NihontoWatchKatana in Shirasaya(NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token) (We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo saku, Jyo-jyo saku, Jyo saku, and regular saku) This sword belongs to Jyo Jyo Saku ranking. The blade was 26.37polished. Shape: the blade is broad and has longer Kissaki and Ububa left. Sori is deep and Kissaki is long: beautiful shape. Jigane: Koitamehada filled with lines: finally becomes plain. Hamon: Niedeki Gunomemidare. Ashi works well, Kinsuji also works. Boshi turns back round. Special Feature:The word “Motte Soshu Kamakura Masamune Den” is engraved on the Nakago. Gassan Minamoto Sadakazu(Sadakazu the 2nd) was born in Meiji 40(1907) in Osaka-city, as the 3rd son of Gassan Sadakatsu. He started making swords at the age of 13. His first Mei is Sadamitsu. He exhibited his work for the first time in the 1st Osaka-city Art Institute Exhibition, and he got an award there, again for the first time. After that Japan has lost the WW2 and GHQ banned making swords. However, he opened a new Dojo in Miwa, Sakurai-city in Showa40. Next year, he succeeded the name “Sadakazu”, and he got the best award in Shinsaku Meitoten Exhibition in the 3 successive years. In Showa 46, he was accredited as the important intangible cultural property, and in Showa 54, he got the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. He kept on making swords until Heisei 7.(1995) This work is a work after he had been accredited as the important intangible cultural property. The body is broad and thick, well balanced compared to the body. Jigane is clear and elaborate. It has an engraving of “Motte Soshu Kamakura Masamune Den” From Aoi Art: From Meiji 28 til 28, the demands for the Gunto were really high because of a series of wars such as Russia-Japan War or China-Japan War. When Gassan Sadakatsu became 70 years old, Gassan Sadakatsu made almost all the works instead of his father. Fortunately, Sadakatsu had mastered Soshuden, Masamekitae, Gassan Ayasugihada, and Soshu Kamakura Masamuneden like this work, so he could succeed his father. However, those days Sadakazu haven’t quitted yet. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token
Offered by Aoi Art
6 on the market
As written by the shop
Yamato · around 1907-1995
Tōken Taikan top 49%
6 pieces on the market now
Meiji: survival after the edict
The Haitōrei edict of 1876 ended sword wearing and nearly ended the craft itself. Military demand and imperial patronage kept a remnant alive, and in 1906 Gassan Sadakazu and Miyamoto Kanenori were named Artists to the Imperial Household.
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
¥2,500,000
Certificate reading — 銘 大阪住月山貞一作（刻印） 明治三十年八月日 以相州鎌倉正宗伝