Each year the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai (NBTHK) holds a sword making competition in Tokyo. Below are the results of the 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 competitions. These results were kindly supplied by Kenji Mishina as originally posted on the Token Kenkyu Kai listserv. The works of the Mukansa smiths have been repeatedly judged to be of such a high level that they no longer compete for awards. Kenji Mishina was awarded the status of Mukansa Polisher at the 2003 NBTHK competition on December 6, 2003.

KATANA AND TACHI DIVISION:

Toku-sho (First Prize):
1. Takamatsu-no-miya Award - Miyairi Kozaemon Yukihira (Nagano Prefecture)
2. Bunka-cho-chokan Award - Yoshiwara Yoshikazu (Tokyo)
3. NBTHK Meiyo-kaicho Award - Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Nagano)
4. NBTHK Kaicho Award - So Masachika (Fukuoka)
5. Kunzan Award - Matsuda Tsuguyasu (Chiba)
6. Kanzan Award - Okubo Kazuhira (Kanagawa)

Yushu-sho (Second Prize) :
1. Ogawa Kanekuni (father, Gifu)
2. Ogawa Kanekuni (son, Gifu)
3. Akiba Kanehira (Hyogo)
4. Akamatsu Nobusaki (Okayama)
5. Takaba Hiromune (Gifu)
6. Kato Kanefusa (Gufu)
7. Kato Shinpei (Tochigi), Kubo Yoshihiro (Shimane)
8. Matsuba Kunimasa (Miyazaki)
9. Komiya Kunimitsu

Doryoku-sho (Third Prize):
1. Ozawa Toshihisa (Saitama)
2. Shinpo Motohira (Niigata)
3. Kojima Kanemichi (Gifu)
4. Morikuni Kiyohiro (Fukui)
5. Kawasaki Akihira (Nagano)
6. Yamagami Norihisa (Niigata)
7. Fujimoto Yoshihisa (Okayama)

Kenji Mishina polished the Toku-sho winning swords by Furukawa and Matsuda.

It was announced that the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese government designated Kokan Nagayama as Living Natinal Treasure (Ningen Kokuho) on the 15th of May, 2000. There are now five Living National treasures in Japanese sword society; sword smiths Masamine Sumitani, Akitsugu Amada and Toshihira Osumi and sword polishers Kokan Nagayama and Matsuo Fujishiro.

KATANA AND TACHI DIVISION:

Toku-sho (First Prize):
1. Yoshihara Yoshikazu (Tokyo)
2. So Masachika (Fukuoka)
3. Kawasaki Akihira (Nagano)
4. Matsuda Tsuguyasu (Chiba)
5. Ogawa Kanekuni (Gifu, father)
6. Kubo Yoshihiro (Shimane)

Yushu-sho (Second Prize):
1. Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Nagano)
2. Takaba Hiromune (Gifu)
3. Kojima Kanemichi (Gifu)
4. Sugita Yoshiaki (Yamaguchi)
5. Komiya Shiro Kunimitsu (Fukuoka)
6. Matsuba Kunimasa (Miyazaki)
7. Ezawa Toshimune (Chiba)
8. Kishi Akiyoshi (Niigata)

Doryoku-sho (Third Prize):
1. Shinpo Motohira (Niigata)
2. Sugiyama Masatoshi (Tokushima)
3. Takehana Shigehisa (Saitama)
4. Ishida Kunitoshi (Niigata, Rookie's Award)
5. Miyagi Norizane (Miyagi)
6. Kiyota Kunietsu (Wakayama)
7. Kato Kanefusa (Gifu)
8. Kato Shinpei (Tochigi)

KO-WAKIZASHI, TANTO AND KEN DIVISION:

Yushu-sho (First Prize):
1. Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Nagano)
2. Yoshihara Yoshikazu (Tokyo)

Doryoku-sho (Second Prize):
1. Matsuba Kunimasa (Miyazaki)
2. Sugita Yoshiaki (Yamaguchi)
3. Ozawa Toshihisa (Saitama)
4. So Kaneyoshi (Fukuoka)
5. Shinpo Motohira (Niigata)
6. Kato Kanefusa (Gifu)
7. Matsukawa Kiyonao (Nagano)

KATANA AND TACHI DIVISION:

Toku-sho (First Prizes)
1.Yoshihara Yoshikazu (Choji-midare)
2. Ogawa Kanekuni (Son, toran-midare)
3. So Masachika (Toran-midare)
4. Kubo Yoshihiro (Choji-midare)
5. Ogawa Kanekuni (Father, toran-midare)
6. Fujiyasu Masahiro (Sugu-ha in Yamashiro-den)
7. Matsuda Tsuguyasu (Sugu-ha in Ko-bizen style)

Yushu-sho (Second Prizes)
1. Kato Kanefusa (Soshu-den in Kaneuji style)
2. Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Soshu-den in Sadamune style)
3. Kawasaki Akihira (Soshu-den in Kencho-shinto style)
4. Takami Kuniichi (Choji-midare)
5. Matsukawa Kiyonao (Soshu-den in Keicho-sinto style)
6. Komiya Kunimitsu (Choji-midare)
7. Matsuba Kunimasa (Gunome-midare in shinto style)

Doryoku-sho (Third Prizes)
1. Kato Kanefusa (Soshu-den in Kaneuji style)
2. Takehana Shigehisa (Soden-bizen in Chogi style)
3. Kato Shinpei (Gunome-midare in shinto style)
4. Yamagami Norihisa (Sugu-ha in Yamashiro-den)
5. Miyagi Norizane (Sugu-ha in Yamashiro-den)
6. Takaba Hiromune (Soshu-den in Shizu style)
7. Shinpo Motohira (Soshu-den in Shinto stle)
8. Kishi Akiyoshi (Choji-midare)
9. Matsui Kiyoaki (Gunome-midare in shinto style)
10. Ozawa Toshihisa (Soshu-den in shinto style)

KO-WAKIZASHI, TANTO AND KEN DIVISION:

Yushu-sho
1. Yoshihara Yoshikazu (Choji-midare)
2. Matsuba Kunimasa (Gunome-midare)

Doryoku-sho
1. Shipo Motohira (Notare-midare)
2. Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Notare-midare)
3. Adachi Sadashige (Notare-midare)
4. Akamatsu Nobusaki (Gunome-choji)

KATANA AND TACHI DIVISION:

Toku-sho (First Prize):
1. Yoshihara Yoshikazu (Tokyo)
2. Kawasaki Akihiro (Saitama)
3. So Masachika (Fukuoka)
4. Ogawa Kanekuchi (Gifu, father)
5. Ogawa Kanekuni (Gifu, son)
6. Matsuba Kunimasa (Miyazaki)
7. Matsuda Tsuguyasu (Chiba)
(Tsuguyasu blade polished by Kenji Mishina)

Yushu-sho (Second Prizes)
1. Kubo Yoshihiro (Hiroshima)
2. Kato Kanefusa (Gifu, father)
3. Kato Shinpei (Tochigi)
4. Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Nagano)
5. Miyagi Norizane (Miyagi)
6. Takehana Shigehisa (Saitama)
7. Sugita Yoshiaki (Yamaguchi)

Doryoku-sho (Third Prizes)
1. Matsukawa Kiyonao (Nagano)
2. Kishi Yoshiaki (Niigata)
3. Shinpo Motohira (Niigata)
4. Takaba Munehiro (Gifu)
5. Kato Kanefusa (Gifu, son)
6. Takami Kunikazu (Hyogo)
7. Sugiyama Masatoshi (Tokushima)
8. Kobayashi Sadanori (Shimane)
9. Kojima Kanemichi (Gifu)

KO-WAKIZASHI, TANTO AND KEN DIVISION:

Yushu-sho (Second Prizes)
1. Yoshihara Kazuyoshi (Tokyo)
2. Sugita Yoshiaki (Yamaguchi)
3. kato Shinpei (Tochigi)

Doryoku-sho (Third Prizes)
1. Furukawa Kiyoyuki (Nagano)
2. Kawasaki Akihira (Saitama)
3. Matsuba Kunimasa (Miyazaki)
4. Shinpo Motohira (Niigata)

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