Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchKatana This Katana is attributed to Naminohira (波平) during the early Muromachi period (Approx. 600-650 years ago), according to its NBTHK’s appraisal. Naminohira(波平) was one of the most influential schools in Satsuma domain (Today’s Kagoshima prefecture), founded by a swordsmith named Masakuni (正國) during the late-Heian period(Late 12th century). The swordsmiths in this school were known for having their name with one of these letters, 行(Yuki) or 安(Yasu). From the late-Heian period until the end of Samurai times(Late 19th century), the Naminohira family had kept the mastership for a thousand years. The Naminohira swords were cherished among Samurais in the marine army, mainly because the name Naminohira(波平) means “Tides are quiet.” in Japanese. The origin of the name Naminohira dates back to the school’s foundation. It is said that the founder Masakuni was originally from Yamato domain (Today’s Nara prefecture). The legend says he was able to calm the waves by dedicating his sword to the sea when his school in Yamato sailed to settle in Satsuma domain. Since then, he began to use the title “Naminohira Yukiyasu (波平行安)” – “Tides are quiet, easy to go.” Wakizashi This Wakizashi was attributed to Echizen Seki (越前関), who was a group of swordsmiths who moved from Mino province (Today’s Gifu prefecture) to Echizen province (Today’s Fukui prefecture) during the Keicho era (1596-1615: Late Azuchi Momoyama-Early Edo period).Echizen Province was prosperous during the Edo period, being ruled by the Echizen Matsudaira clan, a direct retainer of Tokugawa clan who ruled the Edo government. Many skilled swordsmiths moved to Echizen from different regions because of high demand among Samurai who lived there. The MINO swordsmiths style, also known as MINO-DEN, basically has the TOGARI(Pointed shapes protruding from the Hamon )in a classic straight line and random temper line with some white Utsuri. MINO-DEN had its origin from YAMATO-DEN in the late KAMAKURA period(1280-1330). It flourished in the MUROMACHI period(1333-1573) and continued until the EDO period(1603-1868). MINO-DEN especially prospered during Sengoku Jidai(Warring State period) due to the high demand for weapons. And the location of Mino province beat others. Akechi Mitsuhide controlled Mino province, and Nobunaga Oda ruled Owari province, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was the lord of Suruga (Neighboring areas). There was high demand from those powerful feudal lords and their retainers. Furthermore, so many wars occurred between the Kanto region and the Kyoto area, and Mino is located in the middle, making feudal lords feel convenient to order swords from MINO-DEN. The blades forged in MINO provinces also had the reputation of their practical design and sharpness. Many feudal lords demanded swords forged in the Mino province. Also, many swordsmiths in Mino province moved to other areas of Japan like Echizen Seki swordsmiths by being hired by feudal lords. *Please keep in mind that there are a couple of visible Kitae Kizu on the Wakizashi. What is Daisho? Daisho is a pair of two Japanese swords Samurai carried. During the Edo period, having Daisho in public places was considered social status for Samurai. Furthermore, Samurai were required to wear them under the law back then. Daisho is written as 大=Big and 小=Small. Dai part means Katana, and Sho part means Wakizashi. They have such a fancy appearance that we believe a high-ranked Samurai owned them. We are confident you would like this pair of Daisho Koshirae. And based on the style of the sword mounting, they are categorized as DENCHU KOSHIRAE(Sword mountings for entering a castle), which is very formal style of the mountings. Appraisal This Katana blade is appraised as a Tokubetsu Hozon Token(特別保存刀剣) and this Wakizashi is appraised as a Hozon Token (保存刀剣). They were issued by NBTHK(Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai:日本美術刀剣保存協会). These authentication papers were only given to authentic Japanese swords well preserved and high quality with artistic value. -Katana Jimon(Jihada) -Katana -Wakizashi Fuchi-Kashira This Fuchi Kashira has a simple look. The Kashira part is made of buffalo horn and colored with black lacquer. On the other hand, the Fuchi part is decorated with the Nanako-Ji (魚子地) technique. By striking with a Nanako-Ji Tagane (魚子地鏨, a chisel uniquely used for this process), uniform unevennesses were created on the surface. There is a Koshirae named the Ban Zashi (番指), which is also called the Kamishimo Zashi (裃指) or the Denchu Zashi (殿中指). About its alias Denchu Zashi, the word Denchu (殿中) refers to the Shogun (将軍, General)’s residence. When entering the castle, Samurai left their Daito (大刀, long sword; Katana) at the entrance and carried only short swords. They inserted their swords in such a way that they could not cut the opponent at the same time as the sword was drawn. We believe this Daisho Koshirae could be categorized as the Ban Zashi Koshirae. The handle is wrapped with stingray skin, and Menuki is often made from luxurious materials such as gold. In this style of Koshirae, the scabbard has finished with black lacquer. Furthermore, the Fuchi Kashira also matches the one used in this Ban Zashi Koshirae’s construction. Tsuka and Menuki The motifs of these Menukis are Samurai-related tools. One side is the Yari (槍, spear), and the other side is the Hata Jirushi (旗印, banner). The Yari is once one of the primary weapons for Samurai warriors. A spear has a long, thin handle, and a sword is attached to the tip. As the battle format shifted from cavalry battles to foot battles and from individual battles to team battles, spears came to be used more than Naginata (薙刀, different type of long weapon) and widespread. The Hatajirushi is a military flag used on battlefields. The Hata Jirushis reflected the thoughts and worldviews of military commanders; therefore, there were various designs for Hata Jirushis. In this work, we can see that horizontal stripes are drawn on the top of the flag. Although it has now peeled off due to aging, we estimate that these flags were initially painted in gold and silver. Tsuba and Habaki These Tsubas have the Kikuka (菊花, chrysanthemum flower) shape. The whole forms imitate chrysanthemum petals, and a leaf is engraved on each side. It is a stylish composition in which a part of the leaf is superimposed on the flower. It seems both Tsubas are made from iron. You could enjoy the color and texture of iron that has passed the long years. This flower design is often seen in sword mountings. A long time ago, the chrysanthemum was used as a medicine for obtaining a long life in the continent, and it was brought to Japan with this thought in the Nara period (648-781). The chrysanthemum symbolizes autumn, and people have greatly appreciated it since ancient times. As its petals form radially, the chrysanthemum has been likened to the sun. That is why this flower pattern is treated as the symbol of perpetual youth and longevity or good health. Saya These scabbards are colored with elegant black lacquer. You would find golden circle-shaped marks on these scabbards, and all of them are the same pattern. We believe this design is a family crest called the Sagari-Fuji (下り藤). It is a kind of Fuji (藤, wisteria) pattern. Since wisterias have strong fertility and grow being entwined with other trees, people regarded this flower as a symbol of longevity and prosperity for future generations. Also, its Japanese name Fuji (藤), is likened to another word Fushi (不死), which means immortality. According to a theory, that is why the Fujiwara (藤原) family, who reached the height of glory in the Heian period (794-1185), used this motif for their family name and family crest. It is said there were Samurai families who used Fuji-designed family crests due to the admiration of the Fujiwara clan, which once occupied most of the upper aristocrats. Also, it might be because they wanted to share the prosperity of the Fujiwara clan. This trend possibly influenced the Sagari-Fuji pattern of these scabbards. Authentication Paper They authenticated these two blades on August 26th in the first year of (2019). They appraised Katana as a Tokubetsu Hozon Touken and Wakizashi as a Hozon Token, the blade worth preserving for Japanese society. Registration Number The Board of Education in Fukuoka prefecture issued a registration paper for this Katana blade and Osaka prefecture issued one for this Wakizashi blade .
Offered by Samurai Museum
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Wakimono · Satsuma · around 1206-1207
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Wakimono · Satsuma
Phase: Ko-Naminohira古波平· 987–1393
11 pieces on the market now
Within the long span of Naminohira, Ko-Naminohira (古波平) marks the formative chapter, the body of smiths and works held in the setsumei to not descend past the Nanbokuchō period. The setsumei place the school's base at Naminohira in Taniyama District of Satsuma Province in southern Kyushu, where, by tradition, a Yamato smith named Masakuni settled in the late Heian era around Eien (987 to 989) and founded the line. His son Yukiyasu stands at the head of the working lineage, and the name Yukiyasu passed through generation after generation as the main line (chakuryū), with smiths favoring the characters yuki (行) and yasu (安). The setsumei attach the lineage to the Yamato Senjuin tradition; one Jūyō-Bijutsuhin record fixes the earliest dated inscription in all of Japanese swords to a Heiji 1 (1159) tachi read as Yukimasa, recorded in the meikan as Ko-Hahei. Beyond Yukiyasu the corpus names Yasuji, Chikayasu, Yasumitsu, Tomoyasu, and Yamauchi Yasuyuki, the named members of this early generation. The phase style sits close to Yamato yet keeps a Satsuma accent the setsumei return to repeatedly. The forging is itame with a flowing nagare and masame tendency toward the edge, the grain at times standing (hada-dachi), carrying well-adhered ji-nie and fine chikei; the steel is described as nettori, a viscous, soft-feeling ground, often with a whitish shirake-utsuri. The temper is a narrow suguha to hoso-suguha, shading at times into ko-midare or shallow notare, worked in ko-nie with frequent hotsure, nijūba, yubashiri, and intermittent kinsuji and sunagashi.
Two diagnostics recur: the nioiguchi tends to urumi, a moist, subdued quality, and the temper drops away at the base in yakiootoshi. The sugata is archaic, slender with deep koshizori and funbari in the older tachi, the bōshi commonly yakizume. The setsumei frame this against the later Sue-Naminohira only by exclusion: Ko-Naminohira is the early, hand-built work that does not descend beyond Nanbokuchō, set apart from the school's Muromachi disorder and shintō decline noted in one record, rather than the routinized later output. For kantei, the setsumei converge on a recognition cluster: nettori ground, urumi nioiguchi, base yakiootoshi, nijūba and fine sunagashi/kinsuji within a suguha of strong Yamato cast, an ayasugi-like masame flavor noted in older works. The records caution that this conservative manner shows little change by period, so a missing nengō makes dating difficult and the ubu form carries weight. Several setsumei align Ko-Naminohira with other Kyushu classical lines, naming Bungo Yukihira and Miike Mitsuyo as kin in archaic flavor. For provenance and benchmark, the texts cite the tachi at Sanage Shrine as Yukiyasu's oldest, the named tachi "Sasanuki" transmitted in the Kabayama family of the Shimazu, and a Kareki 2 (1327) dated tantō, the rarity of signed and dated early pieces giving the surviving examples their documentary weight. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Yukiyasu行安 | 1308-1311 | 9 |
| Yasutsuna安綱 | 1288-1333 | 0 |
| Yasutsugu安次 | 1224-1225 | 0 |
| Yasutsugu安次 | 1375-1381 | 0 |
| Haruyuki治行 | 1394-1428 | 1 |
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
Muromachi turned sword making into an industry: the uchigatana rose with massed infantry warfare, Osafune and Seki produced bundle swords beside custom orders, and the Ming trade carried Japanese blades abroad by the tens of thousands.
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.