{"product_id":"antique-japanese-katana-sword-with-karakusa-tsuba-signed-choshu-fujiwara-kiyoshige-nbthk-hozon","title":"Antique Japanese Katana Sword with Karakusa Tsuba, signed Chōshū Fujiwara Kiyoshige — 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 \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e長州住藤原清重\u003c\/span\u003e Chōshū jū Fujiwara Kiyoshige - zaimei (signed)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSwordsmith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fujiwara Kiyoshige (Hasegawa Hachizaemon line, Chōshū \/ Nagato Province)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Chōshū school, descended from the Nioh (二王) lineage\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Edo Period (Shintō, early Edo per NBTHK) \/ Nagato Province\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e NBTHK Hozon Kanteishō No. 3036993 (Reiwa 7 \/ 2025)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Black lacquer koshirae with karakusa iron tsuba and gold-highlighted fittings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 68.4 cm (2 shaku 2 sun 6 bu jaku)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e approx. 1.5 cm - to be confirmed\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMekugi-ana:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\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 Bright, tightly forged itame\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e Suguha-chō with gentle notare, soft nioiguchi with ko-nie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBoshi:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ko-maru\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\u003esigned (zaimei)\u003c\/strong\u003e work by \u003cstrong\u003eChōshū jū Fujiwara Kiyoshige\u003c\/strong\u003e, a swordsmith of Nagato Province (Chōshū, today's Yamaguchi Prefecture), certified by the NBTHK in a current \u003cstrong\u003eHozon\u003c\/strong\u003e appraisal (Reiwa 7 \/ 2025) and classified as a \u003cstrong\u003eShintō\u003c\/strong\u003e work of the early Edo period. The signature runs clearly down the \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e; the tang carries three \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e, the record of a long working life and repeated remounting, with the mei preserved throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sugata is a clean \u003cem\u003eshinogi-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eiori-mune\u003c\/em\u003e and a balanced \u003cstrong\u003echū-kissaki\u003c\/strong\u003e, measuring \u003cstrong\u003e68.4 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e - the composed, practical proportions of an Edo-period katana made to be worn and used. The blade is healthy and bright in polish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e is a tightly forged \u003cstrong\u003eitame\u003c\/strong\u003e, bright and well-packed. The \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is a calm \u003cstrong\u003esuguha-chō\u003c\/strong\u003e - a straight-based temper with a gentle \u003cem\u003enotare\u003c\/em\u003e movement - set in a soft \u003cem\u003enioiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e with fine \u003cem\u003eko-nie\u003c\/em\u003e, running to a tidy \u003cstrong\u003eko-maru\u003c\/strong\u003e boshi. This restrained, disciplined suguha is exactly the manner for which the Chōshū Kiyoshige smiths are known: the appeal lies in the clarity of the steel and the evenness of the temper rather than in flamboyant activity.\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 coherent \u003cstrong\u003eblack koshirae\u003c\/strong\u003e. The \u003cstrong\u003esaya\u003c\/strong\u003e is finished in black lacquer with honest surface texture, dressed with a dark-blue \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cstrong\u003etsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e is a round iron plate worked with a dense \u003cem\u003ekarakusa\u003c\/em\u003e (arabesque scrollwork) ground and a carved rope-twist (\u003cem\u003enawame\u003c\/em\u003e) rim, accented with gold-highlighted heart-shaped leaf motifs arranged around the seppa-dai - a rich, decorative piece of ironwork.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003efuchi\u003c\/strong\u003e is a dark soft-metal fitting with a fine \u003cem\u003enanako\u003c\/em\u003e (stippled) ground and a floral\/foliate design in relief, edged in gilt; the \u003cstrong\u003ekashira\u003c\/strong\u003e is a dark, \u003cem\u003eishime\u003c\/em\u003e-textured cap. Beneath the wrap sit finely cast dark \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cstrong\u003etsuka\u003c\/strong\u003e is wrapped in deep purple-brown silk \u003cem\u003eito\u003c\/em\u003e over bright white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e (rayskin) in the traditional \u003cem\u003ehineri-maki\u003c\/em\u003e diamond pattern, and the blade seats into a two-tone, vertically filed \u003cstrong\u003ehabaki\u003c\/strong\u003e. The whole is a tasteful, well-matched samurai mounting in good order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSwordsmith Background: Chōshū Fujiwara Kiyoshige\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFujiwara Kiyoshige\u003c\/strong\u003e (藤原清重) worked in \u003cstrong\u003eChōshū\u003c\/strong\u003e - the old name for Nagato Province, in the far west of Honshū (today Yamaguchi Prefecture). \"Chōshū jū\" on the tang means he was resident there when he forged the blade. The Kiyoshige name continued across several generations in Chōshū through the Edo period, from the late 17th into the mid-19th century; the NBTHK attributes work of this signature to the \u003cstrong\u003eearly Edo generation\u003c\/strong\u003e (late 17th century).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe early Kiyoshige smiths are identified with the \u003cstrong\u003eHasegawa Hachizaemon\u003c\/strong\u003e line of Hagi in Nagato - specifically Nagato no Kuni Abu-gun Hagi jū Hasegawa Hachizaemon no Jō Kiyoshige, whose real name was \u003cstrong\u003eHasegawa Kanbei\u003c\/strong\u003e (長谷川勘兵衛), and his son the second-generation Hasegawa Hachizaemon Kiyoshige. The first generation moved from \u003cstrong\u003eBizen\u003c\/strong\u003e to Hagi around the Kan'ei era (early-to-mid 17th century) and became \u003cem\u003eokakae-kaji\u003c\/em\u003e - the exclusive retained swordsmith - to the \u003cstrong\u003eMōri family, lords of the Chōshū domain\u003c\/strong\u003e. The second generation, working from Hagi and later Susa in Abu-gun, served as okakae-kaji to the Masuda family, chief retainers of the domain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Kiyoshige family is said to have held the \u003cstrong\u003ehead position among the Chōshū domain's swordsmiths for generations\u003c\/strong\u003e. Tellingly, when \u003cstrong\u003eMinamoto Kiyomaro\u003c\/strong\u003e - counted among the three greatest smiths of the late Edo period - stayed in Hagi for a time during the Tenpō era, it was the Kiyoshige line that stood as the domain's chief swordsmiths. That standing speaks to how highly the family's craftsmanship was regarded.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLineage: The Nioh (二王) School and the Chōshū Tradition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBehind the Chōshū Kiyoshige smiths lies one of the oldest lineages in Japanese sword history - the \u003cstrong\u003eNioh (二王) school\u003c\/strong\u003e. Founded by \u003cstrong\u003eNioh Tarō Kiyotsuna\u003c\/strong\u003e (二王太郎清綱) in Suō Province (also in today's Yamaguchi Prefecture), the school is traditionally said to have begun forging in the early Kamakura period; its oldest surviving dated blade was made in \u003cstrong\u003e1265\u003c\/strong\u003e and is enshrined at the \u003cstrong\u003eItsukushima Shrine\u003c\/strong\u003e in Hiroshima. The Nioh school flourished from the mid-Kamakura through the late Muromachi period, its smiths passing down the founder's character \u003cstrong\u003e清 (Kiyo)\u003c\/strong\u003e in names such as Kiyofusa, Kiyonaga - and, in the Edo period, Kiyoshige.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the old Nioh school declined in the early Edo period, the first Hasegawa Hachizaemon Kiyoshige carried its \"Kiyo\" name west to Hagi and into the service of the Mōri domain, effectively transplanting this ancient tradition into Chōshū's Shintō-era workshops. Chōshū itself was a productive sword province throughout the Edo period - famous twice over, for its swordsmiths and for the celebrated \u003cstrong\u003eChōshū school of iron tsuba and fittings\u003c\/strong\u003e, whose pierced ironwork collectors prize to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA signed, NBTHK-papered Chōshū Kiyoshige katana therefore offers more than a single blade: it is a documented Shintō sword carrying a lineage that reaches back through the Nioh school to the Kamakura age - a genuine, traditionally forged nihonto in honest mounts, authenticated by Japan's principal appraisal body.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56909429080388,"sku":"KATANA83","price":4100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana83_270K_0041_GenerativeFill3.jpg?v=1783017623","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/products\/antique-japanese-katana-sword-with-karakusa-tsuba-signed-choshu-fujiwara-kiyoshige-nbthk-hozon","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}