Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shinshintō katana by Enryūshi Kunihide, pupil of Ikkansai Yoshihiro, dated 1861 in Kamakura, with ubu tang, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a sayagaki by Satō Kanzan.
Enryūshi Kunihide was a pupil of Ikkansai Yoshihiro; he first worked for the Annaka domain in Kōzuke and later settled in Kamakura, Sagami province. His work belongs to the so-called «hada-mono» of the shinshintō period, with a strongly visible grain. This katana, with a nagasa of 75.4 cm and a sori of 2.1 cm, is shinogi-zukuri with an iori-mune, thick kasane and a slightly extended kissaki. According to the original seller, the jigane is itame mixed with mokume and masame, with thick chikei, and the hamon is a shallow notare with gunome, pointed and small chōji elements, sunagashi and tobiyaki; the photographs show a lively undulating hamon. The tang is ubu, with a kurijiri tip, double decorative yasurime and one mekugi-ana, signed 相州鎌倉住立花国秀作 (Sōshū Kamakura-jū Tachibana Kunihide saku) and dated 文久元年八月日 (Bunkyū gannen hachigatsu hi). It is kept in shirasaya with a double gold-plated habaki. The 1971 sayagaki by Satō Kanzan praises it as 此作現存尠出来亦佳 (kono saku genson sukunashi, deki mata yoshi), «a rare work, and well made». The original seller states an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper issued in 2004.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, according to the original seller
- Ubu tang, signed and dated 1861
- Sayagaki by Satō Kanzan, calling it a rare and accomplished work
- Broad blade of nearly 2 shaku 5 sun, typical of shinshintō
- Double gold-plated habaki
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: offered in shirasaya only
- The listing says nothing about the condition or polish of the blade
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
- The original listing title links it to Sakamoto Ryōma, but Ryōma's documented Kunihide blade is a different one, dated 1854
Score
106.7 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+15
75.4 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+21.7
Price: the more affordable, the more points +21.7
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
- 75.4 cm
- Sori
- 2.1 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Enryūshi Kunihide
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 8th month of Bunkyū 1 (1861)
- Province
- Sagami
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,0 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,1 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,8 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,65 cm