Kantei

NH-0196 Rank 97

Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisuke

An Osaka katana signed Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisuke and dated 1647, with an intact tang, an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and a black-lacquered koshirae with skull-motif fittings.

Shintō (1596-1780)8th month of Shōhō 4 (1647)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

An early shintō katana signed Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisuke, attributed by the original seller to the second generation of the Kunisuke school of Osaka, founded by a pupil of Horikawa Kunihiro. The blade has a nagasa of 75.7 cm and a sori of 1.8 cm; the photographs show an undulating notare hamon mixed with gunome, a medium-sized kissaki and a blade in polish. The tang appears intact, with a single mekugi-ana, continuous yasurime and the signature on the omote; the ura bears the date 'Shōhō yonen hachigatsu kichijitsu', the 8th month of Shōhō 4 (1647). The blade holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, legible in the photographs and recording both signature and date, together with a Japanese registration card from 1951 and a shirasaya with sayagaki. It comes with a koshirae comprising a black-lacquered saya, a tsuka with same and pale silk wrap, an iron tsuba and fuchi-kashira with skull and insect motifs, and a gilt habaki. The original seller neither describes nor dates the mounting: it is documented only in the photographs.

Strong points

  • Full signature and date on an intact tang: Shōhō 4 (1647)
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, legible in the photographs
  • Kunisuke school of Osaka, in the lineage of Horikawa Kunihiro
  • Complete koshirae with skull-themed fittings
  • Shirasaya with sayagaki included

Points to bear in mind

  • The mounting is neither described nor dated by the original seller: it is documented only in the photographs
  • The tsuka wrap and the sageo appear to have been renewed, judging from the photographs
  • The original seller does not state the blade's condition

Score breakdown

55/100

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 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting -4 of 18 Mounting documented only in the photographs · restored: rewrapped ito and new sageo
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 75.7 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 2 of 10 Rank 111 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest