Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shinshintō katana signed and dated 1837 by Fujiwara Masatsugu of the Suishinshi Masahide school, with an ubu tang, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper and a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki by Honami Kōson.
A blade by Fujiwara Masatsugu, a smith of the Suishinshi Masahide school working in Edo (Musashi Province) during the Tenpō era, late in the Edo period. The tang, ubu with a single mekugi-ana, bears the signature 藤原正次 (Fujiwara Masatsugu) with kaō, the date 天保八年六月日 (Tenpō hachinen rokugatsu-hi) and the ownership inscription 藤原正純所持 (Fujiwara Masazumi shoji). Nagasa 61.2 cm, sori 1.67 cm; shinogi-zukuri, with bō-hi on both faces. According to the original seller, the jigane is a fine, tight itame with ji-nie, the hamon a suguha with a gentle notare and bright, even nie, and the blade is freshly polished and virtually flawless. It holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper from 2022 and retains the older Tokubetsu Kichō Tōken paper of 1969; both appear in the photographs. It is presented in shirasaya with a sayagaki by Honami Kōson, without koshirae.
Strong points
- Signed and dated in the sixth month of Tenpō 8 (1837)
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (2022) and older Tokubetsu Kichō Tōken (1969)
- Shirasaya with a sayagaki by Honami Kōson
- Freshly polished, according to the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Supplied in shirasaya, without koshirae
- The Tokubetsu Kichō Tōken belongs to a retired NBTHK paper system; the current paper is the Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken
- Jigane and hamon are described as stated by the original seller: the photographs do not allow them to be distinguished
Score
151.2 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
+40
Healthy according to the original seller +30 · recent polish +10
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
0
61.2 cm: outside the usable range 0
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+21.2
Price: the more affordable, the more points +21.2
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
- 61.2 cm
- Sori
- 1.7 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Suishinshi Masatsugu
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 6th month of Tenpō 8 (1837)
- Province
- Musashi
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Recent polish declared by the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 2,89 cm
- Sakihaba
- 1,90 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,74 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,56 cm
- Blade weight
- 630 g