{"product_id":"antique-japanese-katana-sword-with-gold-shishi-menuki-and-iron-tsuba-attributed-to-sue-seki-nbthk-hozon","title":"Antique Japanese Katana Sword with Gold Shishi Menuki and Iron Tsuba, Attributed to Sue-Seki — NBTHK Hozon","description":"\u003csection class=\"product\"\u003e\u003cheader\u003e\u003c\/header\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"specs\"\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignature (Mei):\u003c\/strong\u003e Mumei (無銘) - unsigned\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAttribution:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sue-Seki (末関) - late-Muromachi Seki school, per NBTHK kantei\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e NBTHK Hozon Kanteishō No. 3037363 (Reiwa 7 \/ 2025)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eType:\u003c\/strong\u003e Katana\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Late Muromachi Period (Sengoku, 16th century) \/ Mino Province\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Seki (Mino-den)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Black lacquer koshirae with iron tsuba and gold shishi menuki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 63.6 cm (2 shaku 1 sun)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 2.3 cm - deep Sengoku-period curve\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMekugi-ana:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShape:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune and chū-kissaki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJihada:\u003c\/strong\u003e Itame mixed with mokume, tending to masame in places\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gunome-midare with togari (pointed) and notare, in nioi with ko-nie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBoshi:\u003c\/strong\u003e Midare-komi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis \u003cstrong\u003eKatana\u003c\/strong\u003e is a \u003cstrong\u003emumei\u003c\/strong\u003e (unsigned) work attributed by the NBTHK, in a current \u003cstrong\u003eHozon\u003c\/strong\u003e appraisal (Reiwa 7 \/ 2025), to \u003cstrong\u003eSue-Seki\u003c\/strong\u003e (末関) - the Seki school of \u003cstrong\u003eMino Province\u003c\/strong\u003e in the late Muromachi period. It is a genuine \u003cstrong\u003eKotō\u003c\/strong\u003e blade of the \u003cstrong\u003eSengoku\u003c\/strong\u003e era, the age of Japan's great civil wars, when Seki was the country's most productive sword-making centre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sugata tells that story directly: a \u003cem\u003eshinogi-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eiori-mune\u003c\/em\u003e, a \u003cstrong\u003echū-kissaki\u003c\/strong\u003e, and a pronounced \u003cstrong\u003e2.3 cm sori\u003c\/strong\u003e over a \u003cstrong\u003e63.6 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e blade - the deep, purposeful curve of a 16th-century battlefield katana built for cutting from horseback and in close combat. The blade is healthy and cleanly polished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe workmanship is classic \u003cstrong\u003eMino-den\u003c\/strong\u003e. The \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e is an itame-mokume grain with a tendency to \u003cem\u003emasame\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is a lively \u003cstrong\u003egunome-midare\u003c\/strong\u003e carrying the pointed \u003cem\u003etogari\u003c\/em\u003e peaks and rolling \u003cem\u003enotare\u003c\/em\u003e that mark Seki work, set in a bright \u003cem\u003enioiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eko-nie\u003c\/em\u003e and running into a \u003cstrong\u003emidare-komi\u003c\/strong\u003e boshi. Being mumei and attributed, its name comes from the NBTHK's expert reading of these traits rather than from a signature - the normal and respected basis for classifying Sue-Seki blades, most of which left the Seki forges unsigned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"koshirae\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKoshirae Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe old blade is dressed in a tasteful \u003cstrong\u003eblack Edo-period koshirae\u003c\/strong\u003e. The \u003cstrong\u003esaya\u003c\/strong\u003e is finished in black \u003cem\u003eurushi\u003c\/em\u003e lacquer with a dark-blue \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cstrong\u003etsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e is a sober oval iron plate with a hammered \u003cem\u003etsuchime\u003c\/em\u003e surface and dark patina - quiet, honest ironwork of the kind favoured for a serious fighting mount.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003efuchi\u003c\/strong\u003e is a dark soft-metal fitting with a \u003cem\u003enanako\u003c\/em\u003e ground and a plum-blossom design highlighted in gilt, and the \u003cstrong\u003emenuki\u003c\/strong\u003e beneath the wrap are finely modelled \u003cstrong\u003egold shishi\u003c\/strong\u003e (Chinese lion-dogs) among scrolling waves. The \u003cstrong\u003etsuka\u003c\/strong\u003e is bound in black silk \u003cem\u003eito\u003c\/em\u003e over black-lacquered \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e in the traditional \u003cem\u003ehineri-maki\u003c\/em\u003e diamond pattern, and the blade seats into a plain brass \u003cem\u003ehabaki\u003c\/em\u003e. A coherent, dignified mounting around a genuine Sengoku blade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSchool History: Sue-Seki and the Mino Tradition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeki\u003c\/strong\u003e, in Mino Province (today Gifu Prefecture), was the beating heart of Japanese sword production during the late Muromachi period. As the Sengoku wars drove demand to unprecedented levels, the Seki smiths of the \u003cstrong\u003eMino-den\u003c\/strong\u003e - one of the \u003cem\u003eGokaden\u003c\/em\u003e, the five great traditions - supplied blades to warlords across the country. The term \u003cstrong\u003e\"Sue-Seki\"\u003c\/strong\u003e (literally \"late Seki\") is how the NBTHK classifies work of this productive late-Muromachi Seki school when it is unsigned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMino-den workmanship is built for the cut: a firm itame-mokume jigane often showing \u003cem\u003emasame\u003c\/em\u003e, and an energetic \u003cem\u003egunome-midare\u003c\/em\u003e temper with the school's characteristic pointed \u003cem\u003etogari\u003c\/em\u003e peaks. The greatest Seki names - Kanemoto, with his famous \u003cem\u003esanbonsugi\u003c\/em\u003e, and the Kanesada line - were celebrated for blades of legendary sharpness. A Sue-Seki katana is a direct, authentic link to the warring-states samurai who carried exactly this kind of practical, hard-cutting Mino blade into battle - here documented by a current NBTHK Hozon paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56938734387524,"sku":"KATANA85","price":3600.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana85_250K_0037_GenerativeFill3_546a9412-01f3-4830-b962-9dd1adbbb9ac.jpg?v=1783523286","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/es\/products\/antique-japanese-katana-sword-with-gold-shishi-menuki-and-iron-tsuba-attributed-to-sue-seki-nbthk-hozon","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}