Katana: Den Omiya
Jidai:
Koto Nanbokucho
Bizen
School
Since
this
sword has a wide body, thin kasane and a long point most of you
should
have guessed that at the very least this is a typical style of
katana from
the Nanbokucho period. Now the next step is to determine or not
whether or
not it IS Nanbokucho or a later copy. This can be done by
carefully
analyzing the characteristics of both the Hamon and the
Jitetsu.
By
looking at the Jigane of this sword, one should notice the
“Bizen”style of Jigane, but it is not as refined as that of
Kanemitsu’s . This sword has in the Ji, a type of O-hada usually
somewhere along the sword creating a little rougher, more larger
Hada
pattern. Utsuri is also apparent, but not as strong as those of
the
Kanemitsu School.
Because
many works from the Nanbokucho Omiya School resemble those of the
Kanemitsu School, sometimes it is difficult to determine between
the 2
schools. Certain characteristics however are always present to the
experienced student such as subtleties in the Hamon, type of
Utsuri, Boshi
Etc…..
In
other words,
swords from the Kanemitsu-den are slightly more refined than those
from
the Omiya-den.
For
those of you that thought this sword was either Shinto or
Shinshinto,please go back and view the piece one more time as this
sword
is a excellent example of a healthy Nanbokucho Bizen-den
sword.
Please
note
because of it’s excellent condition and healthiness, this sword
has been
awarded the status of Juyo-Token by the NBTHK.
