Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Chikuzen no Kami Nobuhide, signed and dated 1866, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers, in shirasaya with sayagaki and with its koshirae.
Katana by Chikuzen no Kami Nobuhide, a late Edo-period smith born in Echigo Province and, according to the original seller, a pupil of Minamoto Kiyomaro; he received the title Chikuzen no Kami in 1865. The blade measures 71.21 cm in nagasa with 1.67 cm of sori and, according to the original seller, is wide and thick with a large kissaki, an itame jigane with ji-nie and chikei, and a wide gunome-midare hamon with ashi, abundant nie, sunagashi and kinsuji. The detail photographs show the gunome-midare with well-defined ashi. The tang, which the photographs show intact with one mekugi-ana, is signed 筑前守信秀 (Chikuzen no Kami Nobuhide) on the omote and dated 慶応二年八月日 (Keiō ni-nen hachigatsu hi) on the ura. The NBTHK certified it as Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken (no. 121260, 1990). It is kept in a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki by Tanobe and comes with a koshirae: tsuka with black ito over same, pierced iron tsuba, fuchi-kashira with a gold landscape and a reddish lacquered saya with carved fittings.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers
- Signed and dated: 8th month of Keiō 2 (1866)
- Tang appears intact in the photographs, with one mekugi-ana
- Shirasaya with sayagaki by Tanobe
- Comes with a koshirae with a pierced iron tsuba
Points to bear in mind
- The original listing does not state the condition of the blade.
- The mounting is neither described nor dated by the original seller: it is documented only in the photographs.
Score
94.5 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
0
Mounting the original seller says nothing about 0
-
Blade
+10
71.2 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+4.5
Price: the more affordable, the more points +4.5
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
- 1.7 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting documented only in the photographs
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Kurihara Nobuhide
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 8th month of Keiō 2 (1866)
- Province
- Echigo
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,03 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,33 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,66 cm
- Blade weight
- 760 g
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