Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Signed and dated the eighth month of Keiō 4 (1868), with an ubu tang bearing a single mekugi-ana, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, and both koshirae and shirasaya.
Hosokawa Tadamasa was the eldest son of Hosokawa Tadayoshi and worked as a smith for the Nobeoka domain in Hyūga province; the signature ties his activity to Shimōsa and to Nobeoka. The blade measures 72.1 cm of nagasa with a sori of 1.1 cm, giving a long, barely curved outline, and it is broad and substantial in weight: 920 g bare and 1,300 g when mounted. The tang remains ubu, unshortened, with a single mekugi-ana, so the signature survives in full. It is dated the eighth month of Keiō 4 (1868), the year of the Meiji Restoration, an uncommon detail that fixes the work to a precise moment. The blade carries NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers. It comes with koshirae and shirasaya, although the original seller gives no detail on the fittings of the mounting and makes no statement about the blade's state of preservation.
Strong points
- Signed and dated the eighth month of Keiō 4 (1868)
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana: the signature is complete and unshortened
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers
- Supplied with koshirae and shirasaya
- Broad blade of 72.1 cm: 920 g bare, 1,300 g mounted
- By the eldest son of Hosokawa Tadayoshi, smith to the Nobeoka domain
Points to bear in mind
- Sori of 1.1 cm: an almost straight profile
- The original seller does not describe the fittings of the mounting
- No statement is made about the blade's state of preservation
Score
139.4 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+15
Modern or replacement mounting +15
-
Blade
+10
72.1 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+29.4
Price: the more affordable, the more points +29.4
The score adds and subtracts points for each feature of the piece and has no ceiling: the highest in the catalogue today is 255. 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).
Measurements
- Nagasa
- 72.1 cm
- Sori
- 1.1 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Modern mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hosokawa Tadamasa
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 8th month of Keiō 4 (1868)
- Province
- Shimōsa / Hyūga Nobeoka
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
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