Kantei

NH-0403 Rank 132

Dewa Daijō Fujiwara Kunimichi

Shintō katana signed by Dewa Daijō Fujiwara Kunimichi, of the Horikawa school of Yamashiro, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate. It comes in a modern black-lacquer koshirae and with a shirasaya.

Shintō (1596-1780)Keichō–Kanbun era (1608–1662)YamashiroNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana signed by Dewa Daijō Fujiwara Kunimichi, a master of Yamashiro province trained in Kunihiro's Horikawa school and active during the first decades of the Edo period. The blade measures 63.6 cm nagasa with 1.4 cm sori; the photographs show an undulating hamon with visible nie and a well-preserved kissaki. The nakago keeps its original end and bears the mei on the omote, with no date on the ura; it has two mekugi-ana and, judging by the spacing between them, the photographs point to machi-okuri. An NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate is photographed alongside the piece, together with a shirasaya bearing an ink inscription. The mounting is a replacement koshirae: recent black-lacquer saya, tsuka with black ito over same and menuki of fishing gear, dragon-motif fuchi-kashira and a plain circular iron tsuba. The original seller warns of a couple of kitae-kizu on the blade.

Strong points

  • Full signature of Dewa Daijō Fujiwara Kunimichi legible on the nakago
  • Horikawa school of Yamashiro, a shintō work from the early Edo period
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate read in the photographs, no. 1026537
  • Blade of 63.6 cm nagasa and 1.4 cm sori, with a crisp hamon in the photographs
  • Supplied with a complete koshirae and a shirasaya bearing an ink inscription

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller warns of a couple of kitae-kizu on the blade.
  • The mounting is modern, a replacement, and is not dated by the original seller.
  • The saya shows recent black lacquer with no wear, consistent with restoration.
  • Photographs of the nakago point to machi-okuri: two mekugi-ana spaced as on a raised machi.

Score breakdown

43/100

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 12 of 22 Full-length tang, with the machi moved up (machi-okuri)
  3. Mounting -2 of 18 Modern mounting · restored: relacquered or new saya
  4. Declared condition 13 of 20 Minor flaws declared
  5. Blade 4 of 8 63.6 cm: outside the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 6 of 10 Rank 56 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest