Kantei

NH-0034 Rank 81

Chikushū-jū Fujiwara Shimosaka Kanenobu

筑州住藤原下坂兼信

Shinshintō katana of 75.5 cm from the Shimosaka line after its move to Chikushū, with an ubu tang and one mekugi-ana, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, shirasaya and a restrained koshirae.

Shinshintō (1781-1876)Between 1781 and 1876Chikushū (Fukuoka)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

The signature on this katana, Chikushū-jū Fujiwara Shimosaka Kanenobu, points to the Shimosaka school, founded by the first Yasutsugu in the late Muromachi period and formally moved to Kitanoshō, in Echizen, by Yūki Hideyasu, son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The school rose to prominence with Echizen Yasutsugu, who was granted the privilege of using the aoi-mon, the Tokugawa mallow crest. The “Chikushū-jū” of the signature shows that this smith was already working in Chikuzen and Chikugo, in present-day Fukuoka, where the tradition had since spread. The NBTHK dates the blade to the shinshintō period (1781-1876) without narrowing it further. It measures 75.5 cm nagasa with 1.4 cm sori. The photographs show a sound tang with a single mekugi-ana and no sign of shortening. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate, a shirasaya and a koshirae of restrained design.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
  • 75.5 cm nagasa: an imposing blade
  • Sound ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, confirmed in the photographs
  • Signature of the Shimosaka line, the school of Echizen Yasutsugu
  • Shirasaya included alongside a plainly finished koshirae

Points to bear in mind

  • The certificate dates the blade no more closely than the shinshintō period (1781-1876): nearly a century of latitude
  • The signature carries no date
  • The mounting is described but not dated

Score breakdown

57.5/100

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).

  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 -3 of 18 Mounting that is not the blade’s original · restored: new sageo
  4. Declared condition 13 of 20 Minor flaws declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 75.5 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 5.5 of 10 Rank 63 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest