Antique Japanese Tantō (Kaiken), unsigned (mumei) — mid-Edo period

An ideal first nihontō for the new collector

This is an unsigned (mumei) tantō in original, un-shortened (ubu) condition, judged to date from the mid-Edo period (18th century). At just 19 cm, it falls into the small, elegant size traditionally known as a kaiken — a personal blade carried close at hand. Offered at a very approachable price, it is an excellent entry point for anyone buying their first genuine Japanese sword.

A genuine antique, made to be enjoyed

Many people who admire Japanese swords assume that owning a real, antique, traditionally-forged nihontō is out of reach. This little tantō is proof that it need not be. It is not a reproduction or a modern copy but a genuine Edo-period blade, hand-forged in tamahagane steel and water-quenched in the age-old way — the same craft, in miniature, as the great swords of the samurai. For a first purchase, it lets the new collector hold and study the real thing: the grain of the steel, the temper line, the quiet curve of the blade.

Form, workmanship and condition

The blade is made in hira-zukuri with an iori-mune (peaked back) and a graceful uchizori — the gentle inward curve typical of the classic tantō. The jigane is a beautiful itame (wood-grain) forged in nie, bright and clear. The hamon is a gunome with a somewhat open base, its nioiguchi soft and misty, with sunagashi ("drifting sand" streaks of activity) playing within the edge — an attractive, lively temper for a blade of this size.

The blade is freshly polished and both steel and temper are in good, clearly visible health. In candor, three small spots of residual rust remain within the hardened edge on the omote (front) face, about 5 cm above the hamachi (blade notch) — honestly noted. It shows its workmanship well and is thoroughly enjoyable as it is.

On the unsigned tang

The tang (nakago) is unsigned. Many fine Edo-period tantō were made without a signature, and being ubu — never shortened — this blade retains its original form and character exactly as it left the smith. For the collector, an unsigned blade is a chance to appreciate a sword on its own merits: its shape, steel, and temper, rather than a name.

The blade is housed in a plain wood shirasaya, the traditional resting mount that protects the steel between viewings.

A genuine, ubu, mid-Edo tantō of kaiken size — hira-zukuri, with beautiful nie-laden itame steel and a lively gunome temper — freshly polished and honestly priced. The ideal first Japanese sword for the newcomer, and a charming small blade for any collector.

Specifications

• Type: Tantō / kaiken (short blade)
• Signature (mei): unsigned (mumei), ubu (un-shortened) tang
• Period: Mid-Edo period (18th c., attributed)
• Construction: hira-zukuri, iori-mune
• Jigane: itame, nie-laden (nie-deki), bright and clear
• Hamon: gunome with a somewhat open base, soft misty nioiguchi, with sunagashi
• Blade length (nagasa): 19.0 cm / 7.48 in
• Curvature (sori): uchizori (slight inward curve)
• Width at base (motohaba): 21.3 mm
• Thickness at base (motokasane): 4.4 mm
• Weight (blade only): 80 g
• Condition: freshly polished; good, healthy ji and ha; three small residual rust spots in the edge on the omote, ~5 cm above the hamachi
• Mounting: shirasaya
• Torokushō (Japanese registration) No.: Tokyo 231256