NH-0008 Rank 39
Hamabe Fujiwara Toshihide
浜部藤原寿秀作 / 嘉永四年二月日
Shinshintō blade from Inaba, signed and dated in the second month of Kaei 4 (1851), 73.4 cm nagasa, ubu tang and a black-lacquered koshirae. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon issued December 2025.
Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
A work by Hamabe Fujiwara Toshihide, signed “Hamabe Fujiwara Toshihide saku” and dated to the second month of Kaei 4 (1851). Toshihide trained under the third Hamabe Toshiyuki and, on his master's death, was entrusted with the stewardship of the line while Toshimitsu, the fourth head of the house, was still too young; he used the art name Minryūshi. The Hamabe school, founded by Mino no Kami Toshinori, is the line that brought Bizen-den to Inaba during the shinshintō period: kinship between the Ikeda of Bizen and the Ikeda lords of the Inaba domain put the two groups of smiths in contact. The succession runs Toshinori, Toshizane, Toshiyuki and Toshimitsu. The blade measures 73.4 cm of nagasa with 1.4 cm of sori, motohaba 3.18 cm and sakihaba 2.03 cm, with motokasane 0.80 cm and shinogi-gasane 0.82 cm. The tang is ubu (茎生ぶ). It is sold with an uchigatana koshirae with black-lacquered saya and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers issued on 1 December 2025. Japanese registration Hyōgo no. 55224, 1968.
Strong points
- Signed and dated in the second month of Kaei 4 (1851)
- Ubu tang, stated as 茎生ぶ in the original listing
- 73.4 cm nagasa: a long blade within the katana format
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers issued on 1 December 2025
- Uchigatana koshirae with black-lacquered saya
- Toshihide headed the Hamabe house, the Bizen-den of Inaba during the shinshintō period
Points to bear in mind
- No shirasaya is included: the mounting is the blade's only housing
- The mounting is neither dated nor its fittings described, so it is not documented as a period koshirae
- The original seller does not state the number of mekugi-ana
- Neither the state of preservation nor the age of the polish is described
Score breakdown
65.3/100
The score shares out 100 points: Signature and date 18 · Tang 22 · Mounting 18 · Declared condition 20 · Blade 8 · Shirasaya 4 · Price 10. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. The mounting starts from what is known of its period, adds what vouches for it (its own NBTHK paper, a signed fitting, a crest) and subtracts what has been restored (saya, ito, same, habaki or sageo).
- Signature and date 18 of 18 Signed and with an engraved date
- Tang 22 of 22 Tang intact according to the seller at origin
- Mounting -3 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin · restored: relacquered or new saya, rewrapped ito and new sageo
- Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
- Blade 8 of 8 73.4 cm: within the usable range
- Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
- Price 9.3 of 10 Rank 10 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest