Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by the second-generation Sukehiro of Ōsaka, around the Manji era, in a nie-based suguha unusual for him; signed ubu tang and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Katana signed 越前守源助廣 (Echizen no Kami Minamoto Sukehiro), the work of the second-generation Sukehiro, one of the great smiths of the Ōsaka shintō school. According to the original seller, he received the title Echizen no Kami in 1657 and is renowned as the creator of tōran-ba, the large billowing-wave hamon; this blade, by contrast, shows a nie-based suguha with kuichigai-ba and ko-ashi within a deep nioiguchi, and a fine ko-itame jigane with jinie, which the original seller links to the feel of the Yamato tradition. The blade is wide and thick, with a nagasa of 77.1 cm, a sori of 0.6 cm and a weight of 856 g. The photographs show a tang that appears intact, with a single mekugi-ana, a rounded tip and the signature on the omote. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, issued in 2014, places it around the Manji era. It is kept in shirasaya with a gold-foiled double habaki; there is no koshirae.
Strong points
- Work of the second-generation Sukehiro, a master of Ōsaka shintō
- Nie-based suguha, unusual for a smith known for tōran-ba
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, photographed
- Signed ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana
- Wide, thick 77.1 cm blade with gold-foiled double habaki
Points to bear in mind
- Offered in shirasaya only, without koshirae
- The listing does not state the blade's condition or polish
- Very shallow sori of 0.6 cm
Score
85.5 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
+15
77.1 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+15.5
Price: the more affordable, the more points +15.5
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
- 77.1 cm
- Sori
- 0.6 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Manji era (1658–1661)
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,2 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,1 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,8 cm
- Blade weight
- 856 g