新々刀

Around 1781, Suishinshi Masahide advocated a 'return to kotō,' researching and reviving old forging methods lost during the shintō era to break through the technical stagnation of swordmaking. This marked the dawn of the Shinshintō period. Masahide modeled his work on the Bizen tradition, striving to reproduce nioi-based hamon and beautiful utsuri. His philosophy was inherited by many disciples: Taikei Naotane, his foremost student, worked across Bizen, Sōshū, and Yamashiro styles. Minamoto Kiyomaro magnificently revived the bold nie-based hamon of the Sōshū tradition, earning the epithet 'Masamune of Yotsuya.' Kiyomaro's blades—from steel forging to hamon brilliance—approach kotō quality, and he is considered the supreme smith of the Shinshintō era. Koyama Munetsugu achieved exquisitely precise reproductions of Bizen-style chōji, also distinguishing himself with robust swords for the Bakumatsu combat era. Nankai Tarō Chōson established a distinctive style in Tosa, and Chōunsai Tsunatoshi was renowned for refined Bizen-tradition work. Under the banner of kotō revival, competing schools brought Japanese swordmaking to its final golden age. The Haitōrei (Sword Abolishment Edict) of 1876 ended this era, but the Shinshintō smiths' spirit of 'returning to the old while creating anew' lives on in contemporary swordmakers.