Kantei

NH-0399 Rank 18

Echigo no Kami Kunitsugu

Shintō katana signed by Kunitsugu with the added inscription 'made with nanban iron', holding an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken origami, a shirasaya with sayagaki and a complete koshirae with signed fittings.

Shintō (1596-1780)Kanbun era (1661–1673)HigoNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

According to the original seller, Kunitsugu was the foremost pupil of Dewa Daijō Kunimichi, with whom he also produced joint works; he first received the title of Echizen Daijō and later that of kami, and in his later years he moved to Higo province, where he continued to forge. The seller places this blade around the Kanbun era (1661–1673). It is a broad, sturdy katana of 77.58 cm nagasa and 1.52 cm sori, with a short kissaki, a jigane of tightly packed ko-itame and ko-mokume with fine chikei, and a sugu-ha hamon in nie with nijūba and sunagashi. The photographs show an intact nakago with a single mekugi-ana and a seven-character signature, accompanied on the reverse by the inscription 以南蛮鉄 (nanban iron). The piece comes with a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki and with a complete koshirae: ribbed black lacquered saya, tsuka wrapped over same with shell-and-wave menuki and Three Kingdoms fuchi-kashira, an iron tsuba and a gilt double habaki. The NBTHK origami certifies the blade as Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken; the fuchi-kashira and the menuki each hold their own Hozon Tōsōgu.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken origami read on the certificate photograph (no. 150752).
  • Seven-character signature with the added inscription 以南蛮鉄, nanban iron.
  • Intact nakago with a single mekugi-ana, as shown in the photographs.
  • Complete koshirae with fuchi-kashira signed Hakuundō Tsunenari and menuki signed Shōami, each with Hozon Tōsōgu.
  • Broad, heavy blade: 77.58 cm nagasa and 1,075 g, with a gilt double habaki.
  • Shirasaya with a sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro.

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller does not date the mounting: the photographs allow it to be described, not placed in a period.
  • The tsuka wrap and the saya lacquer look tight and unworn in the photographs, consistent with recent restoration.
  • The Hozon Tōsōgu papers cover the fuchi-kashira and the menuki individually, not the mounting as a whole.
  • The certificate and the sayagaki read the smith's title as Echizen no Kami, while the original listing transcribes it as Echigo no Kami.

Score breakdown

70.5/100

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 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting 14 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin · with one fitting bearing an NBTHK paper · with a signed fitting · restored: relacquered or new saya and rewrapped ito
  4. Declared condition 17 of 20 Sound condition according to the seller at origin
  5. Blade 8 of 8 77.6 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 1.5 of 10 Rank 118 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest