Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchKashu Kiyomitsu was a Kaga swordsmith lineage that continued from the first generation to the 12th generation, from the late Muromachi period to the end of the Bakufu. The 4th generation is said to be around Tensho, and the 5th generation around Keicho and Kan'ei; among them, the 6th generation Kiyomitsu is known for being called "Hinin Kiyomitsu" and for forging swords in the "Hinin-goya (refugee shelter)" established for the purpose of relieving famine victims, but it is said that the 6th generation Chobyoe, 7th generation Choemon, and 8th generation Chobyoe also entered the Hinin-goya to forge swords. Furthermore, he is famous as the favored sword of the Shinsengumi first unit captain Okita Soji, and there is an anecdote that it was used in that Ikedaya Incident. This work is shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, the jigane is ko-itame with ji-nie, and the hamon is nioi-gachi suguha with the boshi returning cleanly in ko-maru. Distinguishing the generations of Kiyomitsu is difficult, and it is unknown which generation of Kiyomitsu this work is, but as it is a Kiyomitsu from the Shinto period, it is a Kiyomitsu from the 5th generation onwards. The accompanying koshirae has a saya in aogai mijin-nuri, and the kanagu are matched with a kiku design.
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As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Kaga · around 1661-1673
The Edo period (1615 to 1868)
Edo was the sword’s age of connoisseurship: the Hon’ami appraisers, the shogunal register of famous blades of 1719, and a thriving literature turned the sword into an object of study even as it ceased to be drawn in war.
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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