Modern Japan made the sword an exile, then an artwork: the 1876 Haitōrei ended sword wearing, the postwar ban nearly ended the craft, and the revival built on the NBTHK’s founding in 1948 remade it as a licensed art.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchThe swordsmith Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu, whose real name was Kasama Yoshikazu, was born in Meiji 19 (1886) in Shizuoka. He became a pupil of his uncle Miyaguchi Ikkansai Shigehisa, and later Morioka Masayoshi. He went to Tokyo in Meiji 36 (1903). After serving as an early instructor at Kurihara Hikosaburo's Nihonto Denshusho in Akasaka, Tokyo, he forged swords at the Tokiwamatsu Token Kenkyujo within the Toyama residence in Showa 10 (1935) and became the chief swordsmith. He was appointed as a swordsmith for the Imperial Household Ministry and served as the vice-chairman of the Nihon Tobu Tanren To Kogyo Kumiai, an instructor at the Tokyo Akasaka Nihonto Denshusho, and received the highest honors at the Teiten. He created numerous presentation swords. He passed away in Showa 40 (1965) at the age of 80. He is one of the modern master smiths known for working toward the restoration and transmission of Nihonto forging methods, and as the teacher of Tsukamoto Okimasa, who became Shigetsugu's son-in-law, and Miyairi Akihira, who became a Living National Treasure. This work is a very auspicious wakizashi, featuring horimono of Daikokuten and Ebisu-sama, and the characters for "rising luck" engraved in inkoku. Toyama Mitsuru (1855–1944) was from the Fukuoka domain. Starting from the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, he was the individual who founded the political organization "Genyosha."
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As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Tokyo · around 1912-1926
Tōken Taikan top 63%
4 pieces on the market now
The modern era (1868 to today)
Modern Japan made the sword an exile, then an artwork: the 1876 Haitōrei ended sword wearing, the postwar ban nearly ended the craft, and the revival built on the NBTHK’s founding in 1948 remade it as a licensed art.
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 siteFor cooling-off, contact us within 3 days including the day you received the item, and ship it so that it arrives within 8 days. After 8 days a return cannot be accepted. Returning an item after 8 days will be treated as a buy-back.