Kantei

NH-0033 Rank 88

Chikuzen Fukuoka-jū Morimasa

筑前国福岡住守昌

An uncommon signed work of the Fukuoka Ishidō school, around the Kyōhō era (1716), with an ubu tang holding a single hole and a gunome-chōji hardened very high.

Shintō (1596-1780)Kyōhō era (c. 1716)ChikuzenNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Morimasa was a smith to the Kuroda clan within the Fukuoka Ishidō school. His father Moritsugu, head of the school, was held to be a seventeenth-generation descendant of Norimune of Fukuoka Ichimonji. The original seller stresses how rare a signed example is: many Morimasa blades had their signatures removed in the Edo period so they could pass as early Fukuoka Ichimonji. The piece, signed 筑前国福岡住守昌, dates from around Kyōhō (1716) and measures 69.9 cm nagasa with 1.9 cm sori, 3.07 cm motohaba and 0.71 cm motogasane. The hada is itame mixed with masame and a faint utsuri; the hamon a showy, shifting gunome-chōji with pointed heads and inverted chōji, hardened very high: the close-up shots show it bright and well defined. The photographs show a tang with a single mekugi-ana, kurijiri and an uncluttered signature. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers dated 16 February 2026. The mounting, which the original seller does not describe, appears complete in the photographs: a glossy black fluted saya, a round iron tsuba with hitsu-ana, matching fuchi-kashira and fan-shaped menuki in white metal. No shirasaya is included.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon (16 February 2026), with koshirae
  • Uncommon zaimei work of the Fukuoka Ishidō school, smiths to the Kuroda clan
  • Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, according to the photographs
  • Showy gunome-chōji with pointed heads, hardened very high
  • Mounting complete and coherent in the photographs: fluted black saya, iron tsuba with hitsu-ana and fan-shaped menuki

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller does not describe the mounting: what is known of it comes from the photographs
  • No shirasaya included
  • The signature carries no date
  • The original seller states nothing about condition

Score breakdown

56.6/100

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).

  1. Signature and date 10 of 18 Signed, with no engraved date
  2. Tang 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting -2 of 18 Mounting documented only in the photographs
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 69.9 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 9.6 of 10 Rank 6 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest