Kantei

NH-0154 Rank 50

Tsushima no Kami Tsunemitsu

Jūyō Tōken katana by Tsushima no Kami Tsunemitsu of the Edo Ishidō school, signed and dated Kanbun 1 (1661), with ubu tang, gold nashiji lacquer koshirae bearing family crests, and shirasaya.

Shintō (1596-1780)8th month of Kanbun 1 (1661)MusashiNBTHK Jūyō

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana by Tsushima no Kami Tsunemitsu, one of the masters of the Edo Ishidō school, the shintō line that revived the chōji-midare of the old Ichimonji smiths. According to the original seller, Tsunemitsu, of the Heki family, came from Ōmi and worked in Edo alongside Mitsuhira and Munehiro. The blade, with a nagasa of 74.2 cm and a sori of 1.4 cm, shows a chōji-midare hamon mixed with jūka-chōji and gunome, with abundant ashi and yō, typical of the smith. The tang is ubu, with kurijiri and a single mekugi-ana; it bears the signature “Tsushima no Kami Tachibana Tsunemitsu” on the omote and the date “a day in the eighth month of Kanbun 1” (1661) on the ura. The blade was designated Jūyō Tōken by the NBTHK at the 22nd session (June 1974); the photographs show the certificate, the zufu page and the oshigata. It comes with a koshirae featuring a gold nashiji lacquer saya decorated with family crests (mon), a tsuka wrapped in gold silk over same, a dark tsuba with bamboo in gold relief and a matching sageo, together with a shirasaya. The original seller neither describes nor dates the mounting.

Strong points

  • Designated Jūyō Tōken by the NBTHK (22nd session, 1974)
  • Signed and dated: Kanbun 1 (1661), a rare date in the smith's work
  • Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana
  • Exuberant chōji-midare hamon in the Edo Ishidō manner
  • Gold nashiji lacquer koshirae with family crests, shirasaya included

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller neither describes nor dates the mounting; the tsuka wrap appears to have been renewed
  • The original seller does not state the condition of the blade
  • No close-up of the tang: the signature is seen in the full-blade photograph and in the oshigata

Score breakdown

62.2/100

The score shares out 100 points: Signature and date 18 · Tang 22 · Mounting 18 · Declared condition 20 · Blade 8 · Shirasaya 4 · Price 10. 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).

  1. Signature and date 18 of 18 Signed and with an engraved date
  2. Tang 22 of 22 Tang intact according to the seller at origin
  3. Mounting -1 of 18 Mounting documented only in the photographs · with a family crest (mon) · restored: rewrapped ito
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 74.2 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 0.2 of 10 Rank 133 of 136 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest