Power sat in Kamakura, but taste was still made in Kyōto. The Awataguchi school’s pear-skin steel became a byword for perfection, and the Rai line supplied dignified tachi to the court, senior warriors, and the great temples alike.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchKoto, Settsu. End of Kamakura. With koshirae. Naginata-naoshi-zukuri, shinogi is extremely high, iori-mune is low. On both sides, bonji and koshi-hi are carved, running off below the habaki. Kitae is itame with mokume and nagare-hada, becoming tight, with large patterns standing out in places, ji-nie attaches thickly, chikei enters well, and the jigane is good. Hamon is hiro-suguha style, the habuchi is well-covered in nie with deep nioi and tightens in places, partially exhibiting kuichigai-ba, with many ko-ashi, ko-gunome-ashi, and yo within the ha. Boshi is sugu style, the tip has slight hakikake and returns. Nakago is o-suriage, saki-kiri, yasurime are kiri. Double habaki made of copper with silver-foil (the covering part is gold-foil). Period polish (there is an atari at the kissaki). In shirasaya. Rai Kuninaga was a student of Rai Kunitoshi; he first lived in Yamashiro and later moved to Nakajima, Nishinari-gun, Settsu Province (present-day Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka City), which is why he is called "Nakajima Rai." According to the Meikan, there were first and second generations; the first generation was around Gentoku (1329-31) at the very end of the Kamakura period, and the second generation was around Shohei (1346-70) and Oan (1368-75) in the mid-to-late Nanbokucho period. Extant works with a mei on tachi are extremely rare; they are almost entirely sunnobi-tanto or ko-wakizashi. The workmanship is based on the Rai school tradition of ko-nie deki suguha, but among them are gunome-midare with strong nie not seen in the likes of Kunitoshi or Kunimitsu, and the boshi is not a pure komaru, sometimes having a long kaeri, midare-komi with hakikake, or becoming yakizume style. Also, the kitae featuring a mix of strong mokume and itame is a characteristic of this smith. This piece is a so-called naginata-naoshi, but because it does not have the large-scale style with a strongly flared tip seen from the Nanbokucho period onwards, it is appraised as a work of the late Kamakura period. The hiro-suguha style ha has abundant activity in the habuchi and within the ha, the ji and ha are healthy, and the toshin is quite heavy. There are no major defects, the yakiba has absolutely no areas that fade from the moto to the saki, and it is a very charming Nakajima Rai.
Certificate reading — 無銘（中島来）
NihontoWatchOffered by Samurai Nippon
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As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Yamashiro-den · Settsu
3 pieces on the market now
The Nakajima Rai designation identifies swordmaking traditions established when Rai Kuninaga, a disciple of the Kyōto master Rai Kunitoshi, relocated to the Nakajima district of Settsu Province during the late Kamakura period. This move represented both geographical expansion of Rai school influence beyond the imperial capital and the deliberate transplantation of technically sophisticated Kyōto nie-based forging practices into a provincial setting. According to historical sword compendia, smiths using this designation are traditionally counted as two generations: the first active during the Gentoku era (1329–1331), and the second working through the middle decades of the fourteenth century, spanning the Shōhei and Ōan eras. Signed examples are exceedingly rare, and most attributions rest on stylistic analysis of unsigned blades greatly shortened from their original dimensions. Nakajima Rai workmanship faithfully perpetuates the core technical vocabulary of the main Rai school while exhibiting slightly more restrained execution. The forging typically shows compact ko-itame-hada or itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, frequently with a tendency toward standing grain; the surface is heavily laden with fine ji-nie that forms in thick, crystalline masses, producing a bright, clear appearance. Chikei enter actively and repeatedly, and faint nie-utsuri often appears along the shinogi side. The hamon follows a characteristic broad suguha-based pattern, into which are mixed ko-gunome, ko-chōji, and small midare elements; within this foundation, ashi and yō enter abundantly, and the nioiguchi is uniformly described as bright and clear.
Internal activities—kinsuji, sunagashi, yubashiri, hotsure, kuichigai-ba, nijūba, and uchi-noke—appear frequently along the habuchi, creating rich variation within the temper line. The bōshi typically forms ko-maru with hakikake, often showing vigorous activity. The overall impression is one of technically accomplished nie-deki work in which the foundational suguha serves as a vehicle for highly active crystalline formations and internal dynamics, closely resembling the style of Rai Kunimitsu but yielding slightly in artistic rank. Extant Nakajima Rai blades almost invariably preserve the bold proportions characteristic of Nanbokuchō-period production: wide mihaba with little taper from base to tip, shallow or deep sori (often retaining koshizori or wazori despite shortening), and extended chū-kissaki or ō-kissaki. Even when greatly shortened, these blades retain an imposing, martial presence that pairs well with the vigorous, nie-laden forging and temper. The technical consistency across designated examples—tight itame with thick ji-nie, broad suguha with active nie, and bright nioiguchi—establishes a coherent stylistic profile that clearly descends from Kyōto Rai traditions while expressing a distinctive provincial character. The combination of robust construction, excellent preservation in surviving examples, and flavorful hataraki within both ji and ha renders Nakajima Rai an important regional expression of late Kamakura and Nanbokuchō swordmaking, preserving the technical sophistication of the capital school in a relocated context. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kuninaga國長 | 1329-1331 | 57 |
| Kuninaga國長 | 1345-1350 | 14 |
| Tomotsuna友綱 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Kuniyasu國安 | 1329-1331 | 1 |
| Naga長 | 1362-1368 | 1 |
Yamashiro in the Kamakura period
Power sat in Kamakura, but taste was still made in Kyōto. The Awataguchi school’s pear-skin steel became a byword for perfection, and the Rai line supplied dignified tachi to the court, senior warriors, and the great temples alike.
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.
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¥780,000