NihontoWatchSummary This blade bears the signature “一” (Ichi), indicating it was forged by Hokke Ichijō (法華一乗), one of the most renowned swordsmiths of the prestigious Hokke school. The Hokke school flourished from the late Kamakura to the Nanbokuchō period (late 13th–14th century) and was based in the Ashida area of Bingo Province, in present-day Hiroshima Prefecture. Ichijō himself is believed to have been active in the early Muromachi period, specifically during the Ōei era (1394–1428). Signed blades from this period are relatively rare, which adds further historical significance to this piece. It is said that those who lived in Ashida area were followers of the Nichiren sect, and Hokke swordsmiths often forged blades for the politically powerful Buddhist priests. They needed many weapons as there were many political rivalries between influential temples. They required strong weapons like swords to protect themselves. Hokke swordsmiths met their requests and made excellent quality blades. It is believed that the school was founded by Kokubunji Sukekuni (国分寺助国) in the late Kamakura period (Approx. 1329). Sukekuni was originally from Bizen province (today’s Okayama prefecture) and belonged to Bizen Ichimonji school, one of the most prestigious schools during the Kamakura period. Sukekuni was the father of Mihara Masaie (三原正家). Masaie was the founder of Mihara school, another prestigious school in the region. It is appraised as a Tokubetsu Hozon Token(特別保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK(Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai:日本美術刀剣保存協会). *Please keep in mind that there is a couple of Kitae Kizu on this blade. Fuchi-Kashira This is a Fuchi-Kashira is also decorated with a Chinese-inspired design. The Kashira (pommel cap) shows a figure of a man in flowing robes, seated in a relaxed posture beside what appears to be a bamboo fence or screen. His appearance resembles that of a Chinese scholar or sage. Tsuka and Menuki The Menuki (ornamental hilt fittings) also feature a design inspired by Chinese motifs, consistent with the other sword fittings. The figure depicted is a plump, cheerful man, most likely Budai (布袋, Hotei in Japanese). Hotei was originally a Chinese Zen monk, known for his large belly and joyful demeanor, and later became a symbol of contentment and good fortune. In Japan, Hotei was incorporated into the group of deities known as the Seven Lucky Gods (七福神, Shichifukujin), where he is beloved as a bringer of happiness and prosperity. His presence on the sword fittings reflects not only the influence of Chinese culture but also the Japanese adaptation of these motifs into symbols of good luck and protection for the samurai who carried them. Tsuba and Habaki This Tsuba is decorated with an openwork design inspired by traditional Chinese motifs. The main scene depicts several figures in Chinese-style clothing, suggesting a setting from classical literature or folklore. Such imagery often reflects the influence of Chinese culture on Japanese art during the Edo period, when Chinese scholars, poets, and legendary themes were admired and frequently represented on sword fittings. Around the edge, you can also see plum blossoms (梅, ume), a motif strongly associated with both Japan and China. Plum blossoms symbolize perseverance and renewal, as they bloom in early spring even in harsh weather. The gold inlay highlights details of the figures and landscape, adding elegance and contrast to the dark iron base. Saya Raden (螺鈿) technique is partially used on this Saya. The Raden is a decorative technique that is often used for traditional craftwork. It uses the pearl part of seashells and puts it into the engraved surface of lacquer or wood. Thanks to its iridescent luster, it gives a luxurious look to works. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on February 19th in the 2nd year of Reiwa (2020). They appraised it as Tokubetsu Hozon Touken, the blade especially worth preserving for Japanese society.
Hokke School法華派
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Yamato-den · Bingo
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Bingo province, in the late Kamakura into the Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods, hosted a cluster of workshops that the setsumei repeatedly set apart from the better-known Mihara line. The reference work Kokon Meizukushi Taizen is cited again and again as locating the Hokke (法華) line among the makers of Ashida District (葦田郡), a genealogy presented as distinct from the so-called Mihara tradition, with Sukekuni (助國) named as its founding progenitor. The fuller designation is Hokke Ichijō[[c:1]], and several setsumei record that the smiths styled themselves with the surname-like "Ichijō," signing variously "Hokke Ichijō," "Hokke saku," "Ichijō saku," or simply the single character "Ichi"[[c:2]]. One account traces the founder Ichijō to a son of Mihara Masaiye, framing the group as a branch of the Mihara or Kokubunji sphere even as the workshop record treats it as its own hand. The setsumei name a roster of these makers: Ichijō, who left a kodachi signed "Ichijō saku" and a joint tachi by Ichijō Morie and Ichijō Moriyuki dated Chōroku 3 (1459); Kaneyasu, Yukiyoshi, Shigeie, and Nobukane, whose Ōei-era tantō survives signed; Shigeyasu (重安, and the homophone 重康), Shigeyoshi (重吉), Suetsugu (季次), Yoshitsugu (吉次), Kanetsugu (金次) of the Kusado settlement, and Chikatsugu (親次), several of whom the appraisers assign to Bingo on the strength of a "Bishū-jū" residence and a Nanbokuchō date. Read across the corpus, a shared manner emerges. The kitae is itame mixed with mokume, frequently running into nagare or tending toward masame near the edge, with conspicuous hada-dachi (standing grain); ji-nie and chikei gather, and a shirake-utsuri or whitish utsuri-like cast stands out, the steel often described as somewhat blackish. The hamon is a low, restrained suguha or suguha-chō carrying connected ko-gunome and gunome, with ashi and yō, nioi-dominant temper with ko-nie, and a nioiguchi that inclines toward shizumi (a sinking, subdued quality), at times softening to urumi; hotsure, uchi-noke, kuichigai-ba, kinsuji, and sunagashi recur within the ha. The bōshi divides into two recognized manners the setsumei themselves contrast: a yakizume finish that reads as a Yamato-den temperament, and a tip that grows slightly togari and turns back with a long kaeri.
Within this vocabulary the hands diverge. The signed Ichijō kodachi and the Chikatsugu tachi lean to a ko-midare with ko-chōji that the appraisers liken to neighbouring Aoe and Bizen-den work, while Shigeyasu and Shigeyoshi run to wider sun-nobi hira-zukuri with aligned yakigashira and abundant nie, so the group is presented as distinct hands sharing a province rather than one unified workshop. For kantei the setsumei offer concrete separators. The Yamato temperament, the shirake ground, the standing grain, and the shizumi nioiguchi mark the work off from mainline Bizen-den, whose chōji and clear utsuri the Hokke blades only echo through the Aoe-flavoured examples. Against Mihara, the appraisers note that the Hokke jiba evokes Mihara but the nie in both ji and ha runs one step stronger, and the bōshi turns back more deeply; the "Ichijō" surname usage and the linked ko-gunome of the midsection further fix the attribution. Provenance and documentary weight cluster around dated, signed pieces: the Chōroku 3 Ichijō Morie and Moriyuki tachi of unusual length, made for a commemorative demand; Shigeyasu's Ōan and Sadaji dates and the naginata-naoshi recording Jōji 4, Ōan 1, and Ōan 2; the Meitoku Kanetsugu associated with Kusado Sengen (草戸千軒), the buried medieval town excavated near the Kusado smiths. A mumei Ichijō katana carries a Hon'ami Kōchū origami. The standing of the school in the register rests on this evidentiary spine: a Bingo line, Yamato-inflected and Mihara-adjacent, whose signed and dated survivals let the appraisers read a coherent provincial character without collapsing its several smiths into a single lineage. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Shigeyasu重安 | 1362-1373 | 4 |
| Hokke Ichijo法華一乗 | 1394-1573 | 4 |
| Nobutsugu信次 | 987-1596 | 0 |
| Chikatsugu親次 | 1352-1356 | 1 |
| Suetsugu李次 | 1352-1356 | 0 |
Yamato in the Muromachi period
The monasteries that had sustained Yamato lost ground through the Muromachi period, and the schools thinned with them; Sue-Tegai kept the old masame manner alive in quantity. The burning of Tōdaiji’s Great Buddha hall in 1567 closed the temple age.
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 siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.