A Naoe Shizu Daishô (直江志津)

This is a rare and deeply historical matched pair – a Naoe Shizu daishô from the height of the Nanbokuchô period, the turbulent age of warring imperial courts when Japan’s finest blades were being forged. The Naoe Shizu school traces directly to Shizu Saburô Kaneuji, the legendary student of Masamune who relocated from Yamato to Mino province and planted the seed of what would become the great Mino tradition. Students of the ô-Shizu school eventually dispersed into two streams – those who remained in the Shizu district and those who settled in Naoe, also in Mino, establishing the Naoe Shizu school. Their work shares Kaneuji’s hallmarks: swirling itame and mokume mixed with flowing nagare-hada, rich chikei, and a vigorous gunome-midare hamon with the pointed togari peaks that became the defining fingerprint of all Mino tradition swords.

The katana is designated Naoe Shizu by both the NBTHK (Tokubetsu Hozon) and the NTHK-NPO, which awarded it the Yûshûsaku designation – the highest honour in their grading system – attributing it specifically to Kanenobu within the Naoe Shizu lineage. An o-suriage tachi of commanding character, it presents the characteristic wide mihaba and grand ô-kissaki of the school’s finest work. Two full-length futatsuji-bi grooves run the length of the blade, their parallel lines reinforcing the grand proportions. Gold fills in two older holes in the nakago speak quietly of the many centuries this sword has been in service – and in how many hands. At Nanbokuchô circa 1368-1375, this blade was already old history by the time the Edo period began; that it survives in extraordinary health is remarkable.

The wakizashi carries a story that is, in its own way, as remarkable as the blade itself. The outer bag is embroidered in gold with the inscription 伝 尾張徳川家 – Den Owari Tokugawa-ke – meaning this blade was inherited through the Owari Tokugawa family, one of the three great Tokugawa branch houses whose sword collections were among the most prestigious in Japan. The reverse of the bag reads Nakagawa ke – the Nakagawa family, who kept the sword thereafter. In 1972 the legendary NBTHK director and scholar Satô Kanzan examined the blade and inscribed his sayagaki on the shirasaya attributing it to Naoe Shizu; the early NBTHK team had designated it Tokubetsu Kichô in 1963 under the same attribution. The more recent NBTHK team has re-examined the blade and issued a Hozon certificate (2019) re-attributing it to Echizen Kanenori of the late Muromachi period; both assessments are fully documented. Both blades carry futatsuji-bi grooves matching the katana in character, and the overall proportions of the pair are harmonious.

The custom daishô koshirae was produced exclusively in Japan by Unique Japan between 2020 and 2022, every component chosen to honour the blades it would carry. The pair of aogai-mijin-nuri saya are lacquered in deep black scattered with fine mother-of-pearl that glitters like the night sky – an effect that has to be seen to be believed. The matched daishô tsuba, by the Mito school (NBTHK Hozon), depict Ono Michikaze – the great Heian calligrapher – observing a determined frog attempting to climb a reed, a motif of perseverance and quiet resolve. The Kôno-ha school fuchi-kashira (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon), in polished shibuichi with gold and silver inlay, depict the moon and waves. The Gotô-school daishô menuki (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon) are shakudô, three-dimensional, depicting a Japanese Marlberry tree laden with snow – characteristic Gotô work at its finest. Every fitting in the ensemble carries its own independent NBTHK certification. This daishô has now found its home, and its journey continues.