Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Signed katana by Higashiyama Yoshihira of Yamashiro, with a commission inscription on the ura, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and published in the Shintō Taikan; kept in shirasaya with a sayagaki by Kanzan.
Katana by Higashiyama Yoshihira, a Kyoto smith (Yamashiro province) active in the early Edo period, whom the original seller links to the Umetada Myōju school. The blade measures 69.4 cm in nagasa with 1.7 cm of sori; according to the original seller it has a solid width and thickness and an extended kissaki, a jigane of itame mixed with masame and ji-nie, and a hamon with a deep nioiguchi turning into gunome-midare towards the point, with a rounded bōshi and long yakisage. The photographs show the gunome-midare in close-ups. The tang, intact according to the photographs and with one mekugi-ana, is signed on the omote 東山住美平 (Higashiyama-jū Yoshihira) and bears on the ura the inscription 主昌就娘伊和授 (probable reading: Aruji Masanari musume Iwa sazuku), which according to the original seller records that the blade was commissioned for a daughter. It is kept in shirasaya with a sayagaki by Kanzan dated May 1967, and a gold-foiled double habaki. It holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper issued in 2023 and is published in the Shintō Taikan, vol. 1, p. 883.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (2023)
- Published in the Shintō Taikan, vol. 1, p. 883
- Signature on the omote and commission inscription on the ura of the tang
- Tang intact according to the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana
- Shirasaya with sayagaki by Kanzan (1967) and gold-foiled double habaki
Points to bear in mind
- No mounting: the blade comes in shirasaya only.
- The listing does not state the condition or polish of the blade.
- The tang bears no engraved date; the dating is by period.
Score
69.5 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
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
69.4 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+4.5
Price: the more affordable, the more points +4.5
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
- 69.4 cm
- Sori
- 1.7 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Tenna era (1681–1684)
- Province
- Yamashiro
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,09 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,2 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,53 cm
- Blade weight
- 635 g