NihontoWatchThe Hoki no Kami Nobutaka school is one of the most distinguished sword-making lineages in Japanese history, beginning with the first generation in service to the powerful daimyô Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga’s death in 1582, the school passed into the patronage of the Tokugawa clan of Owari province, retaining that honour for ten successive generations until the close of the Edo period. Born Shimizu Jinnoshin, 8th generation Nobutaka was regarded as equal in quality and skill to the celebrated first three generations – high praise indeed for a late Edo smith. This katana is a notable departure from the Nobutaka school’s typical work. Rather than the dramatic notare or gunome hamon associated with the line, this blade was hardened in a bright chu-suguha – a straight temper evoking the classic Yamato tradition. Bold, confident strokes of kinsuji flash through the hamon, and the presence of nijuba and kuichigaiba pay direct tribute to the ancient schools of Yamato. Tanobe Michihiro’s sayagaki confirms the blade’s exceptional nature, noting it as rare among Nobutaka’s works for this suguha treatment, and describing its historical value as considerable. The sword was signed and dated on a lucky day in September of Bunka 11 (1814). The sword comes fitted in a striking tachi koshirae with matching Edo period fittings in a unified kiri-mon (paulownia crest) theme. The scabbard carries a deep vermilion stone-lacquered finish, and the shakudo tsuba – bearing arabesque karakusa foliage and inome (wild boar eye) corner motifs – is certified authentic by the NTHK-NPO. Menuki on the gold-braided tsuka carry matching go-san no kiri-mon. A complete, coherent set of considerable aesthetic presence.
Offered by Unique Japan
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Owari · around 1789-1801
Tōken Taikan top 77%
3 pieces on the market now
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
For two and a half centuries of peace the sword was the warrior’s legal badge rather than his weapon. Each great city developed its own manner, Edo’s tested strength against Ōsaka’s polished brilliance, until demand thinned in the era’s last decades.
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 siteAll swords come with a three-day inspection period beginning from the date of delivery. If not satisfied, the sword may be returned within this period for a full refund of the purchase price. Outside of this period, all sales are final. Swords purchased on a layaway payment plan are not eligible for the three-day inspection period.