NH-0057 Rank 130
Uda Sanekuni
宇多真國
Late Muromachi kotō blade of the Uda school of Etchū, 73.8 cm nagasa, with Tokubetsu Hozon papers; supplied with koshirae and shirasaya.
Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
The Uda school was founded by Kunimitsu at the end of the Kamakura period: he came from Uda-gun in Yamato and moved to Etchū with his pupils. It became the leading school of the Hokuriku region and made its name forging working blades, tough and practical, much in demand during the wars of the Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods, when very long swords were also in fashion. A distinction is drawn between Ko-Uda, up to the Nanbokuchō, and Uda, already in the Muromachi; this blade belongs to the second group. Four generations used the name Sanekuni, and the piece is the work of one of them, without the source specifying which. It measures 73.8 cm nagasa with 1.4 cm sori, and is placed in Etchū, present-day Toyama prefecture, in the late sixteenth century. The tang shows a deep patina. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers are included, along with koshirae and shirasaya.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon on a kotō blade
- 73.8 cm nagasa with 1.4 cm sori
- Uda school, the leading school of the Hokuriku region
- Tang with a deep patina
- Supplied with koshirae and shirasaya
Points to bear in mind
- Three mekugi-ana and the signature close to the tip of the tang: the blade has been shortened, as is to be expected in a Muromachi kotō
- The photographs show a lengthwise line in the ji, consistent with a ware
- The original seller does not state the condition of the tang
Score breakdown
43.3/100
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).
- Signature and date 10 of 18 Signed, with no engraved date
- Tang 9 of 22 Full-length tang with machi-okuri, but with 3 mekugi-ana
- Mounting -3 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin · restored: relacquered or new saya, new habaki and new sageo
- Declared condition 8 of 20 Localised flaw declared
- Blade 8 of 8 73.8 cm: within the usable range
- Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
- Price 7.3 of 10 Rank 38 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest