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NAOI-SHIZU SCHOOL OF “KANEUJI” (MINO) CIRCA 1330 – 1360 AD.
LAST PART OF KAMAKURA / EARLY NAMBOKUCHO
ONE OF “MASAMUNE’S” STUDENTS
Juyo token by the NBTHK
saya-gaki by TANZAN, Tanobe Michihiro sensei
Jūyō-tōken at the 27th jūyō shinsa held on September 8, 1980
katana, mumei: Naoe-Shizu (直江志津)
Tōkyō, Saitō Mitsuoki (斎藤光興)
Measurements
nagasa 71.2 cm, sori 1.8 cm, motohaba 3.2 cm, sakihaba 2.6 cm, kissaki-nagasa 5.4 cm, nakago-nagasa 16.8 cm, nakago-sori 0.2 cm
Description
Keijō: shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, wide mihaba, shallow sori, ō-kissaki
Kitae: itame that features ji-nie and chikei
Hamon: ko-notare in nie-deki with a tight nioiguchi and mixed with gunome, togariba, and yubashiri
Bōshi: gently undulating notare with a ko-maru-kaeri
Horimono: on both sides a futasuji-ji that ends in marudome
Nakago: ō-suriage, kirijiri, katte-sagari yasurime, two mekugi-ana, mumei
Explanation
Naoe-Shizu (直江志津) is an umbrella term for the group of smiths from the School of Kaneuji (兼氏), which had moved to Naoe (直江) in Mino province and continued to make swords there. Their workmanship is similar to that of their master Kaneuji, meaning a Sōshū style that is enlarged with Mino elements, with one of their characteristic feature being a prominent amount of sunagashi.
This blade has a wide mihaba and a large and elongated kissaki, displaying so the typical sugata of the Nanbokuchō period. The ha is a ko-notare mixed with gunome and has a tight nioiguhi, and several Naoe-Shizu works exist which feature such a tight nioiguchi. Thus, the blade displays one of the known workmanships of the Naoe-Shizu group and has a jiba that is of an excellent deki.
This Sword is not available for purchase.
If you wish to purchase a Japanese Sword, please view our Nihonto for sale page or contact us directly via email or by telephone at 1(608) 315-0083 any time. Please include specifics of what you seek, i.e.: Katana, maker, era, price range, etc.
Pictures and content may not be copied without the express permission of samuraisword.com ©
From the Pepin collection – for comparison only
“NOT AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE”
THIS IS A STUDY WE DID OF A BLADE BY “KANEUJI” IN OUR COLLECTION. IT IS VALUABLE FOR THE STUDY OF THE “JUYO NAOI-SHIZU”, AS THE SAME KANEUJI FOUNDED THE SCHOOL. PLEASE NOTE THE STRONG SIMILARITIES IN STYLE.
“BUDDHA TO’ blade, Kamakura period
This Japanese sword was stolen February 2013 and has yet to be returned – updated 2022
If you find it for sale or know of its whereabouts please contact us ASAP at 608-315-0083 Thank you!
NAGASA (LENGTH): 47 cm. / 18 1/2″
MOTOHABA (WIDTH): 3.9 cm. / 1 1/2+”
THIS FINE MEMORIAL, KOTO (PRIOR TO 1600 AD.), SHOSHU STYLE “COMPANION SWORD” (NOW TERMED WAKIZASHI), IS THE CLOSEST THING TO AN ORIGINAL “SHOSHU MASAMUNE”, THAT A PERSON COULD HOPE TO OWN, THERE IS A SIMILAR RE-CREATION IN THE COLLECTION OF THE “EMPEROR”. MY RESEARCH APPEARS (90%) TO SUBSTANTIATE THAT IT IS THE WORK OF “SHIZU SABURO KANEUJI 1st” C- 1290 AD.) “MINO KANEUJI” 1st, IS ONE OF THE “10” STUDENTS OF “SHOSHU MASAMUNE”, C-1280 AD. (THE MOST FAMOUS SWORD MAKER, THAT EVER LIVED! HE IS KNOWN AS “SHIZU SABURO”, AND MOST OF HIS BLADES ARE IN THE SHOSHU STYLE. HE WAS A MASTER AT REPLICATING THE STYLES (HIS TEACHER / SENSEI) OF “MASAMUNE”, THE WORKMANSHIP IN THIS BLADE IS FANTASTIC.
DURING MY RESEARCH, I LOCATED AN ILLUSTRATION OF A “FAMOUS REPLICA” OF A BLADE BY “MASAMUNE”, IN A BOOK TITLED ” HONCHO KAJI KO “, (THESE BOOKS WERE DONE IN “1795”, KANSEI PERIOD), IT ILLUSTRATES SWORDS THAT ARE IN THE “IMPERIAL COLLECTION”!
THE PICTURE’S DISPLAYED COMPARE THE IMPERIAL COLLECTION COPY OF A MASAMUNE’S BLADE (BY KANEUJI), AS WELL AS ILLUSTRATIONS, FROM OTHER REFERENCES WITH OUR “BUDDHA TO` BLADE”. THE HADA (GRAIN STRUCTURE) STYLE, AND HAMON (TEMPERING) ARE VERY SIMILAR. THE KITAE (BLADE STRUCTURE), AND QUALITY LEVEL ARE STRIKINGLY SIMILAR! I FEEL THAT THE SIMILARITY’S ARE TO NUMEROUS, FOR IT TO HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTALLY CREATED. THE IMPERIAL COLLECTION BLADE WAS PRODUCED BY “SHIZU SABURO KANEUJI” 1st GENERATION, C – 1290 AD. THE BOOK FURTHER STATES THAT THE BLADE WAS POLISHED IN THE “KYOHO (1716) PERIOD”, BY “SUMINO TOSHIAKI” (THE OFFICIAL IMPERIAL COLLECTION POLISHER), HE STATED (IN THE TEXT) THAT “IT FELT THE SAME AS POLISHING A MASAMUNE BLADE”. THE “HONCHO KAJI KO” BOOKS ARE FROM SCROLL’S, THAT HAVE BEEN FOLDED, AND STITCHED TOGETHER. THEY ARE THE WORK OF “MAEKAWA YOSHIBEI”. THESE ARE ORIGINAL VOLUMES, PUBLISHED IN “1795 AD.” (EXTREMELY RARE BOOKS)!
PRIOR TO MY “ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY”, IN “HONCHO KAJIKO”, THE “BUDDHA TO” SWORD HAD BEEN THOUGHT TO BE A REPLICA OF “MASAMUNE’S” WORK, DONE IN THE VERY LATE KOTO, OR SHINTO PERIOD, BY A FAMOUS MAKER (PERHAPS, “IZUMI – NO – KAMI KANESADA”). MY RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THE “SHINTO THEORY” IS INCORRECT, AND THAT “BUDDHA TO” IS ALSO A REPLICA OF MASAMUNE’S WORK PRODUCED BY “SHIZU KANEUJI”, DURING THE KAMAKURA PERIOD.
THE CHARACTERS “KI OMOKAGE”, MEAN TO COMMEMORATE, THE FOUND MEMORY OF THE “SEVEN (7)” SAMURAI NAMED THEREON. THIS DEDICATION APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN INSCRIBED IN THE LATE KOTO PERIOD 1550 ~ 1596, THIS IS SUBSTANTIATE BY THE RICH (CHOCOLATE BROWN) COLOR OF THE PATINA. “KANEUJI” WORKED IN APPROXIMATELY 1290 AD. THE NAMES (ON THE OMOTE SIDE) ARE : #1 “SHINHYOGO NYUDO, #2 SHOAN HIROYOSHI”, #3 “SHINANO-NO-KAMI HIRONAO”, #4 “GENBEY-NO-JO NAOYOSHI”, #5 “SHOZAEMON-NO-JO SHIGEYOSHI”, #6 “SHOZAEMON-NO-JO YOSHITSUGU”, AND #7 “GOZAEMON-NO-JO YOSHITOKI”.
THE “URA” SIDE (SIDE WORN TOWARD THE BODY) INSCRIPTION INVOKES THE GUARDIANSHIP, AND ASSISTANCE OF THE THE FOLLOWING “BUDDHIST DEITIES”: “FUDO”, “SHAKA”, “MONJU”, “FUGEN”, “JIZO”, “MIROKU”, “YAKUSHI”, “KANNON”, “SEISHI”, “AMIDA”, “AKAN”, “DAIMICHI”, AND “KOKUSO”. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE, AND FASCINATING HISTORY!
“NOT AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE”
PRIVATE COLLECTION
This Japanese sword “BUDDHA TO” was stolen February 2013 and has yet to be returned – updated 11/2022
If you find it for sale or know of its whereabouts please contact us ASAP at 1(608) 315-0083 Thank you!
From the Pepin collection – for comparison only
Pictures and content may not be copied without the express permission of samuraisword.com ©