In Showa 16, he became independent in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo. He received certification as a Rikugun Jumei Tosho, and furthermore, in Showa 19, he also received certification as a Kaigun Jumei Tosho. After the war, he took the name Ikkansai Shigemasa and continued to forge swords energetically, and was certified as Mukansa by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai. He passed away in Heisei 8 at the age of 91. Ikkansai Shigemasa is a highly renowned master smith who deeply engraved his name in the history of pre-war and post-war nihonto. This sword is a type called Konotegashiwa, where the omote is shinogi-zukuri and the ura is katakiriba-zukuri, with a nagasa of slightly over 2 shaku 4 sun 9 bun, showing a grand sugata with a very wide mihaba. On the omote is a Tamaoi-ryu, and on the ura is a Dokko-ken, both horimono carved by the hand of Shigemasa. The jigane is skillful as per his reputation, a strong forged ji where the itame-hada is well-kneaded and covered in ji-nie. The hamon is in ko-nie deki, a large notare mixed with choji midare, with active ashi and yo. The boshi is midare-komi, returning deeply and firmly in ko-maru. The nakago, finished with kiri-yasurime, bears a powerfully chiseled mei. This sword is perceived to be, without a doubt, a representative masterpiece of Shigemasa. It is a kessaku sword by Ikkansai Shigemasa with elaborate horimono on a particularly eye-catching kawari-zukuri blade. Shirasaya, gold niju habaki. Tokubetsu Hozon Token Kanteisho.
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Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
around 1926-1989
3 pieces 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.
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 siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).