{"product_id":"antique-japanese-katana-sword-with-gunome-hamon-and-black-roiro-koshirae-by-ichimune-nagamitsu","title":"Antique Japanese Katana Sword with Gunome Hamon and Black Roiro Koshirae by Ichimune Nagamitsu","description":"\u003c!-- Katana 87 — Ichimune Nagamitsu 一宗長光 — Shōwa gendaitō — Tokyo Nihonto --\u003e\n\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 \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e一宗長光\u003c\/span\u003e Ichimune Nagamitsu (omote; ura unsigned)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSwordsmith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ichimune Nagamitsu — \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e一宗\u003c\/span\u003e as the art name, \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e長光\u003c\/span\u003e as the working name\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eClassification:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gendaitō — traditionally forged, water-quenched modern blade\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shōwa era (1926–1989)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJapanese Registration (Tōroku-shō):\u003c\/strong\u003e Kyoto Prefecture No. 61883 — the mandatory possession licence for swords held in Japan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Complete katana koshirae — black roiro-nuri saya, rose silk tsuka-ito, iron tsuba with gold pine decoration\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 60.8 cm (just over 2 shaku)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.5 cm (approx. 5 bu)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMekugi-ana:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 — \u003cem\u003eubu\u003c\/em\u003e nakago, never shortened\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShape (Sugata):\u003c\/strong\u003e Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, chū-kissaki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJihada:\u003c\/strong\u003e Itame with a pronounced flowing \u003cem\u003enagare\u003c\/em\u003e, drifting to masame toward the shinogi; ji-nie present\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e Regular gunome-midare in nioi-deki, ko-nie along the habuchi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBoshi:\u003c\/strong\u003e Midare-komi with a rounded turnback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA \u003cstrong\u003egendaitō\u003c\/strong\u003e by \u003cstrong\u003eIchimune Nagamitsu\u003c\/strong\u003e, signed \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e一宗長光\u003c\/span\u003e on the omote, measuring \u003cstrong\u003e60.8 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e nagasa with \u003cstrong\u003e1.5 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e of sori. The nakago is \u003cem\u003eubu\u003c\/em\u003e — original length, single mekugi-ana, never shortened — so the sword stands in exactly the proportions its maker gave it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is the achievement here. A \u003cstrong\u003eregular gunome-midare\u003c\/strong\u003e runs the full length of the blade, rounded heads spaced with near-metronomic evenness, starting immediately at the ha-machi with no yakidashi and holding its rhythm all the way to the yokote. The \u003cem\u003enioiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e is tight and bright, with \u003cem\u003eko-nie\u003c\/em\u003e gathered along the habuchi. Laying clay to this tolerance and carrying it through a water quench without the pattern breaking is the hardest thing a smith does; hesitation in the yaki-ire shows immediately, and there is none.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e is a well-forged \u003cstrong\u003eitame\u003c\/strong\u003e with strong flowing \u003cem\u003enagare\u003c\/em\u003e, running to masame as it reaches the shinogi-ji. Under raking light the folded structure reads across the ji as long streaming lines, with \u003cem\u003eji-nie\u003c\/em\u003e giving the steel depth. The \u003cem\u003eboshi\u003c\/em\u003e enters the chū-kissaki as \u003cstrong\u003emidare-komi\u003c\/strong\u003e and turns back in a rounded maru — continuous with the hamon, correctly formed, and the first thing we look at on any twentieth-century blade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe polish is sound and the hataraki are readable end to end. A few minor surface spots show in the ji under close studio light — the marks of a sword that has been owned and handled rather than shut away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"koshirae\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKoshirae Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade is housed in a \u003cstrong\u003ecomplete katana koshirae\u003c\/strong\u003e of deliberately quiet taste. The \u003cstrong\u003esaya\u003c\/strong\u003e is plain black \u003cem\u003eroiro-nuri\u003c\/em\u003e — deep, glossy, undecorated urushi — with a horn kurikata and a woven taupe \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e. No inlay, no texture, no ornament: a mounting built to let the blade carry the room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e is a round iron plate with a mottled dark patina and a single hitsu-ana, carrying \u003cstrong\u003egold pine-needle sprays\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cem\u003ematsuba\u003c\/em\u003e) in applied relief on both faces. Each cluster is a fan of fine radiating lines with a curling stem; on the omote they descend along one edge above a curving band of punched circles reading as a stream, and two further sprays sit opposite on the ura, so the design stays continuous as the sword is worn. Pine against water is the \u003cem\u003ehamamatsu\u003c\/em\u003e motif — shore pine, an emblem of endurance. The decoration pushed hard to one edge of an open field is a confident compositional choice, not an economical one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuka\u003c\/strong\u003e is wrapped in \u003cstrong\u003erose silk ito\u003c\/strong\u003e in \u003cem\u003ehineri-maki\u003c\/em\u003e over full panels of white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e with large, well-defined nodes. The faded mauve-pink against cream rayskin and dark fittings is an unusual pairing and a genuinely handsome one. \u003cstrong\u003eGilt menuki\u003c\/strong\u003e sit beneath the crossings of the ito, half-concealed as intended. The \u003cstrong\u003efuchi\u003c\/strong\u003e carries a finely engraved geometric ground beneath a beaded rim; the \u003cstrong\u003ekashira\u003c\/strong\u003e shows carved scrollwork under a dark patina. Both wear honestly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Swordsmith: Ichimune Nagamitsu \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e一宗長光\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mei is cut on the omote in four characters, in a confident, fine-chiselled hand: \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e一宗\u003c\/span\u003e (Ichimune) as the art name, \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e長光\u003c\/span\u003e (Nagamitsu) as the working name. The ura is left blank — no date, no province — which is common practice among Shōwa smiths signing under a personal gō.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNagamitsu was a name carried by several distinct smiths during the Shōwa era\u003c\/strong\u003e, each working under his own art name. The best known is Ichihara Nagamitsu of Okayama, who signed \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e一龍子長光\u003c\/span\u003e (Ichiryūshi) and held Army-approved status. Ichimune is a separate hand, and the distinction matters when reading a Shōwa \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e長光\u003c\/span\u003e mei correctly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe name itself is a deliberate homage. \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e長光\u003c\/span\u003e belonged to the Kamakura-period Osafune master, son of Mitsutada, whose \u003cem\u003eDaihannya Nagamitsu\u003c\/em\u003e is a National Treasure — a name a modern smith takes up as a statement of intent, not of lineage. What this blade demonstrates on its own account is disciplined forging, a controlled quench, and no shortcuts taken where they would have been easiest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"authentication\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAuthentication\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have examined this blade directly. It is a \u003cstrong\u003egenuine gendaitō\u003c\/strong\u003e — hand-forged, folded, and water-quenched in the traditional manner — and the workmanship is consistent throughout: visible hada, a nioi-based hamon carrying real hataraki, a correctly turned boshi, and no arsenal or inspection stamp on the nakago. That is our assessment, and we stand behind it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sword carries its \u003cstrong\u003etōroku-shō\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e銃砲刀剣類登録証\u003c\/span\u003e), Kyoto Prefecture No. 61883. This is the registration document that makes a sword legal to hold in Japan and that is surrendered on export — it records the type, nagasa, sori, mekugi-ana and mei, and it is issued only to traditionally made art swords, which is why \u003cem\u003eshōwatō\u003c\/em\u003e do not receive one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade has \u003cstrong\u003eno NBTHK paper at present\u003c\/strong\u003e, as is the case with most nihontō in circulation. For a buyer who wants the signature formally entered into the record, this is a straightforward candidate for \u003cstrong\u003eHozon shinsa\u003c\/strong\u003e in Tokyo, and we are glad to advise on the submission.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGendaitō: The Japanese Sword in the Shōwa Era\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Shōwa period produced both the finest blades made in Japan since the Edo era and the worst objects ever to carry the shape of a katana — which is why the distinction between the two is the first thing a serious buyer learns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Haitōrei edict of 1876 banned the wearing of swords, the craft came close to extinction before being deliberately revived in the twentieth century. Under the licensing system administered by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a licensed smith may forge only a limited number of blades each year, using \u003cem\u003etamahagane\u003c\/em\u003e smelted in a \u003cem\u003etatara\u003c\/em\u003e, folded and forged by hand, and hardened by clay-coated water quenching. Blades made this way are \u003cstrong\u003egendaitō\u003c\/strong\u003e: modern in date, nihontō in every respect that matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgainst them stand the \u003cstrong\u003eshōwatō\u003c\/strong\u003e — machine-assisted, usually oil-quenched blades of industrial steel produced for military issue. They cannot be registered in Japan and they do not pass shinsa. The markers separating the two are consistent and readable: genuine hada, a nioi-deki hamon with visible hataraki, a properly turned boshi, no arsenal stamp, and a valid Japanese registration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis katana answers every one of them. It is a hand-forged, water-quenched blade of assured workmanship — ubu, signed, complete in its original koshirae — for a collector buying the craft in front of him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57039786770756,"sku":"KATANA87","price":3450.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana87_220K_0035_GenerativeFill3.jpg?v=1784990453","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/products\/antique-japanese-katana-sword-with-gunome-hamon-and-black-roiro-koshirae-by-ichimune-nagamitsu","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}