Hizen swords were a domain enterprise: the Nabeshima sent Tadayoshi to study under Umetada Myōju around 1596, then built a licensed school around him. Nine generations carried its famously consistent konuka-hada work into the Meiji era.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchSummary This blade is attributed to Ise Daijyo Yoshihiro (伊勢大掾吉広), who was especially active during the early Edo period (mid-late 17th century) in Hizen province (Today’s Saga prefecture). He was an apprentice of the first-gen Tadayoshi, one of the most famous swordsmiths during the early Edo period. Yoshiro’s work has a close resemblance to his master Tadayoshi. His birth name was Yoshizaemon (吉左衛門). He received an honorable official title of Ise Daijyo from the emperor for his excellent craftsmanship during the Kanbun era (1661-1673). The first-gen Tadayoshi (His master) The first-gen Tadayoshi was born and raised in the Saga domain. In 1596, under the domain’s order, he went to Kyoto to learn the sword-forging technique from Umetada Myojyu(埋忠明寿), one of the greatest swordsmiths in the early Edo period. He improved his craftsmanship and returned to the Saga domain two years later (1598). The first head of the Nabeshima clan, Nabeshima Katsushige, appreciated the work of the first-gen Tadayoshi very much. Then, Katsushige appointed him as his Okakaekaji, a swordsmith who exclusively forged swords for a specific domain or clan. And Tadayoshi started to stay near Saga castle, the Nabeshima clan’s headquarters. And he founded Hizen Tadayoshi school, which trained more than 100 swordsmiths during the Edo period. Yoshihiro is one of them. Hizen Province The swordsmiths in the Hizen province worked under the auspices of the Nabeshima clan, a powerful feudal family. They produced beautiful Jigane (steel surface)-patterned blades, also known as Hizen To, using and mixing carbon steel made in western countries. Hizenkoku had been flourishing through international trading. The geographic location of this domain made it possible to have easy access to western carbon steel. Horimono Horimono is an engraving on the Japanese sword. Japanese sword was the integral weapon that divided the life and death of warriors. They expressed their wishes for divine protection by applying their religious objects to the Horimono. The Fudo Myo-O (不動明王, acalanātha) and the Kurikara Ken (倶利伽羅剣) are those kinds of popular designs, as seen in this sword. The Fudo Myo-O is a protective Buddhist god, notably in Japanese Shingon Buddhism. According to a theory, it is the incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai (大日如来, Mahāvairocana, the principal image of esoteric Buddhism). This god was also known as a god of wars and brought the Kurikara Ken (倶利伽羅剣). It is believed that the Kurikara-Ken could cut off worldly desires: Sandoku (三毒). The Sandoku is the three fundamental human desires; Ton (貪, greed), Jin (瞋, anger, grudge), and Chi (癡, delusion, complaint). Now, please look at the picture of the Nakago part. You would find a sword engraved on this sword; it is the Kurikara Ken. And the other side of the Nakago, you would also find a rope pattern. This rope is called the Kensaku/Kenjoaku (羂索), which symbolizes the work of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to save all living things in the world. A ring is attached to one end of this twisted thread, and a half shape of the Dokkosho to the other end. The Dokkosho (独鈷杵) is a kind of Kongo-Sho (金剛杵, Buddhist alter fittings used in esoteric Buddhism) and is called vajra in Sanskrit. The Kurikara Ken and the Kensaku are both attributes of the Fudo Myo-O. Although the Fudo Myo-O itself isn’t present on this sword, we could associate these motifs with this god. This type of design is called the Rusu Moyou (留守模様). It is a design that evokes the main characters and stories by drawing symbolic backgrounds and belongings without the figure of the person a maker wants to express. There are many works with carvings of Fudo Myo-O on the blade of Japanese swords. However, the figure of Fudo Myo-O is not always carved as in this work. By knowing such a euphemistic way of expression, we wonder if there is a broader range of ways to enjoy viewing Japanese swords. We believe the person who originally ordered this blade must have wished prosperity for his family by asking the swordsmith to engrave these symbols. This blade is appraised as a Hozon Token(保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK(Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai:日本美術刀剣保存協会). Fuchi-Kashira A plant pattern is engraved on the entire surface of this Fuchi Kashira. The curved vines and the leaves extending from them are elegantly arranged, giving a graceful impression. Golden paint is applied to edges of each part. We would like to categorize this design as the Karakusa (唐草, arabesque) pattern. It is a pattern in which stems and leaves of vines are twined and make curves. Since ivy has a strong vitality and grows up without interruption, people regarded this design as a symbol of prosperity and longevity. Tsuka and Menuki It is challenging to judge the motif of this Menuki. Seeing from the gaps of the Tsukamaki thread, it is probably a kind of plant. Although some colorings were already faded due to aging, it seems this Menuki was initially painted with gold-colored metal. We think such wear occurred probably due to friction from being gripped many times. Tsuba and Habaki This antique Tsuba has Kozuka and Kougai holes and has a simple appearance. As this Tsuba does not have any decorative colorings such as gold or silver inlay, you could directly enjoy the color and texture of its material. Also, its plain design matches well with the gorgeous look of the scabbard when this Tsuba is attached to the handle. The entire Koshirae has finished in an elegant manner thanks to this well-balanced. Saya Raden technique is applied on this Saya. It is a kind of decorative technique that is often used for traditional craftworks. It uses the pearl part of seashells and put it into the engraved surface of lacquer or wood. Thanks to its iridescent luster, it gives a luxurious look to works. While there is no crack on this Saya, we would like you to keep in mind that some of Raden came off due to its age. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on May 30th in the 20th year of Heisei(2008). They appraised it as Hozon Touken, the blade worth preserving for Japanese society.
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Shinto · Hizen · around 1652-1655
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 37%
3 pieces on the market now
Where Yoshihiro stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
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Shinto · Hizen
105 pieces on the market now
The Hizen school began with a single domain commission. In Keicho 1 (1596) the Nabeshima of Hizen ordered Hashimoto Shinzaemon, the smith who would sign Tadayoshi, up to Kyoto with the carver Munenaga; there he entered the gate of Umetada Myoju and studied forging while Munenaga learned the chisel. The two returned to the province in Keicho 3 (1598), and Tadayoshi settled in the castle town below Saga, where under the domain's patronage the line grew into the dominant sword-making house of Kyushu. His own work runs from Keicho 5 (1600) to his death in Kan'ei 9 (1632); in Genna 10 (1624) he received the court title Musashi Daijo, changed his name to Tadahiro, and shifted his clan name from Minamoto to Fujiwara, so that the late Musashi Daijo blades are the founder under a second name. From him the house became a true generational institution: his son the second-generation Omi Daijo Tadahiro carried it forward as its most prolific hand, the third-generation Mutsu no Kami Tadayoshi returned its highest finish, and a Tosa no Kami branch took the founder's signature when he set it aside. Around this main line grew a circle of disciples and collateral hands, the waki-Hizen or Soba-Hizen smiths, several of them, like Yoshiie and Hironori, working as daisaku substitute makers whose own signed pieces are therefore scarce. The school's signature is its steel. Over a ko-itame forged so tightly it shows no slackness, fine ji-nie gathers in minute particles until the surface takes on the rice-bran konuka-hada (also written komenuka-hada) that no other school produces, fine chikei entering throughout and the ji notably clear and bright.
The orthodox temper laid upon it is a chu-suguha or hiro-suguha, sometimes tinged with a shallow notare and ko-gunome, the nioiguchi deep with finely clustered ko-nie and tightened to a bright clarity, the boshi running straight to a quiet ko-maru. The founder aimed this suguha toward the Rai school yet departed from it, his nioiguchi tighter and his forging carrying more vigor; the third generation refined it to what the published sources call the strongest and most precise hand of the first three generations. Against that calm register the house also worked a showier one, the Hizen choji-midare mixing gunome, long ashi, kinsuji and sunagashi, a manner the published sources already find more often in the founder's late Musashi Daijo work than in his Tadayoshi years, and one the second generation made his own. The branches pushed further from the suguha standard: Tadakuni of the Ogi domain ran sunagashi more conspicuously than any other Hizen hand and reached toward old Ichimonji in his o-choji; Masahiro and Yukihiro favored a flamboyant long-ashi choji over the calm main line; and the Iyo no Jo Munetsugu line worked apart in the Soshu-den, building a midareba on notare with a pointed togariba and a jihada that tends to stand and tone slightly blackish. A collector seeks Hizen-to first for that steel, and reads it the same way the appraiser does: a bright suguha lying over a clear, tight konuka-hada identifies the school before the signature is consulted, and the quiet ko-maru boshi on the ura-signed tang confirms the main-line practice. Generation and branch are then told within that frame, the third generation's powerful sugata recalling not his father but his grandfather, the waki-Hizen hands set apart by their irregular temper, their sujikai file marks and a sashi-ura signature, the Munetsugu line by its Soshu togari. The main line, made in real numbers across so long a span, reaches the market more readily than any Kamakura master, so a papered example is within reach of a patient collector, while the founder's own work and the finest konuka-suguha of the third generation come to open hands only from time to time. Provenance runs back through the house the school served, blades recorded to Nabeshima Katsushige and Nabeshima Naomoto and passing onward to the Owari Tokugawa, the Satake and the Imperial families; documentary inscriptions sharpen the picture further, a Myoju soemei attesting the founder's discipleship, Umetada carving adding flowers to brocade on his late blades, and the gold-inlaid cutting tests of Yamano Kanjuro and Yamano Ka'emon, rare on Hizen work, naming the edge as well as the hand. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tadayoshi忠吉 | 1596-1632 | 155 |
| Tadayoshi忠吉 | 1660-1686 | 61 |
| Tadahiro忠廣 | 1633-1693 | 133 |
| Masahiro正廣 | 1624-1655 | 30 |
| Tadakuni忠國 | 1648-1652 | 32 |
Hizen: a domain enterprise
Hizen swords were a domain enterprise: the Nabeshima sent Tadayoshi to study under Umetada Myōju around 1596, then built a licensed school around him. Nine generations carried its famously consistent konuka-hada work into the Meiji era.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
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.
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