Katsuie

Description

Katsuie of Kaga is held to be a son of Echizen Chiyozuru Kunitsugu, of the Rai Kuniyasu line; he moved to Kaga around the Ōei era (1394) and founded the Kaga Darani school, which in the Edo period enjoyed Maeda patronage until the end of the shogunate. The blade, signed 勝家, is heavily shortened but keeps a good outline, with a clear difference between moto and saki: 67.7 cm nagasa, 1.3 cm sori, 29.8 mm motohaba and 6.9 mm motokasane; it weighs 696 g bare and 938 g mounted. The hada is ko-itame with mokume, finely worked and tight; the hamon a ko-notare with gunome, a clear nioi-guchi and fine nie along the edge, with one gunome hardened at the level of the yokote; the bōshi is straight with a rounded tip. The tang is ō-suriage and carries five mekugi-ana, plainly visible in the photographs. Three documents accompany it: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon dated 22 August 2025, a 正真刀 certificate from the Tōken Kenkyū Rengōkai, and a third paper with oshigata. The uchigatana koshirae, in black rō-nuri lacquer, was commissioned by a collector specifically for this blade: navy ito over same, gilt menuki, a dark oval tsuba with plum and gold detail, two sets of gilt seppa and a plated suaka habaki with relief carving. Shirasaya and tsunagi included.