Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shinshintō katana signed and dated by Okachiyama Nagasada in Edo in 1866, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, kept in shirasaya with sayagaki.
Nagasada, a smith of the Akasaka Senjuin school of Mino, settled in Aoyama (Edo) after training under Taikei Naotane and, according to the original seller, served as a retained smith of the Kishū Tokugawa house; he is listed in the Shinshintō Taikan. This katana has a nagasa of 75.76 cm and a sori of 1.52 cm, with a wide mihaba, thick kasane and an extended kissaki. According to the original seller, the jigane is a fine ko-itame with ji-nie and chikei, and the hamon, in nie-deki, is gunome-midare with kinsuji; the photographs show the gunome-midare along the whole blade. The tang, with two mekugi-ana and no sign of shortening in the photographs, is signed 美濃国御勝山麓住人藤原永貞 (Mino no kuni Okachiyama-sanroku jūnin Fujiwara Nagasada) and carries on the ura 慶應二年八月日於江戸青山造之 (Keiō ninen hachigatsu hi Edo Aoyama ni oite kore o tsukuru). It has a gold-plated double habaki and is kept in a shirasaya with a sayagaki signed Seizan, describing it as a healthy work among the smith's finest. It holds NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers issued in 2005. It is offered without koshirae.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers
- Signed and dated 8th month of Keiō 2 (1866), forged in Aoyama (Edo)
- Tang intact according to the photographs, with two mekugi-ana
- Blade described as healthy by the original seller and listed in the Shinshintō Taikan
- Shirasaya with sayagaki and gold-plated double habaki
Points to bear in mind
- Offered in shirasaya only, without koshirae.
- The sayagaki is an expert opinion and is not part of the NBTHK papers.
Score
140.3 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs, with 2 mekugi-ana +20
-
Declared condition
+30
Healthy according to the original seller +30
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+15
75.8 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+10.3
Price: the more affordable, the more points +10.3
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
- 75.8 cm
- Sori
- 1.5 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Okachiyama Nagasada
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 8th month of Keiō 2 (1866)
- Province
- Mino
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Sound condition according to the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,28 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,15 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,68 cm
- Blade weight
- 785 g