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.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchMasatsugu is the earlier mei of Sakakura Seki Masatoshi of Mino, one of the leading sharp swords of the Sengoku period. Furthermore, the Sakakura Seki is a school famous for wazamono, with the Naoe Shizu school as its ancestor. The style of this katana features a sharp, clear, and flamboyant hamon of togari-style gunome choji midare, and the nioiguchi is soft and beautiful; even within the same school, it is grand and flamboyant with superior deki. A relationship between the Sakakura Seki school and Muramasa is conjectured based on the nakago tailoring, the style of the mei, and the way the ashi enter the hamon.
NihontoWatchOffered by Hyozaemon
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Mino-den · Mino · around 1504-1521
Tōken Taikan top 49%
1 piece on the market now
Where Masatoshi 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.
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Mino-den · Mino
1 piece on the market now
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masatoshi正利 | 1504-1521 | 1 |
| Masatoshi正俊 | 1487-1489 | 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.
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 siteWithin one week of the item's arrival (cooling-off is available within Japan only). If the returned item's condition differs from the time of sale, or the item has been used, no refund can be given. For defects that differ from the purchase conditions, we accept the return and refund the payment. (A defect means something that impairs the item's proper use, such as a hagire (crack in the edge), a re-tempered blade (saiba) or a forgery; items described as having a hagire, a saiba or as a forgery are excluded.) For overseas customers, please consult us separately.
¥1,800,000