Japan has a large amount of valuable artifacts, trinkets, and antiques from its ancient years to today. It’s easy to say that the most well-known of these would be the nihontō or Japanese sword.
There are so many beautiful combinations of blade, guard, and sheathe to admire. Plus, each sword has a history and its own stories – even if many of those are lost to time. And hey – who doesn’t want to own a samurai sword?
Naturally, these swords are a prized item for collectors. On top of that, some people buy swords just to have a nice Japanese artifact in their home.
The good news: Buying a sword in Japan is very easy to do! The bad news: exporting them is a whole different affair. Sadly, it’s not as simple as buying one and shipping it back. This article covers the challenges in sword exporting, as well as alternatives if you’re time-poor or don’t want the hassles.
Table of Contents
ToggleThe challenges of sword exporting

Let’s break down the challenges of sword exporting into three major categories:
- The sword’s registration status
- How culturally important the sword is
- How much time you have
Ultimately, all the above are important if you want to take your newly bought sword with you when you get on that plane. If you want to own an authentic Japanese antique sword and live outside of Japan, read on!
Keep in mind, this only covers exporting a sword from Japan. It doesn’t cover importing to your own country or importing a sword into Japan. In these cases, you’ll need to do extra research. Many of these tips also cover re-importing a Japanese sword for repair/restoration.
A sword’s registration status is crucial

An authentic Japanese sword is illegal to own or export from Japan without registration. These registrations are called Jūhō-tōken-rui-tōrokushō (銃砲刀剣類登録証 – Swords and Firearms Control Act Registration Certificate). It’s simpler to remember them as tōrokushō (登録証 – Registration Certificate).
A tōrokushō must stay with its sword, like how tourists in Japan must carry their passports. It needs this passport with it to go anywhere.
A tōrokushō contains information like the sword’s length and inscriptions. A tōrokushō doesn’t guarantee an authentic inscription, just that one is there. This is like how putting a Ferrari sticker on a sports car doesn’t make it a Ferrari, but it’s still a sports car. When buying a sword, you must update the tōrokushō at its prefectural Board of Education.
You can get a tōrokushō for unregistered swords at a tōroku-shinsa-kaijō (登録審査会場 – Sword Examination Meeting). These generally take place monthly, but not all swords qualify. In short, Tamahagane swords made in Japan get a tōrokushō. Other swords, like foreign-made or non-tamahagane swords will not. Exceptions exist, but check beforehand.
Modern swords made by a licensed swordsmith can acquire a tōrokushō too. However, mass-produced swords, like swords from World War II, aren’t eligible, making them illegal.
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A tōrokushō changes a sword’s status from a “weapon” into a “piece of art.” It’s against the law to own a weapon – but a piece of art is okay. It’s also okay to export a piece of art!
The headaches involved in taking a sword without a tōrokushō out of Japan are numerous. You must give the sword to the police and get a tōrokushō made. This results in weeks of waiting, plus various fees. The police may grant you a certificate saying you “found” the sword, but it’s not a tōrokushō. It just lets you attend examination meetings.
How culturally significant is this sword?

Once a sword has a tōrokushō, appraising it is the next step. This could confirm a signature’s authenticity or reveal its history. The results might increase the sword’s value.
Japanese public interest groups like the NBTHK do sword appraisals. However, the Japanese Government also has a separate classification system.
The two relevant government appraisal ranks here are jūyō–bunkazai (重要文化財 – Important Cultural Property) and kokuhō (国宝 – National Treasure). There’s just over 1,000 swords that fall into these categories.
It’s illegal to export items of these two ranks outside of Japan or modify them in any way. The Japanese Government also has first right to buy these items off owners at a “fair market price”. Only when the government waives that right can a sale occur between two private parties.
When buying a sword, knowing what appraisals it has is crucial. Public Interest Group appraisal is not mandatory, but this means its signatures are unverified and might not be genuine. This does not mean the sword itself is fake. Remember, if it has a tōrokushō, it’s an authentic Japan-made tamahagane sword. Tōrokushō and appraisal are different things. Additionally, public interest group appraisals and Japanese Government appraisals are different things.
A third Government appraisal rank called jūyō-bijutsuhin (重要美術品 – Important Work of Art) is important for different reasons. It is legal to export these. However, items lose this ranking once exported. Getting it back is said to be incredibly difficult. Keep this in mind if you see a sword of this ranking.
How much time do you have?
A sword can leave Japan if the above criteria are all met. However, there are still the horrors of red tape. And there’s a lot of red tape.
You need the appropriate export permit to send or take a sword from Japan. Approval from the Ministry of Culture takes weeks or even months to get.
You must also surrender the sword’s original tōrokushō to the Ministry; it doesn’t ever leave Japan. Make a copy of it first, which you’ll need to do for the export permit anyway. Cultural appraisal certificates, like ones from the NBTHK, can leave Japan, allowing you to prove authenticity.
The challenge is you need to be in Japan for as long as all these application processes take. An unregistered sword takes many months for approval, whereas one with a tōrokushō still may take up to two. If you’re very lucky, it may only take a few weeks.
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This might be difficult for tourists. In addition, once you do get the permit, you only have 30 days to export. Tourist visas have a 90-day maximum, and an unregistered sword has long approval times. Exporting any sword also requires conversations with customs at an International Post Office.
Sword brokers exist to handle this, and many antique sword stores do all these registrations for you. These are all baked into the price, so you’ll end up paying for the service. The extra yen spent gives you peace of mind, so consider if it is worth it for you.
Alternatives: Replica swords and kitchen knives

If you don’t need the sword to be authentic, however, there are easier ways to bring a “sword” home from Japan.
Replica swords, or blunt iaidō swords, are significantly easier to export. Decorative swords can come with a certificate saying they are blunt and made out of a material like zinc alloy. A high-standard replica sword will cost significantly less than a registered real one. However, it will still look amazing as a display piece.
Kitchen knives are completely different items. However, variants that are similar to swords do exist on the market. Kitchen knives are functional items more than display pieces. However, people do use them in both ways, such as using one as a presentation piece in a high end restaurant.
Some kitchen knives have a sakimaru tip, generally takohiki or yanagiba knives. Some of these may even be classified as ken-gata (sword-type) knives. As you’d expect, they’re much shorter than a typical Japanese sword.
However, high-end kitchen knives can have the same hamon lines a sword has. Hand-made knives from Sakai, Osaka sport these features. This is because techniques used in swordmaking and knifemaking are similar. While Ken-gata/Sword-type knives are rarer these days, kitchen knives are tools. Exporting them is fine. Chefs travel around the world with their tools, after all!
Tantō: Just short of authentic
Finally, tantō technically do not need registration, provided the blade length is under 15 centimeters. The shortest of tantō will be around this length. If you find a tantō this short without a tōrokushō, that’s okay.
While authenticity is unknown, you can purchase and export these. Appraisals help establish genuine articles here. You may still need the export permit, though!
Finally, Japanese police can – and do – check people for carrying sharp objects, legal or not. These checks and arrests can be for items as simple as Swiss army knives and even scissors. It’s best to exercise caution. You may want to go get a tōrokushō for it anyway.
Conclusion
Again, buying a sword is easy. It really is as simple as going to someone, giving them some yen, and getting the sword off them. All the steps after are the tricky part.
If you’ve got the time and want to save some money, by all means give it a go! However, sometimes employing a sword broker is best, or simply going for something different. Replica swords are still beautiful, and kitchen knives are functional plus have lots of variety. Or, you could go for a completely different style of antique. The more flexible you are, the easier this will be for you.
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