Katana value estimate

[Douglas]

 

Gendaitō by Isshinshi Kariya Naohide – Information / Opinions Welcome

 

 

I’m seeking input on a modern Japanese sword by Isshinshi Kariya Naohide (一心子 刈谷直秀).

 

The blade is traditionally forged and signed on the nakago:

 

一心子 刈谷直秀 作

(Isshinshi Kariya Naohide saku)

 

The tang also carries a date inscription consistent with the smith’s working period (late Shōwa to early Heisei). The sword is legally registered in Japan and includes its Torokusho.

 

Condition: the blade is polished with no chips or apparent fatal flaws. The nakago has natural patina and has not been over-cleaned. Koshirae are present; the tsuka fittings are somewhat loose and would likely benefit from routine adjustment or mekugi replacement.

 

I’ve located comparable examples by the same smith listed with established Japanese dealers (e.g., Nipponto and Tsuruginoya), which suggests this is a legitimate collectible gendaitō rather than a decorative piece.

 

I would appreciate any additional information regarding the smith, workmanship, or market context, and whether members feel this example is consistent with other known works by Kariya Naohide.

 

Photos attached. Thank you in advance for any insight.

[eternal_newbie]

Yasukuni Isshinshi Kariya Naohide (靖国一心子 刈谷直秀) was an Army engineer commissioned during World War II and is widely known as the last Yasukuni swordsmith. He is a gendai swordsmith representing Tosa and Kōchi. He has been selected and awarded dozens of times at exhibitions such as the New Masterpiece Sword Exhibition (Shinsaku meitō-ten, 新作名刀展), the New Sword Exhibition (Shinsakutō tenran-kai, 新作刀展覧会) and the Kochi Prefectural Exhibition (Kōchi ken-ten, 高知県展).

 

Naohide was born Kariya Naoharu (刈谷直治) on November 10th 1917 in Kōchi Prefecture. He joined the Japanese Sword Forging Association (Nihontō tanren-kai, 日本刀鍛錬会) in April 1937 under the swordsmith Ikeda Yasumitsu (池田靖光) who was the chief smith at Yasukini Shrine. Naoharu inherited the character "hide" (秀) from Yasumitsu's master Ikeda Kazuhide (池田一秀), becoming Yasukuni Naohide (靖国直秀).  On June 17th 1939, he was drafted into the army where he made five guntō using Chinese railway steel. Naohide was discharged on December 11th 1942, and in January 1943 he was approved as an army-appointed swordsmith (Rikugun jumei tōshō, 陸軍受命刀匠) and began forging swords at the Tosa Japanese Sword Forging Association (Tosa nihontō tanren kumiai, 土佐日本刀鍛錬組合). 

 

Following the war's conclusion the GHQ banned the production of nihontō, but the ban was lifted by the San Francisco Peace Treaty and Naohide forged a sword to commemorate the occasion. He also made an appearance in the documentary Yasukuni (2007) as the last living Yasukuni swordsmith from the wartime era.

 

Sources: Meirin Sangyo, Tsuruginoya, Tōken Hasegawa

 

Other works by Naohide (yes, the sword is a legitimate gendaitō and consistent with his other work):

https://www.touken-hasegawa.jp/item/MKI-44 (listed price unknown)

https://www.tsuruginoya.com/items/a00656.html (listed for ¥550,000 in 2024)

https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords9/KT337837.htm (listed price unknown)

http://sword-Japanese.seesaa.net/article/430137423.html (listed for ¥158,000 in 2015)

 

More information on Yasukuni (2007):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasukuni_(film)

 

[Douglas]

Thanks for the great info. I appreciate it very much. D