Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Hizen blade of the Kanbun era, with a showy gunome-midare, a very legible hada and a red-lacquered koshirae. With shirasaya and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Katana signed 肥前佐賀住藤原正長 (Hizen Saga-jū Fujiwara Masanaga), of the Kanbun era (1661-1673). The original seller stresses that Masanaga was particularly skilled at carving. Hizen enjoyed an advantage over other provinces: Nagasaki was the only port open to foreign trade, with the Dutch, so techniques and information reached it that did not reach other schools, and its smiths earned a reputation for precision. The Kanbun era also marks the point at which the samurai ceased to be a full-time warrior and became an official: he wore a sword by obligation but rarely used it, hence the straight, barely curved outline typical of the period, which this blade shows with 1.06 cm of sori over 71.2 cm of nagasa. The hamon is a showy gunome-midare and the hada is very legible. The photographs show the tang with two mekugi-ana and mottled rust, and a clean blade in every frame. It is supplied with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, shirasaya and a koshirae with red saya and cream tsuka, together with a carrying case and a maintenance kit.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, with shirasaya and koshirae
- Showy gunome-midare hamon over a very legible hada
- Koshirae with red saya and cream tsuka
- Hizen, one of the best-known schools of the shintō period
- The original seller underlines Masanaga's skill at carving
- Supplied with a carrying case and a maintenance kit
Points to bear in mind
- The signature carries no date
- Two mekugi-ana, and the condition of the tang is not stated: it can only be judged from the photographs
- The photographs show mottled rust on the tang
Score
74.4 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
−20
Shortened tang (suriage) −20
-
Declared condition
−5
The original seller declares flaws 0 · small kitae-ware, away from the edge −5
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−5
Mounting described, undated +5 · new habaki −10
-
Blade
+10
71.2 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+24.4
Price: the more affordable, the more points +24.4
The score adds and subtracts points for each feature of the piece and has no ceiling: the highest in the catalogue today is 255. 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).
Measurements
- Nagasa
- 71.2 cm
- Sori
- 1.1 cm
- Tang
- Shortened tang (suriage)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hizen Masanaga
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Early Edo period, Kanbun era (1661–1673)
- Province
- prov. de Hizen
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Minor flaws declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
A new mounting or a polish for your blade? Custom koshirae · Polishing