Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Ōsaka shintō katana signed 和泉守藤原国貞 (Izumi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisada), with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers and a mounting bearing paulownia crests.
Blade by Izumi no Kami Kunisada, a smith of the Horikawa school who, according to the original seller, studied under Horikawa Kunihiro and, having settled in Ōsaka alongside Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke, laid the foundations of Ōsaka shintō. According to the listing, the tang is signed 和泉守藤原国貞 (Izumi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisada); the signature cannot be read in the low-resolution photographs. The blade measures 75.7 cm in nagasa with 1.6 cm of sori, a motohaba of 3.2 cm and a sakihaba of 2.2 cm: a robust shape. The original seller describes a hamon of gunome mixed with chōji, rich in nie and with sunagashi, a deeply turned-back bōshi and hardening also on the mune. The photographs show a tang that appears intact, with a single mekugi-ana. The mounting is documented only by the photographs: tsuka with white same and black ito, a round tsuba with gold paulownia (kiri) crests, matching kashira and menuki, kozuka and kōgai with the same crest, and a brown lacquered saya with stepped ridges. The original seller declares NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, according to the original seller.
- Signed work by a Horikawa school smith linked to the beginnings of Ōsaka shintō.
- Robust shape: 75.7 cm nagasa and 3.2 cm motohaba.
- Mounting with the paulownia crest on tsuba, kashira, menuki, kozuka and kōgai.
- Tang that appears intact, with a single mekugi-ana, according to the photographs.
Points to bear in mind
- The listing says nothing about the condition of the blade or its polish.
- The mounting is neither dated nor described by the original seller; the tight, clean ito and the unworn lacquer of the saya suggest they have been redone.
- The signature cannot be read in the available photographs and the smith's generation is not established.
- The NBTHK paper does not appear in the photographs.
Score
81.1 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
−12
Mounting the original seller says nothing about 0 · family crests (mon): 1 +3 · relacquered saya −10 · rewrapped ito −5
-
Blade
+15
75.7 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15
-
Shirasaya
0
No shirasaya: one will have to be made 0
-
Price
+13.1
Price: the more affordable, the more points +13.1
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
- 75.7 cm
- Sori
- 1.6 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting documented only in the photographs
- Storage shirasaya
- No
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Edo period (shintō)
- Province
- Settsu
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,2 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,2 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,7 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,6 cm
A new mounting or a polish for your blade? Custom koshirae · Polishing