Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Kotō katana from Mino signed by Kanefusa and dated the 8th month of Eishō 9 (1512), with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, lacquered mounting and shirasaya.
Late Muromachi katana forged in Mino province by a later-generation Kanefusa, according to the NBTHK paper. Kanefusa is a name handed down over several generations in Seki, the heart of the Mino-den tradition, and the original seller notes that the line is credited with the hamon known as Kanefusa-midare. The blade measures 68.4 cm in nagasa with 2.27 cm of sori, according to the registration card. The tang, shown intact in the photographs with its old patina, has two mekugi-ana; the omote is signed 兼房作 (Kanefusa saku) and the ura dated 永正九年八月吉日 (Eishō kunen hachigatsu kichijitsu). It comes with its shirasaya and a complete mounting: wrapped tsuka, tsuba, fuchi-kashira and menuki, a kōgai and a dark red lacquered saya, which the original seller describes as carved tsuishu lacquer. The fittings and the kōgai repeat the go-san no kiri (五三桐) paulownia crest with karakusa arabesques. The NBTHK certified it as Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken in 2003.
Strong points
- Signed and dated: 兼房作 (Kanefusa saku), 永正九年八月吉日 (Eishō kunen hachigatsu kichijitsu)
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, photographed
- Intact tang according to the photographs
- Complete mounting with kiri crest, plus shirasaya
Points to bear in mind
- The listing says nothing about the condition of the blade
- The mounting is not dated by the original seller
- One of the two mekugi-ana appears plugged in the photographs
Score
98.5 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs, with 2 mekugi-ana +20
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+8
Mounting described, undated +5 · family crests (mon): 1 +3
-
Blade
+5
68.4 cm: close to the usable range +5
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+5.5
Price: the more affordable, the more points +5.5
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
- 68.4 cm
- Sori
- 2.3 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Seki Kanefusa
- Period
- Kotō (up to 1596)
- Dating
- 8th month of Eishō 9 (1512)
- Province
- Mino
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
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