Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Bitchū no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, a leading Ishidō smith, with a signed ubu tang bearing a kikumon, designated Jūyō Tōken at the 42nd NBTHK session.
Katana by Bitchū no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, the representative smith of the Kii Ishidō school who later moved to Ōsaka, where the paper's description regards him as the founder of the Ōsaka Ishidō branch. The blade is in shinogi-zukuri with an iori-mune and a chū-kissaki: nagasa 74.1 cm, sori 1.4 cm, motohaba 3.15 cm and sakihaba 2.2 cm. According to the original seller and the paper, the jigane is a tightly forged ko-itame with jinie and soft midare-utsuri; the hamon starts in suguha and opens into chōji-midare mixed with gunome and angular elements, with abundant ashi and yō. The photographs show a tall, lively gunome-chōji hamon along the whole blade. The tang is ubu, with ō-sujikai yasurime with keshō and a single mekugi-ana; the omote bears the signature 備中守橘康廣 (Bitchū no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro) and the ura a chrysanthemum crest, kikumon (菊紋). It was designated Jūyō Tōken at the 42nd NBTHK session on 14 November Heisei 8 (1996); the photographs show the certificate, the oshigata and the description. According to the original seller, it is kept in shirasaya; there is no koshirae.
Strong points
- NBTHK Jūyō Tōken (42nd session, 1996), with certificate and oshigata photographed
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, full signature with the Bitchū no Kami title and a kikumon on the ura
- Tall chōji-midare and gunome hamon with abundant ashi and yō
- Broad, robust blade: 74.1 cm nagasa and 3.15 cm motohaba
Points to bear in mind
- Offered without koshirae; the shirasaya is listed by the original seller but does not appear in the photographs
- The listing says nothing about the condition or polish of the blade
- The blade is undated; the Kanbun era is an attribution based on the smith's working period
Score
161.3 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
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+15
74.1 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
−3.7
Price: the more affordable, the more points −3.7
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
- 74.1 cm
- Sori
- 1.4 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Jūyō
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Kanbun era (1661–1673)
- Province
- Settsu
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,15 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,2 cm