Sengoku Seki was an industry: smiths organized under their tutelary Kasuga shrine, arming the war bands of central Japan. Magoroku Kanemoto’s sanbonsugi and the finest Kanesada work prove quality survived inside mass production.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatch加州家次は古来素晴らしく良く切れる刀として有名です。有名な藤島友重派の刀工で古来加賀青江と尊称が付けられています。本刀は室町時代弘治頃（1555年）（468年前）の古い古い古刀の家次です。丁度上杉謙信と武田信玄が川中島で戦った時、毛利元就が厳島の戦いで勝利して中国地方の太守の足がかりを築いた頃、織田信長がまだ頭角を現す今川義元を桶狭間の戦いで破る6年前、の頃に作られた古い古いお刀です。本刀の姿は元に踏ん張りがあり腰反りで元身幅広く先身幅との差の有る切っ先の延びた豪快な刀姿を現し、地金は板目肌に柾目肌が交じり、刃紋は匂い出来に小沸の付いた互の目丁子乱れ刃が激しく暴れ、あたかも一時代前の古調な備前長船の南北朝時代の太刀を髣髴とさせる刀です。戦国時代の騎馬武者の大将格の武士の特別注文に応えて作った業物の名刀です。この度古いお数寄者様から加賀青江と尊称される本家次の名刀を後進の方にお安くお譲り下さいとお預かりした為に特別に格安にてご提供いたします是非お楽しみくださいませ。
NihontoWatchOffered by Nipponto
This piece has sold
20 on the market
Get an email when a new Kaga Ietsugu piece hits the market.
As written by the shop
Mino-den · Kaga · around 1528-1558
Fujishiro Chu-jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 60%
Where Ietsugu 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.
Mino-den · Kaga
20 pieces on the market now
The Kaga inlay tradition (Kaga zōgan) emerged in Kaga Province during the early Edo period, centered on the castle town of Kanazawa under the patronage of the Maeda clan. This distinctive form of hira-zōgan is said to have developed when craftsmen specializing in stirrup decoration (abumi-shi) adapted their metalworking techniques to tsuba and other sword fittings, flourishing from the early seventeenth century through the Kyōhō era (1716–1736). Working against polished grounds of shakudō, shibuichi, or occasionally refined copper (suaka), these artisans created works characterized by their compositional sophistication and technical precision, establishing a regional aesthetic that would influence later generations of metalworkers. The hallmark of Kaga workmanship lies in its masterful deployment of multiple colored metals—gold, silver, copper, shakudō, and shibuichi—inlaid in flat relief against dark, highly polished grounds. Motifs range from naturalistic subjects such as autumn grasses, butterflies, and mandarin ducks beneath willows to more formal designs including paulownia crests and brocade wrappers, all rendered with meticulous kebori line engraving that adds refinement to the broader inlay work.
The compositions typically extend across the entire surface of the guard, creating an effect of visual richness and decorative abundance. Against jet-black shakudō or the warm tonality of suaka, the multicolored inlays achieve a luminous clarity, producing works of elegant splendor (fūryū) that balance technical virtuosity with restrained taste. The tradition's influence extended beyond its geographic center, with works attributed to Kaga methods appearing in collections throughout Japan. Large-scale presentation pieces demonstrate the school's capacity for ambitious design, while the consistent quality of execution across surviving examples suggests a well-established workshop system with shared technical standards. Though individual makers within the tradition rarely signed their work, the distinctive aesthetic—characterized by full-surface compositions, polished dark grounds, and precise multicolor inlay—remains immediately recognizable, preserving the legacy of Kanazawa's metalworking excellence through the Edo period. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sanekage真景 | 1362-1368 | 47 |
| Takahira高平 | 1621-1644 | 9 |
| Kagemitsu景光 | 1362-1368 | 4 |
| Ietsugu家次 | 1528-1558 | 2 |
| Kagehira景平 | 1661-1673 | 1 |
Mino in the Muromachi period
Sengoku Seki was an industry: smiths organized under their tutelary Kasuga shrine, arming the war bands of central Japan. Magoroku Kanemoto’s sanbonsugi and the finest Kanesada work prove quality survived inside mass production.
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.
NBTHK official siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.