Kat-105 NBTHK Juyo Enju Katana

$32,000

Superb Juyo Token attributed to the Enju School.

The Enju School flourished during the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods in the Southern part of Japan known as Higo. The founder of the school (Enju Kunimura) was the son of the famous Rai Kuniyuki who studied well under his father then moving to Higo Kikuchi to establish his own school. Actually if not for the boshi activity in this blade, it might have been attributed to the Rai School instead of Enju.

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Kat-104 Osaka Shinto -Sadanori

$8000

Excellent Osaka Shinto Shinkai School Wakizashi

Wakizashi by Kaga no Kami Sadanori. Sadanori was a top maker from the famous Inouye Shinkai School. Because his teacher was so talented, his students often get forgotten as Shinkai was one of the top masters from the Osaka Shinto School. But his top tier students all were very good, and there are excellent examples of them that show high quality and skill. For example this blade is flawless as is expected from this mainline school. If you have read in books that really good blades have a steel that looks “wet”, here is the case in point. Osaka Shinto blades are nie deki with lots of ji nie which makes the ji appears as if it is wet due to the bright high quality ji  nie that reflects the light. Done in the style that Shinkai is most famous for, this blade is done ina very well done suguha based nie deki hamon. Small kinsuji appears very finely and the ji nie is gorgeous. The itame hada is well knit and there are NO flaws. Boshi is very healthy with a nice turnback. The tang is ubu 1 hole and in mint condition.

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Tan-115 Kanetsune Tanto

$7,500

1500’s

Excellent Koto Tanto Signed

Very nice excellent condition Kanetsune tanto. In very top level polish, this blade is very healthy, especially for its age. From the late koto period, this blade was obviously well cared for by all of its previous owners. Very similar to the famous swordsmith Muramasa, the use of notare for the hamon which is identical on both sides is a Muramasa trait.. There is the theory that Muramasa learned from top makers from the Mino Seki School, thus the similarities in shape and workmanship.

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Kat-106 Higo Mounted Koto blade

$7,500

Rare nicely mounted katana done in the Higo style.

Higo koshirae are very appreciated in Japan among collectors. They had a great sense of nature in both the design, as well as the materials used. This mount is very rare as many Same" (rayskin) scabbards have not survived after WW2. But this type of rayskin is an even more special type known as “Botan Same’” or peony blossom patterned rayskin. The appearance of the pattern of the skin looks like the peony flower in bloom, and this type of rayskin comes only on a rare type of ray. Higo koshirae are famous for their use of "Same" for their scabbards, along with leather or doeskin for the tape binding on the handle. By using these materials to make the mount, the mount is more durable in everyday use and wear. There are many Juyo Higo rated mounts with this combination.

 

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Tan-118 Tegai Kanehisa

$7,500

Rare Signed Koto Yamato Tanto With Mount

Tanto made by Tegai Kanehisa. Kanehisa was a very well known maker from the famous Yamato Tegai School. The Tegai School was most famous from the kamakura period through the Muromachi period as one of the top Yamato den Schools. Even the famous Soshu smith Kaneuji originally worked in the Yamato tradition, and his early roots are known as Yamato Shizu and resemble works of Tegai smiths. This tanto is made by one of the most famous Early Muromachi Tegai smiths. He is rated as Jojosaku, and signed pieces are very very rare. For some reason many Tegai pieces are unsigned, so finding a signed original example is very difficult.

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Tan-116 Yoshiaki Aoe Utsushimono

$6,750

2002

Rare Top Tanto Maker With Utsuri.

Rare excellent example of a shinsakuto maker who is the most famous for making utsuri. Utsuri is a very difficult feature to create in a sword, and only top makers from the older period could achieve this effect. Sugita Yoshiaki was so intrigued by utsuri, that he made it a special quest in his study of creating top blades in this modern age by traditional techniques. Unknown to many beginners, the Aoe School from the Koto period was very famous for their slanted choji midare with very strong utsuri.

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Tan-117 Hojoji Masateru Tanto

$5800

1680’s

Rare tanto by one of the most famous Edo Hojoji..

The Hojoji was most famous for their cutting ability, and many blades have testcut signatures added after being tested. Hojoji Masahiro was the headsmith of this group and due to the quality of their blades, all of the smiths were very well regarded. Even during his time, Masateru was a very well known smith among his contemporaries. As an example, one of the most famous Kaneshige blades known as “Raiden” was made with Kaneshige, Kanetsune and Masateru and is a famous Juyo Token.

This blade must have been special ordered as tanto were hardly ever made by the Hojoji.

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Tan-1 Tegai Kanetoshi

1400's

Beautiful tanto attributed to Tegai Kanetoshi. Very nice healthy piece with very strong utsuri. Kanetoshi was a representative smith from the famous Yamato Tegai School. Who worked around the mid 1400’s. He specialized in making tanto, and is rated wazamono (very sharp). This tanto is very healthy, the temper of nie deki suguha is very bright and has fine kinsuji running in the hamon. The jigane is a very beautiful o itame mokume mix with shirake utsuri.ji nie and chikei are present. The blade is also very thick (7.6mm) and would qualify as a yoroi doshi. In very good polish and condition, this is a very nice piece for both study and enjoyment.

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