Kantei

NH-0295 Rank 74

Jinroku Kiyomitsu

Bizen Osafune katana signed by Jinroku Kiyomitsu and dated Tenshō 6 (1578), with horimono, an intact single-ana nakago, shirasaya and a Kasen-style koshirae. Tokubetsu Hozon according to the seller.

Kotō (up to 1596)8th month of Tenshō 6 (1578)BizenNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana by Jinroku Kiyomitsu, a smith of the Osafune school of Bizen working in the Sengoku period (Sue-Bizen). According to the original seller, Kiyomitsu smiths are known by personal names such as Gorōzaemon-no-jō or Magoemon, and the zokumyō “Jinroku” is very rare. Shinogi-zukuri blade of 69.7 cm with a sori of 1.0 cm, high shinogi and an elongated kissaki close to ō-kissaki; the omote carries a sankoken with bonji and the ura gomabashi. The seller describes an itame mixed with mokume, chikei and utsuri, a suguha-based hamon in ko-nie with ashi, and a ko-maru bōshi with a deep return. The nakago, with a single mekugi-ana, katte-sagari yasurime and kurijiri, appears intact in the photographs; it is signed “Bizen no kuni jū Osafune Jinroku Kiyomitsu saku kore” and dated to the 8th month of Tenshō 6 (1578). It comes with a shirasaya and a koshirae the seller describes as modelled on the Kasen koshirae: leather-wrapped tsuka over same, iron mokkō tsuba with gold nunome and a dark, stone-textured lacquered saya with a brown sageo. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper according to the seller; it does not appear in the photographs.

Strong points

  • Full signature with the rare zokumyō “Jinroku” and a date of the 8th month of Tenshō 6 (1578)
  • Horimono: sankoken with bonji on the omote and gomabashi on the ura
  • Nakago with a single mekugi-ana, intact according to the photographs
  • Utsuri and a suguha hamon in ko-nie with ashi, according to the original seller
  • Kasen-style koshirae with an iron tsuba and gold nunome, plus shirasaya
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken declared by the seller

Points to bear in mind

  • The seller does not date the koshirae; it is described only as modelled on the Kasen koshirae
  • The NBTHK paper does not appear in the photographs
  • The seller makes no statement on the blade's condition and the photographs do not allow it to be assessed

Score breakdown

59.4/100

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 18 of 18 Signed and with an engraved date
  2. Tang 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting 1 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 69.7 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 1.4 of 10 Rank 119 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest