Akairo Ken — The Red Sword - Muromachi period, 1492

Status

sold

Price

Description

A light, exceptionally well-balanced katana from the Muromachi period (dated 1492), acquired from a veteran collection at a bargain precisely because it lacked certification at purchase. Subsequent evaluation by specialists visiting from Japan identified the blade as a work signed in the Yoshisugu/Kurumana line and matched it to a documented example in a well-known reference volume (“Noanto Mikin,” Japanese edition). The koshirae is later (approximately a century after the blade), assembled with great care: a vivid vermilion lacquer saya, a gold, deeply carved ocean-waves habaki, and fittings executed with keshi-zōgan (gold–mercury amalgam inlay, heat-flashed to leave pure gold and then burnished). The result is a museum-grade visual statement that still feels agile in hand.

The Story

This piece began as a calculated risk: purchased from a major collection without NBTHK papers to secure a price impossible in retail channels. Weeks later, the seller hosted sword experts from Japan who examined the katana, affirmed its Muromachi date (1492), and tied its mei to the Yoshisugu/Kurumana line. Most excitingly, the exact tang/signature appears in a seminal Japanese reference (“Noanto Mikin”), giving the blade a published provenance. The fittings are not contemporaneous with the blade—likely Edo-period upgrades by an owner who treasured it. Symbolism abounds: one side of the blade bears a Sanskrit motif linked to Fudō Myō-ō (the warrior aspect of the Buddha), the other carries auspicious lines wishing health and happiness. The kojiri and fuchi-kashira show crisp, gold-filled linework; the Buddha-teardrop motif at the kojiri tail is a graceful finishing touch. It’s the rare combination of pedigree, presence, and price: a 500-year-old sword that moves as if alive.

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