Kantei

NH-0391 Rank 69

Osafune Sōzaemon no Jō Sukesada

備前國住長船宗左衛門尉祐定

Kotō katana from the Osafune school of Bizen, signed by Sōzaemon no Jō Sukesada around the Genki era, with an intact tang with a single mekugi-ana, shirasaya and complete koshirae.

Kotō (up to 1596)Around the Genki era (1570–1573)Bizen (Osafune)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

A kotō-period blade forged at Osafune, Bizen province, by Sōzaemon no Jō Sukesada, one of the leading masters of the last generation of Sukesada smiths, active around the Genki era. The nagasa is 70.9 cm and the sori 1.6 cm. The photographs show a notare hamon with gunome in nioi deki and a kissaki of moderate proportions. The tang, with a rounded tip, retains a single mekugi-ana and bears a long signature on the omote: Bizen no Kuni jū Osafune Sōzaemon no Jō Sukesada; there is no engraved date. The piece comes with a shirasaya and a complete koshirae: black lacquered saya, tsuka with same and black ito wrapping, a lobed iron tsuba with four small openings, dark fuchi and kashira decorated with karakusa and a mon of three bars within a circle, and a white-metal habaki with a textured lower section. According to the source data, the blade holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, which does not appear in the photographs.

Strong points

  • Long signature of Sōzaemon no Jō Sukesada, Osafune school of Bizen
  • Intact tang with a single mekugi-ana
  • Complete koshirae with fuchi and kashira bearing a mon
  • Supplied with shirasaya
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper according to the source data

Points to bear in mind

  • The paper does not appear in the photographs.
  • There is no statement about the condition or polish of the blade.
  • The koshirae is neither dated nor described in writing; it is documented only by the photographs.
  • The blade bears no engraved date; the Genki-era dating is an attribution.

Score breakdown

60/100

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 10 of 18 Signed, with no 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 8 of 8 70.9 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 4 of 10 Rank 84 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest