Kantei

NH-0387 Rank 32

Bizen Osafune Kiyomitsu

備前國住長船清光作

Signed and dated katana by Kiyomitsu of Osafune, sue-Bizen, with an ubu tang and an uchigatana mounting with a black ishime lacquer saya.

Kotō (up to 1596)8th month of Eiroku 6 (1563)Bizen (Osafune)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana signed by Kiyomitsu of the Osafune school in Bizen province, a name widely used among the sue-Bizen smiths of the late Muromachi period. The blade measures 67.1 cm nagasa with 1.6 cm sori and is made in hon-zukuri with iori-mune. The original seller describes a tightly packed itame with mokume, fine ji-nie, chikei and a faint midare-utsuri; the hamon is a hiro-suguha with a gentle undulation, gunome and ko-midare, well-set ko-nie, yubashiri, active ko-ashi and yō, frequent kinsuji and sunagashi and a bright nioiguchi, features he attributes to the characteristic work of this workshop. The photographs show an ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana and the characters of the signature and the date cut on its two faces. The blade comes with a complete uchigatana mounting, with a black ishime lacquer saya, an openwork iron tsuba, fuchi-kashira and menuki over same and wrap, plus a spare shirasaya. The original seller states a Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate for the blade.

Strong points

  • Signed and dated work by Kiyomitsu of Osafune, sue-Bizen of the late Muromachi period
  • Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, signature and date complete
  • Hiro-suguha with ko-nie, yō, kinsuji and sunagashi over a tight itame, according to the original seller
  • Complete uchigatana mounting with black ishime lacquer saya and openwork iron tsuba
  • Spare shirasaya in addition to the mounting
  • Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken stated by the original seller

Points to bear in mind

  • The certificate does not appear in any photograph: the level comes from the original seller's statement.
  • The original seller describes the mounting but does not date it.
  • There is no explicit statement about the blade's state of preservation.

Score breakdown

67.1/100

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 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 6 of 8 67.1 cm: close to the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 5.1 of 10 Rank 68 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest