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.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatch<audio controls preload="auto"> <source src="clocktowerbell.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" /> </audio> Signed. (Ura kiku-mon) Minamoto no Masakage Moto-haba (Width at Ha-machi) : Approx. 3.12 cm Gyokusinsai Minamoto no Masakage, whose full name was Goto Risuke, was born in Toyama, Etchu Province. He went to Edo and entered the school of Minamoto no Masao, and further improved his forging techniques by studying under Suishinshi Masatsugu, who maintained a school in Shitaya Okachi-machi like his master; after completing his training, he moved to the castle town of Takada in Echigo to establish his smithy, meeting the demands of the turbulent Bakumatsu era. This tanto has a wide, rugged tsukuri-komi with a full fukura and sun-nobi length, while featuring a shin no mune and a nakago finished with kesho-yasuri and a kuri-jiri, a stylish finish reminiscent of his teacher Suishinshi Masatsugu. The jigane, a ko-itame kitae mixed with masame-hada toward the ha, is thickly covered in ji-nie, with chikei lurking beneath the surface creating a finely standing hada that suggests excellent cutting ability. The hamon is a gunome-midare with variations in width and undulation, and the boshi is a shallow midare-komi with a togari-gokoro komaru tip returning toward the mune, a workmanship following the habit of his master Masao. The yakiba, with a vividly clear nioiguchi composed of a blend of ko-nie and nioi, features countless nioi-ashi accompanying a continuous series of pressing ko-gunome. It is truly a masterpiece that integrates the secret traditions of both his masters, Minamoto no Masao and Masatsugu. The kiku-mon on the nakago-ura evokes the spirit of Joi and restoration that surged during that era, and one can sense an extraordinary strength of will in this tanto. (Item Number 1730)
NihontoWatchMasakage正蔭
Offered by Choshuya
3 on the market
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Echigo · around 1861-1864
Tōken Taikan top 97%
3 pieces on the market now
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.
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.
NBTHK official siteIf, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
¥700,000