Antique Japanese Swords and NBTHK Certificates

Nihonto are traditional Japanese swords made from tamahagane steel. The term is generally used for antique blades made in Japan: katana, wakizashi, tachi and tanto, each with its own history to discover.

Antique swords

Antique Japanese swords are collected for their craftsmanship and their history. A blade is identified by its shape, its steel pattern (hada), its temper line (hamon), its tang (nakago) and, where present, the signature of the smith. These details help to place a sword in its period and school. See our guides to the Gokaden schools, the sword types by period and the glossary.

NBTHK certificates

The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a Japanese society that appraises swords and issues certificates for them. Its papers are widely used by collectors to document an antique blade. The main grades are:

• Hozon: a sword worthy of preservation;
• Tokubetsu Hozon: a sword especially worthy of preservation;
• Juyo Token: an important sword;
• Tokubetsu Juyo Token: an especially important sword.

A certificate is issued after the sword has been examined by a panel of appraisers. It records the attribution of the blade and is part of its history, so it should always be kept with the sword.

The kantei (appraisal) of a sword is a specialist skill, and it is always worth checking what documentation accompanies an antique blade before you buy.