Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana signed by Hida no Kami Fujiwara Ujifusa of Owari, Keichō era, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate; kept in shirasaya.
Katana signed 飛騨守藤原氏房 (Hida no Kami Fujiwara Ujifusa), a smith of Owari province. According to the original seller, he was the son of Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa, worked for Oda Nobunaga and received the title Hida no Kami in Tenshō 20 (1592); the listing places the blade around Keichō (1596) and points to its wide, robust shape with an ō-kissaki, typical of early Keichō shintō. It measures 71.0 cm in nagasa and 1.0 cm in sori, with a motohaba of 3.25 cm, a sakihaba of 2.51 cm and a motokasane of 0.75 cm. The photographs show the blade in polish and a tang with two mekugi-ana, the long signature on the omote and an end that looks intact. It is kept in a plain wooden shirasaya with a gold-finished habaki, without koshirae. It holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate from 2019, and the photographs also show an older Kōshu Tokubetsu Kichō Tōken certificate from 1978. The listing says nothing about the condition of the blade.
Strong points
- Signature 飛騨守藤原氏房 (Hida no Kami Fujiwara Ujifusa) on the tang
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate (2019)
- Older Kōshu Tokubetsu Kichō Tōken certificate (1978)
- Wide blade with an ō-kissaki, typical of Keichō shintō according to the original seller
- Tang of intact appearance with two mekugi-ana, according to the photographs
Points to bear in mind
- Offered in shirasaya only, without koshirae.
- The listing does not state the condition of the blade or the date of the polish.
- The listing places it both in the Muromachi period and in Keichō (1596); it is catalogued as early shintō.
Score
83.3 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
−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
+10
71 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+18.3
Price: the more affordable, the more points +18.3
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
- 71 cm
- Sori
- 1 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hida no Kami Ujifusa
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Keichō era (1596–1615)
- Province
- Owari
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,25 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,51 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,75 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,55 cm