Kantei

NH-0338 Rank 23

Jirōtarō Naokatsu

Jūyō Tōken katana by Jirōtarō Naokatsu, pupil and adopted son of Naotane, signed and dated Tenpō 13 (1842), with ubu tang, shirasaya and black-lacquered koshirae.

Shintō (1596-1780)10th month of Tenpō 13 (1842)MusashiNBTHK Jūyō

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana by Jirōtarō Naokatsu (Shōji Jirōtarō), pupil and later adopted son of Taikei Naotane, smith to the Akimoto family of the Tatebayashi domain. A large shinshintō blade in shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune, nagasa 80.3 cm and sori 2.1 cm; according to the original seller, a rare, powerful piece whose workmanship stands beside Naotane's own. Ko-itame hada mixed with mokume, thick ji-nie, chikei and a faint utsuri; hamon of notare with gunome, chōji and togari-leaning elements, with a soft nioi-guchi, abundant ashi and yō, kinsuji and sunagashi. The tang is ubu with a single mekugi-ana, signed 次郎太郎直勝 on one side and dated 天保壬寅年十月日 on the other; the photographs confirm both signature and date. Designated Jūyō Tōken by the NBTHK at the 68th session; the certificate, the oshigata and the explanatory text are photographed. Supplied with a shirasaya and an uchigatana-koshirae with black roiro-lacquered saya, same-covered tsuka with brown ito, openwork iron tsuba and horn kashira, which the seller describes but does not date.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Jūyō Tōken (68th session), with certificate, oshigata and explanatory text photographed
  • Ubu tang with signature and date: 10th month of Tenpō 13 (1842)
  • Large blade with a nagasa of 80.3 cm
  • Pupil and adopted son of Taikei Naotane
  • Comes with shirasaya and black-lacquered uchigatana-koshirae

Points to bear in mind

  • The mounting is described but not dated
  • The original seller's listing gives the 11th month; the certificate and oshigata read the 10th month
  • The certificate records a nagasa of 80.7 cm against the 80.3 cm of the listing

Score breakdown

68.4/100

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 22 of 22 Tang intact according to the seller at origin
  3. Mounting 1 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
  4. Declared condition 17 of 20 Sound condition according to the seller at origin
  5. Blade 6 of 8 80.3 cm: close to the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 0.4 of 10 Rank 131 of 136 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest