Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shintō katana of the Hōjōji school of Edo, signed and from the Enpō era, with an intact tang, a gold-foiled double habaki and a declared NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Katana of the Hōjōji school, an Edo lineage (Musashi province) known for the cutting quality of its blades, placed by the original seller around the Enpō era. The tang bears the signature 近江守法城寺橘正弘 (Ōmi no Kami Hōjōji Tachibana Masahiro). The blade measures 70.9 cm in nagasa with 1.61 cm of sori, 3.06 cm motohaba and 2.06 cm sakihaba: standard proportions, a somewhat long tang and a kissaki tending to extend. According to the original seller, the jigane is a very tight ko-itame with mokume and itame, covered in fine ji-nie; the hamon is a ko-gunome midare with a deep, bright nioiguchi, hotsure, ashi, sunagashi, kinsuji and yubashiri, and the bōshi runs in a gentle notare and turns back in komaru with hakikake. The photographs show a small gunome hamon and an intact tang with a single mekugi-ana. It comes with a gold-foiled double habaki and, according to the listing, is kept in shirasaya. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Strong points
- Signed 近江守法城寺橘正弘 (Ōmi no Kami Hōjōji Tachibana Masahiro), Hōjōji school of Edo
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, according to the original seller
- Intact tang with a single mekugi-ana, per the photographs
- Ko-gunome midare hamon with rich nie activity, according to the original seller
- Gold-foiled double habaki
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: the blade is offered in shirasaya, declared in the listing but not shown in any photograph
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
- The blade is undated; the Enpō era is the original seller's attribution
- The listing does not state the blade's condition or the date of polish
Score
86.2 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
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
70.9 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+21.2
Price: the more affordable, the more points +21.2
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
- 70.9 cm
- Sori
- 1.6 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hōjōji Masahiro
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Enpō era (1673–1681)
- Province
- Musashi
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,06 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,06 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,61 cm