Swords from Japan are popular art objects and collector's items. Prices can vary greatly from a few thousand euros to 6-figure sums and more. The highest quality swords remain in Japan anyway as national cultural assets and are not available on the open market; these can easily be traded for prices in excess of 1 million euros.
We will also refer to these swords in the following text as Nihonto, which is Japanese and means Japanese sword. As price examples we mention Katana swords, prices for other Samurai swords such as Wakizashi and Tanto may of course differ.
For the Nihonto, which you can find in our Online shop for Japanese swords we would like to provide a brief overview for better orientation.
A note in advance: There are numerous shops on the Internet that offer "real Japanese swords". These range in price from 100 to 1000 euros. However, these are replicas from China. We will go into this in more detail in an additional article.
The following information applies to the Nihonto in our shop. The prices in our shop for Nihonto always include import costs and there are no additional costs.
We emphasise in the text that the prices quoted include import costs. These import costs consist, among other things, of the 19% import VAT that is payable on every import. In our opinion, quoting prices without these costs makes no sense and distorts perception.
How did the high price for Nihonto come about?
The swords on the market can be roughly divided into historical swords and current swords from the recent past.
Historical swords from Japan are pure collector's items and have a large fan base worldwide because Japanese swordsmiths have always been famous for their perfection. Each Nihonto has its own history, its own style and embodies the values of the samurai. This is why the swords have a certain price level. We will explain exactly what causes the price differences later in this article.
The production of new swords is strictly regulated in Japan and as a result, current swords and swords from the recent past also have an exclusive price level. Swords in the style of the old samurai swords still have to be made in Japan today using traditional methods and materials.
Only blacksmiths with the appropriate licence are allowed to make these swords and training to become a blacksmith in Japan takes many years. It usually takes a decade before a new blacksmith is even authorised to forge their own swords.
Production is therefore strictly regulated to ensure an exceptional level of quality. The production of such a master sword takes several months and the price is accordingly at least in the high 4-digit range. Completely newly manufactured swords are called Shinsakuto (=newly manufactured sword).
How much does a shinsakuto (newly made sword) cost?
Due to the aforementioned regulations, even the cheapest swords from Japan with import costs have a price level of at least approx. 8 thousand euros. With a few of your own wishes and mounting (Koshirae) for the sword, the price is usually over 10,000 euros.
However, there are still blacksmiths alive today who have earned a legendary reputation and whose works have won prizes. One example is Master Yoshindo Yoshihara. In addition to his exceptional blacksmithing skills, he has given foreign authors deep insights into his work and is therefore the source of many internationally recognised books. His family has been forging swords for 10 generations and he holds the title of Mukansa. A title that only the best blacksmiths receive.
Some consider him to be the best blacksmith in Japan. His newly crafted swords have a price tag of over 50,000 euros, including import costs. (Source for this price quote: https://www.toki.tokyo/shop/katana)
How much do younger swords from Japan cost?
The affordable katana models in this range start at around 4,000 to 5,000 euros, including import costs. For this price, you get a traditionally made sword from Japan that has been forged according to all the rules of the art. Of course, as with the shinsakuto described above, the price can be considerably higher.
The Japanese blades from the recent past generally have a relatively hard sheath steel and are therefore popular for cutting exercises. They are also used worldwide by practitioners of Japanese sword arts for training.
As they are made using the same methods as swords have been forged in Japan for centuries, they have the exclusive and special look of genuine Japanese swords.
How much do old swords from Japan cost?
These Nihonto start at 5,000 to 6,000 euros with an acceptable general condition including import. Of course, what constitutes acceptable general condition is always in the eye of the beholder. Lower prices may also be possible by cutting back on condition. However, old swords from Japan can also be traded at very high prices. Prices of around 20,000 euros are not uncommon and exclusive pieces can cost even more.
As described at the beginning, the most valuable specimens remain in Japan, which means that the market outside Japan is capped to a certain extent. At auctions, however, specimens outside Japan can also reach dizzying prices.
Interestingly, the age of a blade is not necessarily decisive for the price, which brings us to the price-determining factors:
What determines the price of genuine swords from Japan?
Quality of the forging
The most important factor for the price is the quality of the blade. This is because the quality can vary greatly, especially with old blades.
In times when many swords were needed for wars, there tended to be less time for production and the quality suffered as a result. The steel available naturally also has an influence on the quality of the finished sword.
In the past and still today, there were and are sword schools and swordsmiths who are known for the high quality of their work.
Condition of the sword
The second major factor in the price of a genuine Japanese sword is its condition. If a sword from a very good smith is in poor condition, its price will be comparatively low.
Swords from average blacksmiths in poor condition are the cheapest. Swords from highly respected blacksmiths in perfect condition are the most expensive.
We hope that this article has helped you to understand what a real Japanese sword costs.
