NH-0028 Rank 99
Mutsu Aizu-jū Masanaga
陸奥会津住正長
A sturdy blade of about 1658 by a smith to the Katō house of Aizu, with an ubu tang and a koshirae combining a solid silver tsuba with a black ishime saya.
Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Masanaga was a smith to the house of Katō Yoshiaki, lords of Aizu at 400,000 koku, and comes from a well-documented line: his grandfather Nagakuni studied under Harima no Kami Terahiro, a pupil of Umetada Myōju, while his father entered Myōju's school directly, making him a fellow student of the first Tadayoshi of Hizen. The blade, signed 陸奥会津住正長, dates from about 1658 and shows the Kanbun-era outline: 71.2 cm nagasa, 1.0 cm sori, 3.08 cm motohaba and 1,007 g without the saya. The hada is a vigorous ko-itame and the hamon a gunome-midare in nioi with ko-nie. The original seller points to its closeness to the work of Aizu Michinaga, rated saijō ō-wazamono. The photographs show the tang ubu on both faces, with a single mekugi-ana, a clean kurijiri and a well-spaced signature. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers dated 16 February 2026; the Japanese registration was reissued in 2025 after the previous one was lost. The koshirae carries a solid silver tsuba (gin-muku) and a black ishime-ji saya with inrō-kizami carving, a navy sageo and a tsuka of dark ito over same. No shirasaya is included.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon (16 February 2026), with koshirae
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, confirmed by the photographs
- Solid silver tsuba (gin-muku) and inrō-kizami saya in black ishime
- 1,007 g without the saya: a robust cross-section
- Lineage tied to the Umetada Myōju school through the smith's father
Points to bear in mind
- The original seller declares light rust in several places from the passage of time
- No shirasaya included
- The signature carries no date
- In the photographs the tsuba looks blackish, consistent with patinated silver, though the original listing does not say so
Score breakdown
54.7/100
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 10 of 18 Signed, with no engraved date
- Tang 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
- Mounting 4 of 18 Period mounting
- Declared condition 3 of 20 Serious flaw declared
- Blade 8 of 8 71.2 cm: within the usable range
- Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
- Price 9.7 of 10 Rank 5 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest