Kantei

NH-0261 Rank 89

Kazusa-no-suke Kaneshige

Shintō katana signed Kazusa-no-suke Kaneshige with a gold-inlaid cutting-test inscription by Yamano Nagahisa (1661), NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate, shirasaya with sayagaki and a koshirae with shakudō and gold fittings.

Shintō (1596-1780)Kanbun era (1661–1673)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana signed Kazusa-no-suke Kaneshige, a shintō smith whom the original seller places in Edo during the Kanbun era; the seller points out that the signature is cut in reisho (clerical) script, something they say they had not seen before on this smith. The blade has a nagasa of 73.9 cm and a sori of 1.0 cm. According to the seller, the jigane is a tight ko-itame with nie, and the hamon a gentle notare mixed with gunome, with thick ashi, deep nioi and, on the ura towards the monouchi, yubashiri reaching the shinogi-ji and sunagashi. The tang is ubu with two mekugi-ana and bears on the ura a gold-inlaid cutting-test inscription: two bodies cut in the second month of Manji 4 (1661) by Yamano Kaemon-no-jō Nagahisa. The sword comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, legible in the photographs, and a shirasaya with sayagaki. It is accompanied by a koshirae with a textured black-lacquer saya, a tsuka with pale ito over same, and shakudō fittings with gold dragons among clouds; the tsuba carries a signature legible in the photographs, which reads as Yanagawa Naotoki. The seller adds that the sword was used at an appreciation meeting at NBTHK headquarters, and the photographs include pages of the related publication with the oshigata of the tang.

Strong points

  • Gold-inlaid cutting-test inscription: two bodies, second month of Manji 4 (1661), by Yamano Kaemon-no-jō Nagahisa
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, legible in the photographs
  • Ubu tang signed Kazusa-no-suke Kaneshige in reisho script
  • Koshirae with shakudō fittings and gold dragons; tsuba with a legible signature
  • Shirasaya with sayagaki
  • According to the original seller, shown at an appreciation meeting at NBTHK headquarters, with pages of the publication photographed

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller neither dates nor describes the mounting: its assessment rests on the photographs alone
  • The tsuka wrap looks clean and tight in the photographs, which suggests it has been redone
  • The original seller makes no statement about the condition of the blade
  • The date inscribed on the tang is that of the cutting test, not of the forging

Score breakdown

56.4/100

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 10 of 18 Signed, with no engraved date
  2. Tang 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the seller at origin, with 2 mekugi-ana
  3. Mounting 3 of 18 Mounting documented only in the photographs · with a signed fitting · restored: rewrapped ito
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 73.9 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 0.4 of 10 Rank 130 of 136 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest