Kantei

NH-0041 Rank 94

Kawachi no Kami Sukesada

菊紋一 河内守祐定

Bizen Osafune, Genroku era: kikumon and the character ichi before the signature, a horimono with the Heart Sutra formula, 2.7 cm of sori and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.

Shintō (1596-1780)Genroku era (c. 1701)Bizen OsafuneNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Yokoyama Jinzaemon, who signed Kawachi no Kami Sukesada, was one of the leading names of the Osafune school in the shintō period; he received the title of Kawachi no Kami in the fifth month of 1701 and places before his signature the sixteen-petal chrysanthemum followed by the character ichi, the kiku-ichimonji mark of the Yokoyama family. The blade measures 66.4 cm of nagasa with 2.7 cm of sori, a very deep curve, and 2.81 cm of motohaba, giving a slender outline. The hada is a tight ko-itame with faint utsuri and the hamon a deliberately restrained suguha-chō, in keeping with what distinguishes this blade: a horimono carved with the formula “Maka Hannya Haramita”, from the Heart Sutra, beside a motif of bamboo and plum. The photographs show a sound tang with kurijiri, even patina, a single mekugi-ana and a crisply cut kikumon. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers; supplied with an Edo-period koshirae with kawari-nuri saya and with a shirasaya.

Strong points

  • Sixteen-petal kikumon and the character ichi before the signature: the Yokoyama kiku-ichimonji mark
  • Horimono with the Heart Sutra formula, bamboo and plum
  • Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, per the photographs
  • Sori of 2.7 cm: a very deep curve
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, with koshirae and shirasaya
  • Osafune school of Bizen

Points to bear in mind

  • At 66.4 cm of nagasa it falls below the usual length for a katana
  • The signature carries no date
  • The original seller does not describe the fittings of the mounting
  • The horimono cannot be read in the available photographs: a close-up is worth requesting

Score breakdown

55.3/100

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 1 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 4 of 8 66.4 cm: outside the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 5.3 of 10 Rank 66 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest