Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Okachiyama Nagasada, dated 1866 at Aoyama in Edo, with a signed ubu tang and designated Jūyō Tōken at the 48th NBTHK session. Supplied in shirasaya, without mounts.
Katana by Okachiyama Nagasada, a smith from Mino province who, as the signature itself records, forged this blade at Aoyama in Edo. It is shinogi-zukuri with a mitsumune, 70.65 cm in nagasa with 1.3 cm of sori, broad and with an extended kissaki. The photographs show a wide, undulating gunome midare hamon; according to the original seller, the jigane is ko-itame mixed with mokume, with thick jinie and fine chikei, and the hamon combines ō-gunome, round-headed gunome and pointed elements, with ashi, yō, kinsuji and sunagashi. The tang is ubu, with ō-sujikai yasurime with keshō and a single mekugi-ana. It bears the signature 美濃国御勝山麓住藤原永貞 (Mino no kuni Okachiyama-roku-jū Fujiwara Nagasada) and, on the ura, the date 慶應二年八月日於江戸青山造之 (Keiō ninen hachigatsu hi Edo Aoyama ni oite kore o tsukuru). It was designated Jūyō Tōken at the 48th NBTHK session (2002); the origami and the pages of the designation book appear in the photographs. The original seller states that the blade is published in the Nihontō Taikan and offers it in shirasaya, without koshirae.
Strong points
- Jūyō Tōken, 48th NBTHK session, with the origami photographed
- Ubu tang, signed and dated 1866 at Aoyama in Edo
- Wide gunome midare hamon with kinsuji and sunagashi, according to the original seller
- Published in the Nihontō Taikan, according to the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: supplied only in shirasaya, which the original seller declares but which does not appear in the photographs.
- The listing says nothing about the condition or the polish of the blade.
Score
163.6 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+140
NBTHK Jūyō paper +140
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
70.7 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
−6.4
Price: the more affordable, the more points −6.4
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
- 70.7 cm
- Sori
- 1.3 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Jūyō
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Okachiyama Nagasada
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 8th month of Keiō 2 (1866)
- Province
- Mino
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,2 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,35 cm