{"product_id":"katana91","title":"Antique Japanese Katana Sword with Gunome Hamon, Namban Iron Tsuba and Gilt Karashishi Menuki attributed to Taira Takada - 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 (\u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e無銘\u003c\/span\u003e) — unsigned\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAttribution:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e平高田\u003c\/span\u003e Taira Takada — NBTHK attribution\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSchool \/ Tradition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Takada School of Bungo Province (Bizen-influenced Kyūshū workmanship)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod \/ Province:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kotō, Muromachi period (15th–16th century) \/ Bungo Province, Kyūshū\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate:\u003c\/strong\u003e NBTHK Hozon Tōken (保存刀剣) No. 3038516, issued 16 February 2026\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRegistration (Tōroku-shō):\u003c\/strong\u003e Saitama Prefecture No. 18736, dated 19 December 1962\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full katana koshirae — black lacquer saya, Namban iron tsuba with gold nunome, karashishi menuki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBlade Length (Nagasa):\u003c\/strong\u003e 65.0 cm (2 shaku 1 sun 4 bu)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurvature (Sori):\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.8 cm — generous Muromachi battlefield 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, iori-mune, chū-kissaki\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJihada:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tight ko-itame with itame mixed in, quiet and dark under the polish\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHamon:\u003c\/strong\u003e Regular gunome-midare in nioi-deki, evenly rhythmic along the full length\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBōshi:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sugu with ko-maru kaeri\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHabaki:\u003c\/strong\u003e Single-piece gilt habaki with diagonal file finish\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 \u003cem\u003emumei\u003c\/em\u003e (unsigned) and carries \u003cstrong\u003eNBTHK Hozon Tōken\u003c\/strong\u003e papers issued in February 2026 attributing it to \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"ja\"\u003e平高田\u003c\/span\u003e — Taira Takada\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Kotō-period Takada school of Bungo Province in Kyūshū. Measuring \u003cstrong\u003e65.0 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e with a generous \u003cstrong\u003e1.8 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e sori, it is a Muromachi fighting sword in the fullest sense: the curvature, the length and the balance all belong to the Sengoku century, when Takada smiths were arming samurai across Kyūshū.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade is \u003cem\u003eshinogi-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eiori-mune\u003c\/em\u003e and a \u003cem\u003echū-kissaki\u003c\/em\u003e, the profile drawing down cleanly from the machi with a well-judged taper. The \u003cem\u003ejihada\u003c\/em\u003e is a tight \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eitame\u003c\/em\u003e mixed in, the \u003cem\u003eji\u003c\/em\u003e dark and calm, the \u003cem\u003eshinogi-ji\u003c\/em\u003e clean and bright. The blade carries good thickness through the monouchi and stands straight and true — five centuries on, this is a sword that still handles like the weapon it was made to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is the piece's signature feature: a broad, insistently regular \u003cstrong\u003egunome-midare\u003c\/strong\u003e marching the entire length of the ha in soft, rounded peaks and shallow valleys, each one echoing the last like a wave set. It is a \u003cem\u003enioi-deki\u003c\/em\u003e temper with a gentle, misty \u003cem\u003enioiguchi\u003c\/em\u003e — no shouting, just an even, disciplined rhythm from \u003cem\u003ekoshimoto\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003eyokote\u003c\/em\u003e. The Takada smiths learned their trade from Bizen, and this hamon is where that lineage shows most clearly. At the point the \u003cem\u003ebōshi\u003c\/em\u003e runs \u003cem\u003esugu\u003c\/em\u003e and turns back in a tidy \u003cem\u003eko-maru\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eyokote\u003c\/em\u003e crisply cut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cem\u003esuriage\u003c\/em\u003e — shortened during the sword's working life, as it was for a great many Muromachi blades adapted to changing fashions of wear — ending in a \u003cem\u003ekiri-jiri\u003c\/em\u003e and carrying two \u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e. The patina is deep and dry. The sword's paper trail runs long: it was first registered with the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education in \u003cstrong\u003eDecember 1962\u003c\/strong\u003e, placing it in documented Japanese ownership for over sixty years before the NBTHK examined it in 2026.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"koshirae\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKoshirae Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sword comes complete in a period \u003cstrong\u003ekatana koshirae\u003c\/strong\u003e with an unusually good set of fittings. The \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e is black lacquer, plain and glossy along its length, with a dark navy \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e is the centrepiece: a round iron \u003cstrong\u003eNamban (南蛮) tsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e worked in dense openwork, with a pair of confronting dragons at the top flanking a central jewel, their bodies dissolving into an all-over lattice of interlaced \u003cem\u003ekarakusa\u003c\/em\u003e scrollwork. Traces of the original \u003cstrong\u003egold nunome-zōgan\u003c\/strong\u003e remain scattered across the plate, catching the light against the dark iron. The raised oval \u003cem\u003eseppa-dai\u003c\/em\u003e is carved with fine radiating lines, and both \u003cem\u003ehitsu-ana\u003c\/em\u003e are cut and open. Namban work of this type — European and Chinese motifs filtered through Nagasaki and the Kyūshū ports — is exactly what a Kyūshū sword of this history ought to be wearing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003etsuka\u003c\/strong\u003e is wrapped in dark navy-black \u003cem\u003eito\u003c\/em\u003e in \u003cem\u003ehineri-maki\u003c\/em\u003e over white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e, with \u003cstrong\u003ekarashishi menuki\u003c\/strong\u003e — Chinese lions in gilt copper alloy, their curled manes and paws still bright where the gold survives — showing through successive openings in the wrap. The \u003cem\u003ekarashishi\u003c\/em\u003e is a motif that entered Japan from Tang China and became a symbol of wisdom and of guardianship, familiar enough to have shaped the \u003cem\u003ekomainu\u003c\/em\u003e that stand at shrine gates. The \u003cem\u003efuchi\u003c\/em\u003e is iron, decorated with sprays of foliage in fine \u003cstrong\u003egold nunome-zōgan\u003c\/strong\u003e. Most distinctive of all, the pommel is an iron \u003cstrong\u003ekabutogane\u003c\/strong\u003e in tachi taste, its edge cut in a scalloped cloud profile over the same, fitted with an iron \u003cem\u003esarute\u003c\/em\u003e ring. The blade is seated in a single-piece gilt \u003cem\u003ehabaki\u003c\/em\u003e with diagonal file finish, backed by gilt \u003cem\u003eseppa\u003c\/em\u003e with beaded rims.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"smith-background\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Takada School of Bungo\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTakada\u003c\/strong\u003e was Kyūshū's workhorse school, and that is meant as a compliment. It was founded in Takada village in \u003cstrong\u003eBungo Province\u003c\/strong\u003e (modern Ōita) during the \u003cem\u003eNanbokuchō\u003c\/em\u003e period by \u003cstrong\u003eTakada Tomoyuki\u003c\/strong\u003e, a smith who travelled to Bizen Province — today's Okayama — to master the forging and tempering methods of the Bizen tradition before returning home to train his own apprentices. That Bizen schooling is the root of the school's character, and it stayed visible in Takada work for the next three hundred years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe naming convention matters for anyone reading NBTHK papers. Smiths working at Takada \u003cem\u003ebefore\u003c\/em\u003e the Edo period are known collectively as \u003cstrong\u003eTaira Takada (平高田)\u003c\/strong\u003e; from the Edo period onward the line is called \u003cstrong\u003eFujiwara Takada (藤原高田)\u003c\/strong\u003e, after the surname that becomes standard in their signatures. An NBTHK attribution to \u003cem\u003eTaira Takada\u003c\/em\u003e is therefore a period statement as much as a school one: it places the blade in the \u003cstrong\u003eKotō era, Muromachi period\u003c\/strong\u003e — which is precisely the reading given to this sword.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTakada blades were bought to be used. Through the \u003cstrong\u003eSengoku\u003c\/strong\u003e century the school forged in quantity for samurai across Kyūshū, and contemporary reputation placed their work close to \u003cstrong\u003eMino\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eBizen\u003c\/strong\u003e, the two most celebrated sword-producing provinces in Japan. Their strength was reliability: sound steel, honest geometry, and a temper that cut. Surviving Takada work in good health, papered and mounted, is one of the most accessible ways into genuine Kotō collecting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection id=\"school-history\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSchool History: Bungo, the Ōtomo Clan and the Kyūshū Sword Trade\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBungo during the Sengoku period was the domain of \u003cstrong\u003eŌtomo Yoshishige — better known as Ōtomo Sōrin\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the most powerful warlords on Kyūshū, who built a formidable military and political base in the province. Takada swordsmiths are recorded as forging for the men who served the Ōtomo, and the school's fortunes rose with theirs. A Taira Takada blade is, in the most literal sense, a product of that alliance between a warlord's ambitions and a village of smiths who could meet the demand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo further factors explain why Takada grew as it did. The first is \u003cstrong\u003etrade\u003c\/strong\u003e. Kyūshū had centuries of commerce with the Asian mainland behind it, and the island's daimyō fought one another for advantage in that trade — which meant standing armies, and standing armies meant orders for swords. Takada took a large share of them. The second is \u003cstrong\u003egeology\u003c\/strong\u003e. The slopes of \u003cstrong\u003eMount Sobo-Katamuki\u003c\/strong\u003e, close to Takada village, held abundant high-quality iron sand and the timber for charcoal — the two raw materials on which any sword-making centre depends. Location and resources together made the school possible; the Ōtomo made it prosperous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe workmanship reflects that scale and breadth. Takada smiths worked in several idioms across their history: \u003cstrong\u003eBizen-influenced\u003c\/strong\u003e gunome and chōji temper lines, \u003cstrong\u003eSōshū\u003c\/strong\u003e-leaning midare, \u003cstrong\u003eMino\u003c\/strong\u003e-style peaked gunome, and \u003cstrong\u003eYamashiro\u003c\/strong\u003e-taste suguha. The unifying thread is not a single look but an approach — tight, well-compacted \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e steel and a temper built for cutting rather than for display. This katana sits in the Bizen-derived branch of that output, its rolling gunome the clearest expression of Tomoyuki's original journey to Okayama.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBungo's harbours also explain the sword's dress. The \u003cstrong\u003eNamban tsuba\u003c\/strong\u003e mounted here is a direct artefact of Kyūshū's foreign traffic: local iron worked in an imported visual language, on a blade forged a few days' ride from the ports where that language arrived. Few swords carry their own regional history quite so legibly — an NBTHK-papered Muromachi katana, in sound polish with a bright regular hamon, registered in Japan since 1962, and dressed in fittings that tell the story of the province that made it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e","brand":"Tokyo Nihonto","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57089779401028,"sku":"KATANA91","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/4080\/8516\/files\/Katana91_290K_0041_GenerativeFill3.jpg?v=1786349069","url":"https:\/\/tokyo-nihonto.com\/products\/katana91","provider":"Tokyo Nihonto","version":"1.0","type":"link"}