Kantei

NH-0394 Rank 52

Hisakatsu

Mino katana signed by Hisakatsu of the Akasaka Senjuin school and dated 1513, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, shirasaya and a modern tachi-style koshirae.

Kotō (up to 1596)10th month of Eishō 10 (1513)MinoNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana from Mino province signed Nōshū Sōdōjima Sugawara no Jō Hisakatsu and dated to the tenth month of Eishō 10 (1513), in the late Muromachi period. According to the original seller, Hisakatsu worked between the Meiō and Eishō eras within the Akasaka Senjuin school, a branch of the Yamato tradition settled in Mino, and his work retains traits of that tradition. The blade measures 73.9 cm nagasa with 2.7 cm sori. In the photographs the tang is ubu, with a single mekugi-ana, the long signature on the omote and the date on the ura. The original seller warns of a couple of kitae-kizu on the mune and of a mark it interprets as a homare-kizu; the photographs show those small flaws on the back. The blade holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, issued on 4 December 2024 under no. 1023378 and legible in the photographs. It comes in shirasaya together with a tachi-style koshirae that the original seller itself presents as a decorative mounting: nashiji lacquered saya with chrysanthemum and paulownia mon, a mokkō tsuba with inome openings on a nanako ground, and fittings bearing crests. The whole mounting looks modern, with no dating and no papers of its own.

Strong points

  • Long signature and full date on the tang: tenth month of Eishō 10 (1513), late Muromachi
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate (2024), legible in the photographs
  • Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana, as seen in the photographs
  • Akasaka Senjuin school (Mino), with traits of the Yamato tradition
  • Long blade: 73.9 cm nagasa and 2.7 cm sori

Points to bear in mind

  • A couple of kitae-kizu on the mune and a homare-kizu mark, declared by the original seller and visible in the photographs
  • The tachi-style koshirae is a modern decorative mounting, according to the original seller itself; undated and without papers
  • The chrysanthemum and paulownia mon on the mounting are decorative and do not establish provenance

Score breakdown

62.2/100

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 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting 2 of 18 Modern mounting · with a family crest (mon)
  4. Declared condition 13 of 20 Minor flaws declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 73.9 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 1.2 of 10 Rank 122 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest