Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Suketaka dated 1794, with a tōran-style hamon, ubu tang and Tokubetsu Hozon paper, accompanied by a late-Edo koshirae and, according to the original seller, its shirasaya.
Suketaka, active in Settsu during the shinshintō period, is one of the great exponents of tōran-ba, the wave-like hamon created by Sukehiro. According to the original seller, he received the title Nagato no Kami in 1798 and died in 1805; this blade, from 1794, belongs to his full maturity. It is shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune and chū-kissaki, with a nagasa of 72.8 cm, a sori of 1.5 cm and a motohaba of 3.35 cm. The seller describes a tight ko-itame jigane with areas of flowing itame, abundant ji-nie and chikei, and a tōran-style gunome midare with bright nie, ashi, nie-suji and tobiyaki; the photographs clearly show the broad undulations of the hamon. The tang is ubu, with ō-sujikai yasurime and one mekugi-ana, signed 尾崎源五右衛門助隆 (Ozaki Gengoemon Suketaka) and dated 寛政六年二月日 (Kansei rokunen nigatsu hi). It has a two-piece silver habaki. It comes with an uchigatana koshirae that the seller places in the late Edo period: saya in matte red-and-black ishime lacquer, an iron Shingen-style tsuba with brass wire, iron fuchi-kashira with an inlaid mon and a dragon, and menuki of a dragon coiled around a sword. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, issued in 2014.
Strong points
- Tōran hamon by one of the great specialists of the style
- Ubu tang, signed and dated 1794
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper
- Late-Edo koshirae, according to the original seller, with an inlaid mon on the fuchi-kashira
- Wide, robust blade: 3.35 cm motohaba and 0.89 cm motokasane
Points to bear in mind
- The polish is old, of the period, according to the original seller.
- The shirasaya is stated in the listing, but no photograph shows it.
- The koshirae has no paper of its own and no signed fittings are declared.
Score
211.1 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
+30
Healthy according to the original seller +30
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+53
Mounting from the same period as the blade +50 · family crests (mon): 1 +3
-
Blade
+10
72.8 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+13.1
Price: the more affordable, the more points +13.1
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
- 72.8 cm
- Sori
- 1.5 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Period mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Suketaka
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 2nd month of Kansei 6 (1794)
- Province
- Settsu
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Sound condition according to the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,35 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,34 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,89 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,69 cm
- Length when mounted
- 102,5 cm
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