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.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchOrdering Number: AS26515Katana in Shirasaya with Koshirae (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)Signature: Bichu Kokubu Ju Azae Otsuki Saburobei Kunishige Saku 備中国部住呰部大月三郎兵衛国重作 (Ko-Mizuta)(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo saku, Jyo-jyo saku Jyo saku and regular saku)This sword belongs to Jyojyo saku ranking.Habaki : Gold foiled single habaki.Blade length : 62.2cm (24.4 in)Sori : 1.1cm (0.43 in)Mekugi : 2Width at the hamachi : 2.85cm (1.12in)Width at the Kissaki : 0.23cm (0.09 in)Thickness : 0.76cm (0.29 in)The weight of the sword 555 grams.Era: the late Muromachi periodShape: It is like Kanmuri-Otoshi, Shinogi-ji on the upper part has been cut off and thinned.Jigane: beautiful fine ko-itame hada with Utsuri.Hamon: Niedeki suguha with Ashi and Yo. Boshi is wavy.Special feature: Mizuta Kunishige of Bicchu Province is a group of swordsmiths that continued from the late Muromachi Period to the late Edo Period, and the pre-Edo Period Mizuta is called Ko(old)-Mizuta. In the Edo period, their style was changed, and they made unique blade patterns with rough Nie. This work is a rare example of a sword with a Zokumyo. The beautiful Jigane gives the dignity of an old sword from the Muromachi period. it is an elegant piece with a less glamorous appearance.Koshirae : Higo style KoshiraeTsuba: iron tsuba, a picture of plum blossomKojiri: copper with engraving of wavesKashira: ShakudoTsukaito: leatherNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon PaperAoi Art estimation paper: whole OshigataAuction Starting Price:750,000JPYPlace BidRelated Items:Katana: Mumei(Unsigned) (Den Shintogo)(NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)Katana:Bizen no Kuni Osafune Ju Sukesada Saku Dated: February, Kyoho 13 (1728) (NBTHK Hozon Token)Daisho: Tsuda Sukehiro and Osafune Yasumitsu(NBTHK TH for each)(Koshirae: NBTHK TH Tosogu)(Consignment Sale) Katana:Mumei (Unsigned)(Norishige 則重) (67th NBTHK Juyo Token)Katana: Kyushu Higo Dotanuki Kozukenosuke(NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)Tachi:Sueyuki (Den Bungo, Late Kamakura period)(NBTHK
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Shinto · Bitchu
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In Bitchū Province at the close of the Muromachi period, the Mizuta group emerged at the village of that name, and successive generations took the name Kunishige. The setsumei trace their work across Matsuyama, Toribe, Ihara, Ebara, and Niimi, with their vitality carrying into the shintō era. The smiths the records cover form a recognizable line: Ko-Mizuta Kunishige, whose dated blade reaches Tenshō 20 (1592); the Niimi Saburōzaemon no Jō Kunishige, said by signature references (meikan) to have come from Bingo into the Niimi estate and afterward to have served the Mimura family, lords of Matsuyama Castle; Kunishige of Ihara, who signed "Bitchū no kuni Ihara-jū Kunishige saku"; Kunishige styled Ōtsukiyo Goemon, recorded as forging also at Fukuyama in Bingo and at Kawanami; and Ōtsuki Yogorō Kunishige, abbreviated "Daiyogo," son of Ōtsuki Saburōbei Kunishige, who came after the old Mizuta period and worked from the Kan'ei years. So many smiths bore the name Kunishige that the setsumei call the group's reliance on it overwhelming. The shared vocabulary is consistent across the entries. The jigane is itame, sometimes flowing and sometimes standing out, with ji-nie adhering and chikei entering; utsuri is visible on the older pieces. The hamon of the shintō hand rests on a notare or ko-notare base mixed with gunome, deep in nioi, with nie forming vigorously and at times breaking into coarse ara-nie; sunagashi and kinsuji run through, and muneyaki recurs frequently. On the Daiyogo katana the temper rises until the upper half is nearly hitatsura, an ō-midare in notare style with the bōshi burning down long toward the mune-machi.
The bōshi elsewhere goes midare-komi with hakikake, taking a flame-like (kaen) cast or becoming ichimai-like. The Niimi blade adds yakidaka composition with angular and yahazu-like elements. These are the marks of the hand: a strong nie-laden Sōshū bearing on a serviceable, iori-mune shinogi-zukuri build, the signatures cut long toward the mune. For kantei the records single out the notare foundation worked with gunome and intense nie, the yahazu shapes and ichimai bōshi the setsumei name as "the highlights of the Mizuta manner," and the ha-agari kurijiri tang that rises markedly toward the edge. The shintō smiths are read by their pronounced Sōshū emphasis, the kotō-period Ko-Mizuta by a busier (kosekose) gunome-midare carrying ko-chōji and a tight nioiguchi. The setsumei describe these as cutting, utilitarian blades, and the Ihara daishō carries elaborate carving, including kurikara, "Marishiten," and the Nine Syllables. Named pieces anchor the line: the Niimi Kunishige is published in the Kōzan Oshigata and, by the record on its old scabbard, once served as the camp sword (jin-tō) of Bunjō-in, Tokugawa Ienobu, the sixth shōgun. Of Daiyogo the setsumei say few signed works survive, the loss attributed to mei being removed or blades shortened and reworked, yet they name him the leading master of the group and credit the school's spread through the Edo period to smiths of his ability. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kunishige國重 | 1592-1596 | 2 |
| Kunishige國重 | 1673-1681 | 1 |
| Kunisada國定 | 1688-1704 | 0 |
| Kunishige国重 | 1684-1688 | 0 |
| Kunishige國重 | 1554-1573 | 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.
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.
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