NH-0011 Rank 11
Tenryūshi Tachibana Hisakazu
天龍子橘久一作
Long 76.9 cm blade signed and dated to the summer of Keiō 1 (1865), with an untouched two-hole tang, a recent high-grade polish and a koshirae in black ishime lacquer.
Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Tenryūshi Tachibana Hisakazu was a pupil of Ozaki Suketaka. Born in Katakai in Echigo, he also lived in Musashi and in Yamada of Ise, and forged between the Keiō and Meiji eras, working as well in Hikone and Sakai. The untouched tang carries the signature 天龍子橘久一作 and the date of the summer of Keiō 1 (1865); it is long and was made from the outset with two mekugi-ana. The blade measures 76.9 cm nagasa with 1.15 cm sori, motohaba 31.9 mm and motokasane 9.0 mm, with sakihaba of 27.8 mm at the monouchi and 24.8 mm at the yokote; it weighs 1,276 g bare and 1,652 g mounted. It shows a clear difference between moto and saki and an extended point, a ko-itame hada with mokume standing out in places, and a hamon based on suguha with ko-notare and gunome mixed in, ashi reaching inwards and abundant fine activity along the edge; the bōshi is straight with a round turnback. It has just received a museum-grade polish. The mounting is an uchigatana koshirae with a black ishime saya and a suaka habaki, tight, with no play in the hilt and no rattle from the tsuba, and comes with shirasaya and tsunagi.
Strong points
- Signed and dated to the summer of Keiō 1 (1865)
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, with koshirae, shirasaya and tsunagi
- 76.9 cm nagasa, a markedly long blade
- Long ubu nakago, made from the outset with two mekugi-ana
- Recent high-grade polish
- Well-fitted kuro-ishime-nuri koshirae, with no play and no tsuba rattle
Points to bear in mind
- The original listing gives no date for the mounting
- The fittings carry no tōsōgu papers
- A heavy blade in hand: 1,276 g bare and 1,652 g mounted
Score breakdown
72.5/100
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 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the seller at origin, with 2 mekugi-ana
- Mounting -2 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin · restored: relacquered or new saya and rewrapped ito
- Declared condition 20 of 20 Recent polish declared by the seller at origin
- Blade 8 of 8 76.9 cm: within the usable range
- Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
- Price 4.5 of 10 Rank 77 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest