Description
ITEM DESCRIPTION:
Comes with kimono or cotton bag. Comes with certificate of supein Nihonto. Comes with copy of Tokosusho. Comes with NBTHK Tokobetsu hozon.
Katana in shirasaya signed Heianjō-jū Horii Ryūunsai Minamoto Sadamitsu, dated to the eleventh month of Keiō 2, 1866, accompanied by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certification. This is a sword of considerable presence from the very end of the Edo period, made during the Bakumatsu years, immediately before the Meiji Restoration transformed the samurai world forever.
The blade has an impressive certified length of approximately 75.4 cm, giving it a commanding and elegant silhouette. Its sugata conveys strength without losing refinement: this is a long katana with a noble and imposing appearance, far above the visual presence of more ordinary examples.
The nakago retains mature patination and bears a long, well-arranged inscription. The signature 平安城住堀井龍雲斎源貞光造之 identifies the smith as Sadamitsu, resident of Heianjō, the classical name for Kyoto. The date 慶応二丙寅十一月日 places the work precisely in November 1866. This exact dating adds substantial historical value: the sword is not merely attributed to a broad period, but fixed to a specific moment at the close of the samurai age.
The blade is enriched by remarkable double horimono. One side bears a Kurikara-ryū, the dragon associated with Fudō Myōō coiled around a straight ritual sword, or ken. This is one of the most powerful motifs in Japanese esoteric Buddhist sword iconography. The opposite side displays several bonji, Sanskrit Siddham seed syllables connected with protective Buddhist deities. Together, the dragon, the ritual sword and the bonji form a coherent spiritual programme of protection, authority and purification.
The shirasaya is particularly appropriate for a blade of this level. It protects the steel with restraint, allows the sword itself to remain the centre of attention, and reinforces its status as a serious collector’s piece. Here, the absence of koshirae is not a weakness; it focuses the eye on the essential elements: signature, date, forging quality, horimono and Tokubetsu Hozon certification.
This katana stands out through a rare combination of features: identified smith, exact date of 1866, generous length, shirasaya, double esoteric horimono and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certification. It is a sword for a buyer who is not simply looking for “a Japanese katana”, but for a documented, historically anchored and visually powerful work with serious collector appeal.
Technical summary
Type: Katana
Mounting: Shirasaya
Signature: 平安城住堀井龍雲斎源貞光造之
Reading: Heianjō-jū Horii Ryūunsai Minamoto Sadamitsu kore o tsukuru
Smith: Horii Ryūunsai Minamoto Sadamitsu
Date: 慶応二丙寅十一月日, November 1866
Period: Late Edo period, Keiō era
Certificate: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken
Certificate number: 1014950
Nagasa: 二尺四寸九分, approx. 75.4 cm
Horimono: Kurikara-ryū with ken on one side; Siddham bonji on the other
Nakago: Signed and dated, with mature patina
Presentation: Shirasaya for preservation
