After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchIt has appeared, it has appeared, a celebrated sword with a correct lineage has appeared; a precious sword of the Kobayashi family, who served for generations the ancestors of Sakai Tadahisa sensei, the current chairman of the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai and a lord famous for Tsuruoka Castle in Shonai, Yamagata Prefecture, has appeared. The Shonai Sakai family of Yamagata Prefecture began from the children of Sakai Hirochika, a sworn ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the Sakai family flourished as more than 10 daimyo families across the country. The maker of this sword, who boldly chiseled the mei of Munenaga, was originally a disciple of Sesshu Nakajima Rai Kuninaga who chiseled the mei Banshu Ju Munenaga; Munenaga, who moved to Wakashu Obama around the Oei era (1394) (631 years ago) of the Muromachi period, moved to Mount Shosha in Banshu around the Tensho era at the end of the Muromachi period, and thereafter moved to the Himeji castle town around the Keicho era (1605) (420 years ago) of the early Edo period. Himeji Castle was a town that flourished greatly as the most significant defensive point facing the west, with the Sakai clan, hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa, becoming the lords of the domain during the Edo period. This sword is a precious sword with the early Munenaga mei from around the Meireki era (1655) (370 years ago). This sword displays a Kanbun Shinto sugata with a difference between the moto-mihaba and saki-mihaba and little sori; the jigane is forged in ko-itame hada with fine ji-nie attached to the ji, and as for horimono, a koshi-hi is carved only on the omote; the hamon is a suguba style tempered sharply in nioi-deki with nie in the style of a Yamashiro Rai utsushi, also showing togari-ba in places and is well made. This sword by the swordsmith Munenaga made in Himeji is a sword left by entrusting the precious origins of the Kobayashi family to the blade, in order to leave to the world and to descendants the generations of Kobayashi Rikichi Fujiwara Toshiaki, who served with Tadayoshi as vassals for seven generations from Yamagata Prefecture, which takes pride in the Sakai family, all the way to Himeji. Having received this on consignment from an old house with the request to "please pass this on cheaply to a successor as I have also grown old," we are offering it at a specially low price. There is no other sword that has left the history of the samurai to posterity in such a grand manner, and this sword is a wonderful, lucky, and precious sword; by all means, everyone, please share in the good fortune of this sword and enjoy it.
Offered by Nipponto
3 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Yamashiro-den · Wakasa · around 1394-1428
Tōken Taikan top 37%
1 piece on the market now
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 |
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
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.
¥650,000