{"product_id":"katana90","title":"Antique Japanese Katana Sword, Ubu Signed Jumyo and Black Roiro Koshirae - 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壽命\u003c\/span\u003e Jumyō (transcribed \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e寿命\u003c\/span\u003e on the NBTHK paper)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSwordsmith:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jumyō (Toshinaga) — Jumyō lineage of Mino \/ Owari\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jumyō School (Mino-den, Yamato origins)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shintō (新刀) period, Edo era — 17th century \/ Mino - Owari Province\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e NBTHK Hozon Tōken (保存刀剣) No. 3038123, issued 1 December 2025 — classified Shintō (新刀)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRegistration (Tōroku-shō):\u003c\/strong\u003e Tokyo No. 328666, dated 8 October 2024\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full katana koshirae — black roiro-nuri saya, iron mokkō tsuba with landscape design, long dragon menuki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 62.4 cm (2 shaku 0 sun 6 bu)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.0 cm — shallow, compact Kanbun-Shintō proportions\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, iori-mune, chū-kissaki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJihada:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tight, well-compacted ko-itame\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e Suguha-chō with soft undulation, bright and even nioiguchi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBōshi:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ko-maru with kaeri\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHabaki:\u003c\/strong\u003e Single-piece silver-coloured habaki with horizontal file finish (yoko-yasuri)\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 signed \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e壽命\u003c\/span\u003e (Jumyō)\u003c\/strong\u003e and carries \u003cstrong\u003eNBTHK Hozon Tōken\u003c\/strong\u003e papers issued in December 2025, which classify the blade as \u003cstrong\u003eShintō\u003c\/strong\u003e — a work of the Edo-period Jumyō lineage, the Mino smiths whose name literally means \"long life\". Measuring \u003cstrong\u003e62.4 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e with a shallow \u003cstrong\u003e1.0 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e sori, it shows the compact, businesslike sugata that defined mid-17th-century sword making: a katana built for the tight quarters and fast draw of Edo-period city life rather than for the open battlefield.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade is \u003cem\u003eshinogi-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eiori-mune\u003c\/em\u003e and a well-proportioned \u003cem\u003echū-kissaki\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cem\u003eshinogi-ji\u003c\/em\u003e stands crisp and bright, the \u003cem\u003eji\u003c\/em\u003e quiet and dark under the polish, and the geometry is clean from \u003cem\u003emachi\u003c\/em\u003e to point — the blade retains healthy thickness with no loss of shape through the monouchi. The \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e is a tight, densely forged \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e, so finely compacted that the surface reads almost as \u003cem\u003emuji\u003c\/em\u003e in the middle third, exactly the disciplined steel one expects from a Shintō-period Mino-lineage workshop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cstrong\u003esuguha-chō\u003c\/strong\u003e (straight-based temper line) running the full length of the ha with only a soft, restrained undulation — never showy, but even and confident from \u003cem\u003ekoshimoto\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003eyokote\u003c\/em\u003e. The \u003cem\u003enioiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e is bright and consistent, tracing the edge in an unbroken band. At the point the \u003cem\u003ebōshi\u003c\/em\u003e turns in a rounded \u003cstrong\u003eko-maru\u003c\/strong\u003e with a clear \u003cem\u003ekaeri\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eyokote\u003c\/em\u003e sharply defined. This is the workmanlike Mino-derived suguha that made Jumyō blades a practical favourite among Edo-period samurai — the school's reputation was built on cutting ability, and the blades were nicknamed \u003cem\u003eishikiri\u003c\/em\u003e (\"stone cutter\") for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cstrong\u003eubu\u003c\/strong\u003e (unshortened), carrying a deep, dry black patina with the warm ochre tones that only come from centuries inside a tsuka. Two \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e record a remounting during its working life. Below them, the two-character \u003cem\u003emei\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e壽命\u003c\/span\u003e is cut in the classical \u003cem\u003ekyūjitai\u003c\/em\u003e form — the NBTHK transcribes it in modern script as \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e寿命\u003c\/span\u003e, standard practice on their papers — and remains crisp and fully legible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"koshirae\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKoshirae Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sword comes in a complete \u003cstrong\u003ekatana koshirae\u003c\/strong\u003e in sober Edo taste. The \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e is finished in glossy black \u003cem\u003eroiro\u003c\/em\u003e urushi, unbroken and undecorated across its full length, fitted with a black \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e tied at the \u003cem\u003ekurikata\u003c\/em\u003e. It is the kind of mounting a working samurai actually wore — restraint at the surface, quality in the fittings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e is a substantial iron plate in \u003cem\u003emokkō-gata\u003c\/em\u003e (four-lobed form) with a raised rim and a rich, granular forged surface. The \u003cem\u003eomote\u003c\/em\u003e carries a low-relief landscape scene: a seated figure with a long pole among reeds and grasses at the water's edge, with foliage rendered in fine chisel work in the upper corner. The \u003cem\u003eura\u003c\/em\u003e continues the scene more quietly — rolling hills in soft relief beneath a small raised disc reading as the moon. Both \u003cem\u003ekozuka-hitsu\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ekōgai-hitsu\u003c\/em\u003e are cut and open.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuka\u003c\/strong\u003e is wrapped in black \u003cem\u003eito\u003c\/em\u003e in \u003cem\u003ehineri-maki\u003c\/em\u003e over white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e (ray skin) of excellent nodule quality, the diamonds crisp and evenly spaced. Beneath the wrap sits a long \u003cstrong\u003edragon menuki\u003c\/strong\u003e in a light-coloured metal, its head, coiled body and tail emerging through three successive openings in the ito — a deeply modelled piece whose high points are worn smooth from generations of handling. The \u003cem\u003efuchi\u003c\/em\u003e is a plain \u003cem\u003eyamagane\u003c\/em\u003e-toned band, and the blade is fitted with a single-piece silver-coloured \u003cstrong\u003ehabaki\u003c\/strong\u003e with a horizontal file finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne practical note for the next owner: the blade seats firmly and securely in the saya and is in no danger of slipping out, but it does not sink fully home with an audible click — the \u003cem\u003ehabaki\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ekoiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e dimensions do not match perfectly, so the habaki meets the mouth of the saya slightly before full seating. A saya-shi can adjust the koiguchi in a straightforward job should the new owner wish to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSwordsmith Background\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJumyō\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e壽命 \/ 寿命\u003c\/span\u003e, also read \u003cem\u003eToshinaga\u003c\/em\u003e) is one of the most quietly successful names in Japanese sword history — and one of the very few whose commercial appeal came from the meaning of the characters themselves. \u003cem\u003eJumyō\u003c\/em\u003e means \"lifespan\", \"longevity\". In a warrior culture where a sword was the standard gift at weddings, promotions, adoptions and coming-of-age ceremonies, a blade signed \"long life\" was the perfect present, and Jumyō works were sought out and presented within daimyō households precisely for that reason.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Shintō-period line was founded by a smith born in \u003cstrong\u003eSeki\u003c\/strong\u003e, Mino Province, in Tenshō 8 (1580), whose civil name is recorded as Kondō Sukezaemon. He relocated to the castle town of \u003cstrong\u003eKiyosu\u003c\/strong\u003e in Owari during the Keichō era (1596–1615) and received the title \u003cem\u003eTango no Kami\u003c\/em\u003e in Kan'ei 2 (1625). Under the patronage of the \u003cstrong\u003eOwari Tokugawa\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Jumyō workshop prospered across roughly five generations through the Edo period, later working in Nagoya, while related branches continued in Mino at Shimizu.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLater generations used \u003cem\u003ekami\u003c\/em\u003e titles — Mino no Kami, Hitachi no Kami, Ueno no Kami Jumyō among them — but the workshop also produced a large body of blades signed simply with the two characters \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e壽命\u003c\/span\u003e, as here. Reputation aside, these were swords meant to be used: the school's cutting record earned its blades the nickname \u003cem\u003eishikiri\u003c\/em\u003e, \"stone cutter\", and the name remained in production until the closing years of the Edo period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSchool History: The Jumyō Line and Mino-den\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eJumyō school\u003c\/strong\u003e traces its origins to \u003cstrong\u003eYamato Province\u003c\/strong\u003e (modern Nara), the oldest of the five great traditions, and moved into \u003cstrong\u003eMino Province\u003c\/strong\u003e during the Kamakura period. That migration is the story of Mino-den in miniature: Yamato smiths carrying their tight, upright forging discipline into a new province, where it met Sōshū influence and produced something sharper, faster and far more practical.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMino-den\u003c\/strong\u003e became the most productive of the \u003cem\u003eGokaden\u003c\/em\u003e. Its swords are known for hard, tight ko-itame steel and hamon built on a straight base — often with \u003cem\u003etogari-ba\u003c\/em\u003e, pointed peaks pushing out of an otherwise controlled temper line. Where Bizen sold beauty, Mino sold performance, and by the Sengoku period the province was arming the men who decided Japan's future: Saitō and Akechi in Mino itself, Oda Nobunaga next door in Owari, and the Tokugawa a short ride east. Mino's central position between Kyoto and the Kantō made it the natural supplier for every campaign that crossed the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere most Muromachi schools faded after unification, Mino adapted. Smiths followed their patrons to the new castle towns, and the Jumyō name in particular moved with the Tokugawa into Owari, where it enjoyed steady daimyō patronage for the better part of two centuries — an unbroken working lineage from the Kamakura period to the end of the Edo era, spanning more than five hundred years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis katana sits squarely in the strongest part of that history: a signed, NBTHK-authenticated Shintō work by the Jumyō line, in tight Mino steel, wearing a full Edo koshirae with a landscape tsuba and a dragon menuki — a complete, honest samurai sword carrying a name its original owner would have received as a wish for a long life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57089775829316,"sku":"KATANA90","price":5100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana90_330K_0040_GenerativeFill3_5de5e522-96b8-4b16-b8e9-ed8c2e3bba0b.jpg?v=1786348931","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/products\/katana90","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}