Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Kotō katana signed by Hisakatsu of Mino and dated 1513, with an ubu tang, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a modern decorative tachi-koshirae.
Katana by Hisakatsu, a smith of Mino province who, according to the original seller, worked from the Meiō to the Eishō era within the Akasaka Senjuin school, a branch of the Yamato tradition settled in Akasaka. The tang, ubu according to the photographs and with a single mekugi-ana, bears on the omote the signature 濃州草道嶋菅原尉久勝作 (Nōshū Sōdōjima Sugawara no Jō Hisakatsu saku), which places the forging in Sōdōjima, and on the ura the date 永正十年十月吉日 (Eishō jūnen jūgatsu kichijitsu), the tenth month of 1513, in the late Muromachi period. The blade measures 73.9 cm in nagasa with 2.7 cm of sori; the photographs show an undulating hamon. The original seller notes a couple of kitae-kizu on the mune and what it reads as homare-kizu, traces of battle use. It comes with a modern, decorative tachi-koshirae with a nashiji-lacquered saya bearing kikka-mon and go-san no kiri crests and, according to the listing, a shirasaya. The NBTHK certified it as Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken on 4 December 2024 (Reiwa 6).
Strong points
- Signed and dated: tenth month of Eishō 10 (1513), late Muromachi period
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana and the full signature naming the forging place
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (2024), photographed
- Akasaka Senjuin school, of Yamato roots, in Mino province
- Tachi-koshirae with nashiji saya and kikka-mon and go-san no kiri crests
Points to bear in mind
- The original seller declares a couple of kitae-kizu on the mune; the photographs also show small marks on the mune that it reads as homare-kizu
- The mounting is modern and decorative, not of the blade's period
- The shirasaya is listed but does not appear in the photographs
Score
136.9 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
−5
The original seller declares flaws 0 · small kitae-ware, away from the edge −5
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+24
Modern or replacement mounting +15 · family crests (mon): 3 +9
-
Blade
+10
73.9 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+7.9
Price: the more affordable, the more points +7.9
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
- 73.9 cm
- Sori
- 2.7 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Modern mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hisakatsu
- Period
- Kotō (up to 1596)
- Dating
- 10th month of Eishō 10 (1513)
- Province
- Mino
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Minor flaws declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
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