Kantei
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Photographs by the seller at origin.

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

The piece

Katana signed Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisuke and dated 1647, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, an ubu tang, a shirasaya with sayagaki and a black-lacquered koshirae.

Katana signed on the omote of the tang 河内守藤原国助 (Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisuke) and dated on the ura 正保四年八月吉日 (Shōhō yonen hachigatsu kichijitsu), an auspicious day in the eighth month of 1647. The original seller attributes it to the second generation (nidai) of the Kunisuke, smiths working in Ōsaka in Settsu province. The NBTHK certified it Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken (no. 154428, January 2010); the paper gives a nagasa of about 74.2 cm. The original seller lists a sori of 1.8 cm, a motohaba of 2.9 cm, a sakihaba of 2.0 cm and a kasane of 0.7 and 0.5 cm. The photographs show a broadly undulating hamon and an unshortened tang with a single mekugi-ana and a rounded tip. The blade comes with a shirasaya bearing an ink sayagaki and with a koshirae: black-lacquered saya, tsuka with light-coloured ito over same, a gilt double habaki and matching iron fittings (tsuba, fuchi-kashira and menuki) on a skull-and-bones theme. The 1951 registration card from Wakayama prefecture is also included.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers (no. 154428)
  • Signed and dated: 8th month of Shōhō 4 (1647)
  • Ubu tang according to the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana
  • Shirasaya with sayagaki and koshirae with matching iron fittings

Points to bear in mind

  • The listing does not state the condition of the blade or of its polish.
  • The mounting is documented only in the photographs: the original seller neither describes nor dates it; the ito, the sageo and the lacquer of the saya look recent.
  • The sale listing gives a nagasa of 75.7 cm; the NBTHK paper, about 74.2 cm.

Score

87.4 pointscurrent max. 255

  1. Certificate +50

    NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50

  2. Tang +20

    Tang intact according to the photographs +20

  3. Declared condition −20

    The original seller says nothing about the condition −20

  4. Signature and date +25

    Signed and with an engraved date +25

  5. Mounting −20

    Mounting the original seller says nothing about 0 · relacquered saya −10 · rewrapped ito −5 · new sageo −5

  6. Blade +15

    74.2 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15

  7. Shirasaya +5

    With a storage shirasaya +5

  8. Price +12.4

    Price: the more affordable, the more points +12.4

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).

Nagasa
74.2 cm
Sori
1.8 cm
Tang
Intact according to the photographs
Certificate
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
Mounting
Mounting documented only in the photographs
Storage shirasaya
Yes
Period
Shintō (1596-1780)
Dating
8th month of Shōhō 4 (1647)
Mekugi-ana
1
Condition
Condition not declared
Signed
Yes
With an engraved date
Yes
Motohaba
2,9 cm
Sakihaba
2,0 cm
Motokasane
0,7 cm
Sakikasane
0,5 cm

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