This is a tachi made by Chikayori, who resided in Bizen Province during the late Kamakura period. It is accompanied by koshirae and a shirasaya. The blade has been designated as a Juyo Token by the NBTHK at its 28th session and was previously owned by American collector Robert Benson.
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1312-1317) · nagasa 60.9cm · sori 1.9cm
Bizen-den · Bizen · around 1312-1332
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 10%
1 piece on the market now
Chikayori was a swordsmith who resided at Nitta-sho in Bizen Province during the late Kamakura period. He is documented alongside Noritsugu as one of the smiths active in that estate, though works by Noritsugu are exceedingly rare while extant examples by Chikayori are encountered from time to time. Surviving dated works bear era names including Bunpo, Gen'o, and Gentoku, establishing his period of production with clarity. The Gen'o 2 (1320) example carries the title Uemon-no-jo, indicating a degree of official standing. In skill, smiths of the Nitta-sho lineage — along with related groups such as Karakawa and Haji — are regarded as somewhat inferior when compared with Osafune works of the same period, yet their rarity lends them considerable documentary significance.
Chikayori's characteristic workmanship centers on a slender tachi sugata with ko-kissaki and pronounced koshizori, yielding an elegant archaic profile. The jigane is typically itame with a tendency toward standing grain (hada-dachi), and ji-nie attaches; a faint utsuri frequently appears. The hamon in most examples is a quiet suguha in nioi-deki with a somewhat subdued nioiguchi and the introduction of small ashi. A minority of works depart from this restrained manner, displaying a more flamboyant character with choji mixed with gunome and the tempering of koshiba on the reverse — demonstrating a broader range of capability than the typical production might suggest.
Chikayori's importance rests on his position as the principal documented smith of the Nitta-sho tradition within Bizen, a lineage distinct from the dominant Osafune mainstream. His dated inscriptions provide fixed chronological reference points for late Kamakura Bizen workmanship, and blades retaining their original nakago with crisp, clearly cut signatures are of particular value for the study of this provincial school. Works exhibiting both his characteristic restrained style and his occasional bolder manner together constitute essential material for understanding the full scope of swordsmithing activity in Bizen beyond the Osafune mainstream.
Where Chikayori 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Bizen-den · Bizen
1 piece on the market now
The smiths gathered under the Nitta-shō (新田庄) name were Bizen-den makers who resided in the Nitta estate of Bizen Province across the late Kamakura period and into the Nanbokuchō era. The setsumei document a small circle of signed hands rather than a single descent line. Chikayori (親依) is the most frequently encountered, with dated work spanning Bunpō, Gen'ō, Karyaku, and Gentoku, his Gen'ō 2 (1320) tachi headed by the title Uemon no Jō; Ujiyori (氏依), styled Saemon no Jō and Sahebei no Jō, carries a Kagen 3 (1305) date and is placed in reference compilations within the Chikata-shō (Oyada-shō) line of Chikayori; Noritsugu (則次) reaches a Bunna 3 (1354) date in the Nanbokuchō period; and Yasunori (保則) appears in meikan as teacher under the Noriyoshi entry. The setsumei measure this group directly against Osafune of the same period and judge it somewhat below that workshop in skill, while one notice groups the makers alongside the Karakawa and Haji circles and another likens Noritsugu's later work to the Bizen Unrui and Unshō sphere. A shared idiom runs through the blades. The form is the slender late-Kamakura tachi, with koshizori, funbari, and a small or extended chū-kissaki. The jigane is ko-itame or itame, at times tending to hada-dachi or carrying mokume and patches of larger flowing grain, with ji-nie adhering and utsuri (often midare-utsuri) appearing as a defining trait.
The temper rests on a low, narrow suguha worked in nioi-deki with ko-nie, into which ko-ashi and yō enter; ko-gunome and ko-chōji mingle in places, and the nioiguchi often tightens toward a subdued (shizumi) or faintly urumi character, with kinsuji and sunagashi faint where present. The bōshi commonly turns in ko-maru. Within this vocabulary the setsumei record real divergence: Chikayori's Robert Benson tachi runs to a more flamboyant deki, mixing gunome into chōji with koshiba on the ura, while Ujiyori's signed tachi shows the most meticulous forging of the group, broad in mihaba with thick kasane. For the kantei eye these are the working points, the slender shape, the utsuri-bearing Bizen ground, and the quiet low suguha read against the showier Osafune output and the Un lineage that the notices invoke for comparison. Named and provenanced works anchor the record: Chikayori's Gentoku 4 (1332) tachi at Hie Shrine is cited as the one other remembered example beside his Gen'ō piece, a den Noritsugu tachi descends from the Unshū Matsudaira family, an Ujiyori tachi survives with its black-lacquer leather-wrapped tachi koshirae, and the den Yasunori blade carries a two-character signature read against the group's manner. The setsumei treat extant work by every one of these hands as rare, valuing the signed and dated survivals as documentary anchors that fix the production span of the Nitta-shō smiths and let their restrained corner of the Bizen tradition be understood at all. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Chikayori親依 | 1312-1332 | 4 |
| Noritsugu則次 | 1352-1356 | 2 |
| Ujiyori氏依 | 1303-1306 | 2 |
| Yasunori保則 | 1319-1333 | 1 |
Bizen in the Kamakura period
Kamakura was Bizen’s summit. Tradition places Ichimonji smiths among Go-Toba’s goban kaji, Mitsutada founded the Osafune line at mid-century, and orders flowed from the court and the warrior government alike. No province holds more National Treasure blades.
A blade of top-grade workmanship and condition, formally judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin). Awarded only at the NBTHK’s competitive annual examination.
Of Japan’s roughly 2.5 million registered swords, only 12,307 (about 1 in 203) have ever attained Jūyō.
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 site
This is a tachi made by Chikayori, who resided in Bizen Province during the late Kamakura period. It is accompanied by koshirae and a shirasaya. The blade has been designated as a Juyo Token by the NBTHK at its 28th session and was previously owned by American collector Robert Benson.
NihontoWatchmei · Showa (1312-1317) · nagasa 60.9cm · sori 1.9cm
Bizen-den · Bizen · around 1312-1332
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 10%
1 piece on the market now
Chikayori was a swordsmith who resided at Nitta-sho in Bizen Province during the late Kamakura period. He is documented alongside Noritsugu as one of the smiths active in that estate, though works by Noritsugu are exceedingly rare while extant examples by Chikayori are encountered from time to time. Surviving dated works bear era names including Bunpo, Gen'o, and Gentoku, establishing his period of production with clarity. The Gen'o 2 (1320) example carries the title Uemon-no-jo, indicating a degree of official standing. In skill, smiths of the Nitta-sho lineage — along with related groups such as Karakawa and Haji — are regarded as somewhat inferior when compared with Osafune works of the same period, yet their rarity lends them considerable documentary significance.
Chikayori's characteristic workmanship centers on a slender tachi sugata with ko-kissaki and pronounced koshizori, yielding an elegant archaic profile. The jigane is typically itame with a tendency toward standing grain (hada-dachi), and ji-nie attaches; a faint utsuri frequently appears. The hamon in most examples is a quiet suguha in nioi-deki with a somewhat subdued nioiguchi and the introduction of small ashi. A minority of works depart from this restrained manner, displaying a more flamboyant character with choji mixed with gunome and the tempering of koshiba on the reverse — demonstrating a broader range of capability than the typical production might suggest.
Chikayori's importance rests on his position as the principal documented smith of the Nitta-sho tradition within Bizen, a lineage distinct from the dominant Osafune mainstream. His dated inscriptions provide fixed chronological reference points for late Kamakura Bizen workmanship, and blades retaining their original nakago with crisp, clearly cut signatures are of particular value for the study of this provincial school. Works exhibiting both his characteristic restrained style and his occasional bolder manner together constitute essential material for understanding the full scope of swordsmithing activity in Bizen beyond the Osafune mainstream.
Where Chikayori 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Years he was demonstrably active, proven by signed-and-dated blades
Bizen-den · Bizen
1 piece on the market now
The smiths gathered under the Nitta-shō (新田庄) name were Bizen-den makers who resided in the Nitta estate of Bizen Province across the late Kamakura period and into the Nanbokuchō era. The setsumei document a small circle of signed hands rather than a single descent line. Chikayori (親依) is the most frequently encountered, with dated work spanning Bunpō, Gen'ō, Karyaku, and Gentoku, his Gen'ō 2 (1320) tachi headed by the title Uemon no Jō; Ujiyori (氏依), styled Saemon no Jō and Sahebei no Jō, carries a Kagen 3 (1305) date and is placed in reference compilations within the Chikata-shō (Oyada-shō) line of Chikayori; Noritsugu (則次) reaches a Bunna 3 (1354) date in the Nanbokuchō period; and Yasunori (保則) appears in meikan as teacher under the Noriyoshi entry. The setsumei measure this group directly against Osafune of the same period and judge it somewhat below that workshop in skill, while one notice groups the makers alongside the Karakawa and Haji circles and another likens Noritsugu's later work to the Bizen Unrui and Unshō sphere. A shared idiom runs through the blades. The form is the slender late-Kamakura tachi, with koshizori, funbari, and a small or extended chū-kissaki. The jigane is ko-itame or itame, at times tending to hada-dachi or carrying mokume and patches of larger flowing grain, with ji-nie adhering and utsuri (often midare-utsuri) appearing as a defining trait.
The temper rests on a low, narrow suguha worked in nioi-deki with ko-nie, into which ko-ashi and yō enter; ko-gunome and ko-chōji mingle in places, and the nioiguchi often tightens toward a subdued (shizumi) or faintly urumi character, with kinsuji and sunagashi faint where present. The bōshi commonly turns in ko-maru. Within this vocabulary the setsumei record real divergence: Chikayori's Robert Benson tachi runs to a more flamboyant deki, mixing gunome into chōji with koshiba on the ura, while Ujiyori's signed tachi shows the most meticulous forging of the group, broad in mihaba with thick kasane. For the kantei eye these are the working points, the slender shape, the utsuri-bearing Bizen ground, and the quiet low suguha read against the showier Osafune output and the Un lineage that the notices invoke for comparison. Named and provenanced works anchor the record: Chikayori's Gentoku 4 (1332) tachi at Hie Shrine is cited as the one other remembered example beside his Gen'ō piece, a den Noritsugu tachi descends from the Unshū Matsudaira family, an Ujiyori tachi survives with its black-lacquer leather-wrapped tachi koshirae, and the den Yasunori blade carries a two-character signature read against the group's manner. The setsumei treat extant work by every one of these hands as rare, valuing the signed and dated survivals as documentary anchors that fix the production span of the Nitta-shō smiths and let their restrained corner of the Bizen tradition be understood at all. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Chikayori親依 | 1312-1332 | 4 |
| Noritsugu則次 | 1352-1356 | 2 |
| Ujiyori氏依 | 1303-1306 | 2 |
| Yasunori保則 | 1319-1333 | 1 |
Bizen in the Kamakura period
Kamakura was Bizen’s summit. Tradition places Ichimonji smiths among Go-Toba’s goban kaji, Mitsutada founded the Osafune line at mid-century, and orders flowed from the court and the warrior government alike. No province holds more National Treasure blades.
A blade of top-grade workmanship and condition, formally judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin). Awarded only at the NBTHK’s competitive annual examination.
Of Japan’s roughly 2.5 million registered swords, only 12,307 (about 1 in 203) have ever attained Jūyō.
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 site
