{"product_id":"authentic-ubu-nakago-tanto-for-sale-masachika-nbsk-certificate-tozando","title":"Authentic Ubu Nakago Tanto for Sale - Masachika, NBSK Certificate | Tozando","description":"\u003ch2\u003eJapanese Tanto by the contemporary Fukuoka smith Sō Masachika (宗昌親), Mukansa — signed and dated Reiwa 5 (2023) — modern (gendaitō) — well-forged ko-itame with a lively gunome-midare and running kinsuji — in an elaborate decorated tanto koshirae, with shirasaya\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSigned-and-dated tanto by the Mukansa master Sō Masachika of Chikushū (Fukuoka) · well-worked ko-itame · gunome-midare with plentiful ashi and bright kinsuji · housed in a luxuriously decorated aikuchi koshirae, with a plain wood shirasaya · with a newly-made-sword certificate\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA newly made tanto by the contemporary swordsmith \u003cem\u003eSō Masachika\u003c\/em\u003e, a holder of the coveted \u003cem\u003eMukansa\u003c\/em\u003e rank based in Fukuoka — the old province of Chikuzen (\u003cem\u003eChikushū\u003c\/em\u003e). Signed on the front (\u003cem\u003eomote\u003c\/em\u003e) \u003cem\u003eChikushū-jū Sō Masachika\u003c\/em\u003e and dated on the reverse (\u003cem\u003eura\u003c\/em\u003e) \"summer of Reiwa 5\" (2023), it is a fresh, fully sound work that pairs a beautifully forged blade with a richly decorated mounting, and it comes with a newly-made-sword certificate (\u003cem\u003eshinsakutō shōmeisho\u003c\/em\u003e) issued by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Sword Culture (Nihontō Bunka Shinkō Kyōkai).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWorkmanship and condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn perfect, as-made condition, the blade shows a well-worked \u003cem\u003eko-itame\u003c\/em\u003e (small wood-grain) surface. The \u003cem\u003ehamon\u003c\/em\u003e is a \u003cem\u003egunome-midare\u003c\/em\u003e with generous \u003cem\u003eashi\u003c\/em\u003e reaching into the edge, and bright \u003cem\u003ekinsuji\u003c\/em\u003e (\"golden lines\") run vividly through the \u003cem\u003eha\u003c\/em\u003e — lively, luminous activity that rewards close viewing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eForm\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a \u003cem\u003ehira-zukuri\u003c\/em\u003e (flat-sided, ridgeless) tanto of classic proportion, with a straight, \u003cem\u003emu-sori\u003c\/em\u003e (no curvature) profile. At a \u003cem\u003enagasa\u003c\/em\u003e of 22.7 cm (about 7 sun 5 bu), it has the tight, purposeful silhouette of a fine dagger. The tang (\u003cem\u003enakago\u003c\/em\u003e) has a single peg-hole (\u003cem\u003emekugi-ana\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOn the smith — Sō Masachika, Mukansa swordsmith of Chikuzen (Fukuoka)\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSō Masachika (born 1958, real name Sō Masatoshi) is a leading contemporary swordsmith of Fukuoka Prefecture — the old province of Chikuzen (\u003cem\u003eChikushū\u003c\/em\u003e) — and a holder of the coveted \u003cem\u003eMukansa\u003c\/em\u003e (\"exemption from examination\") rank, the highest honor in the modern sword world, said to be second only to Living National Treasure status. Unusually, he first studied the metallurgy of ancient sword steel in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at Kyushu University and researched steel at Hitachi Metals before entering formal apprenticeship in 1983, at the age of twenty-five, under his father, the Mukansa master \u003cem\u003eSō Tsutomu\u003c\/em\u003e. From his debut at the Shinsaku Meitō-ten (New Swords Exhibition) in 1990 — where he took a newcomer's prize and an effort award — he won a steady succession of top honors, including a Special Prize from the director of the All Japan Swordsmiths' Association (1997), the NBTHK Honorary Chairman's and Chairman's Prizes, the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner's Prize, and the prestigious Prince Takamatsu Memorial Prize (2005). In 2006 he was awarded the Mukansa designation, becoming the second generation of the Sō line to attain it. This tanto, signed \u003cem\u003eChikushū-jū Sō Masachika\u003c\/em\u003e and dated the summer of Reiwa 5 (2023), is a mature work by a smith at the very top rank of his craft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe koshirae\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tanto is mounted \u003cem\u003eaikuchi\u003c\/em\u003e-style in a lavishly appointed koshirae: a lustrous black-lacquer (\u003cem\u003eroiro\u003c\/em\u003e) \u003cem\u003esaya\u003c\/em\u003e, a hilt wrapped in white \u003cem\u003esame\u003c\/em\u003e (ray skin), and gold-worked floral (peony) \u003cem\u003efuchi-kashira\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003emenuki\u003c\/em\u003e, finished with a purple silk \u003cem\u003esageo\u003c\/em\u003e and tassel. The mounting also carries a decorated \u003cem\u003ekozuka\u003c\/em\u003e (small utility-knife)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TOZANDO KATANA SHOP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53655488528747,"sku":"588-FUKUOKA108124C","price":7000000.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0491\/2178\/8069\/files\/fukuoka108124_1.jpg?v=1785739553","url":"https:\/\/japanesesword.net\/products\/authentic-ubu-nakago-tanto-for-sale-masachika-nbsk-certificate-tozando","provider":"Tozando Katana Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}