Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Iga no Kami Sadatsugu, an Osaka smith trained under Inoue Shinkai, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper issued in 2026 and kept in shirasaya.
According to the original seller, Sadatsugu, a native of Higo and the younger brother of Kaga no Kami Sadanori, settled in Osaka and studied under Inoue Shinkai; he worked between the Enpō and Tenna eras (1673–1684). The blade, with a nagasa of 67.8 cm and a sori of 0.6 cm, is shinogi-zukuri with an iori-mune and chū-kissaki, a thick kasane and the restrained curvature of the Kanbun shintō shape. The seller describes a tightly forged ko-itame jigane, a hamon based on suguha with gentle notare and gunome, ko-ashi and yō, with a bright nioiguchi, and a bōshi in slightly undulating suguha with a short kaeri. The tang is suriage, with ō-sujikai yasurime and two mekugi-ana, and is signed 摂州住藤原貞次 (Sesshū-jū Fujiwara Sadatsugu); the ura carries no inscription. It retains a double habaki of gold-foiled copper. In 2026 the NBTHK awarded it the Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, which places it around the Tenna era. The photographs show it in shirasaya, without mounts.
Strong points
- Smith of the Osaka shintō school, a pupil of Inoue Shinkai according to the original seller
- Signed 摂州住藤原貞次 (Sesshū-jū Fujiwara Sadatsugu)
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, issued in 2026
- Double habaki of gold-foiled copper
- Kept in shirasaya
Points to bear in mind
- Suriage (shortened) tang, as declared by the original seller
- No mounts: offered in shirasaya only
- The listing does not state the condition of the blade or the date of the polish
Score
50 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
−20
Shortened tang (suriage) −20
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+5
67.8 cm: close to the usable range +5
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+30
Price: the more affordable, the more points +30
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
- 67.8 cm
- Sori
- 0.6 cm
- Tang
- Shortened tang (suriage)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Tenna era (1681–1684)
- Province
- Settsu
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,1 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,1 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,7 cm