Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shinshintō katana by Tairyūsai Sōkan, pupil of Koyama Munetsugu, signed and dated 1866, with an ubu tang and a declared Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Katana by Tairyūsai Sōkan, an Edo smith trained under Koyama Munetsugu and, according to the original seller, retained by the Koga domain in Shimōsa. The blade is in shinogi-zukuri with a mitsu-mune; it is wide, with a thick kasane, little taper from base to tip, a shallow sori and an extended chū-kissaki. According to the original seller, the jigane is a tightly forged ko-itame with fine ji-nie and chikei, and the hamon is a ko-gunome with even heads, plentiful ashi, nioi-based with some ko-nie and sunagashi; the bōshi enters in midare and turns back in ko-maru. The tang is ubu, with a kurijiri tip, sujikai yasurime with keshō and one mekugi-ana, as the photographs show. It is signed 泰龍斎宗寛造之 (Tairyūsai Sōkan kore o tsukuru) and dated 慶応二年五月日 (Keiō ni-nen gogatsu hi). The original seller declares a top-grade polish and an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper issued in March 2022. It is kept in shirasaya with a single-piece gold-foiled habaki; it has no mounting.
Strong points
- Signed and dated: 5th month of Keiō 2 (1866)
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
- Top-grade polish declared
- Wide blade with a thick kasane and an extended chū-kissaki
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: the blade is offered in shirasaya only
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
- No close-ups of the hamon or jigane; their description comes from the original seller
Score
159.3 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
+40
Healthy according to the original seller +30 · recent polish +10
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
71.4 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+19.3
Price: the more affordable, the more points +19.3
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
- 71.4 cm
- Sori
- 1.6 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Tairyūsai Sōkan
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 5th month of Keiō 2 (1866)
- Province
- Musashi
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Recent polish declared by the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,15 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,4 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,75 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,55 cm