Antique Japanese Wakizashi, unsigned (mumei) — attributed to Mino Senjuin — mid-Muromachi period (Bunmei era, 1469–1487) — NBTHK Hozon Tōken, in shirasaya

Slender, freshly polished wakizashi with bō-hi on both faces · lively itame-and-mokume steel · NBTHK Hozon papered to "Mino Senjuin"

An unsigned (mumei) wakizashi attributed to the Mino Senjuin school and judged to have been made in Mino province around the Bunmei era (1469–1487) of the mid-Muromachi period. It is papered by the NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai) as a Hozon Tōken ("sword worthy of preservation") under the attribution "Mino Senjuin." Freshly polished, nearly flawless, and carved with a bō-hi (straight groove) on both faces, it carries the quiet flavor of a genuine kotō (old sword).

Workmanship and condition

In fresh polish with only the very faintest of surface scratches (usukizu), the blade is otherwise essentially flawless, and both ground and edge are exceptionally sound (kenzen). The jigane is an itame (wood-grain) mixed actively with mokume (burl grain), through which chikei — dark, lustrous lines of gathered steel — can be seen. The hamon is a ko-gunome mixed with ko-chōji (small clove-outline), set against a softly misty, faintly moist nioiguchi (urumi-gokoro) — a temper full of the understated, classical character of early Mino work with its Yamato Senjuin roots.

Form

At a nagasa of 42.2 cm (about 1 shaku 4 sun) with 1.0 cm of sori, this is a slender, well-balanced wakizashi. The bō-hi running the full length of both faces lightens the blade and gives it a crisp, elegant line, while the near-mirror polish shows the steel and temper to full effect.

On the unsigned tang and the Mino Senjuin attribution

The tang (nakago) is unsigned (mumei). The Senjuin school is one of the oldest lines of the Yamato tradition, taking its name from the Senjuin-in temple precinct of old Nara; smiths of this lineage who settled and worked in Mino are attributed as Mino Senjuin, and their blades bridge the refined Yamato manner and the emerging Mino tradition of the Muromachi age. On the strength of its shape, steel, and temper, the NBTHK has judged this blade to be a work of that group and certified it as a Hozon Tōken.

Mounting

The wakizashi is preserved in a plain wood shirasaya (resting scabbard) with a brushed copper-alloy habaki (blade collar) — the customary way of storing and protecting a fine old blade, keeping all the attention on the sword itself.

A healthy, freshly polished Muromachi wakizashi in shirasaya, its lively itame-and-mokume steel and softly tempered ko-gunome edge set off by bō-hi on both faces, and papered by the NBTHK as Mino Senjuin — an approachable, well-documented kotō ready to study and enjoy exactly as it is.

Specifications

• Type: Wakizashi
• Signature (mei): unsigned (mumei); attributed to Mino Senjuin
• Certification: NBTHK Hozon Tōken (No. 3038910)
• Period: Mid-Muromachi period, ca. Bunmei era (1469–1487) (attributed)
• School / tradition: Mino Senjuin (Yamato Senjuin lineage working in Mino)
• Carving (horimono): bō-hi (straight groove) on both faces
• Jigane: itame mixed with active mokume, with chikei
• Hamon: ko-gunome mixed with ko-chōji, with a soft, faintly moist (urumi) nioiguchi
• Condition: freshly polished; a very few faint surface scratches (usukizu), otherwise essentially flawless; ji and ha very sound
• Blade length (nagasa): 42.2 cm / 16.61 in (about 1 shaku 4 sun)
• Curvature (sori): 1.0 cm
• Width at base (motohaba): 25.8 mm
• Thickness at base (motokasane): 5.6 mm
• Width at tip (sakihaba): 18.6 mm
• Thickness at tip (sakikasane): 3.6 mm
• Weight (blade only): 330 g
• Mounting: shirasaya (plain wood resting scabbard) with copper-alloy habaki
• Torokushō (Japanese registration) No.: Ōita 12470