Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana signed by Kanekado of Seki, early Edo period, with an intact tang, a gunome midare hamon and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers; kept in shirasaya.
Katana by Kanekado, one of several smiths of that name working in Seki, Mino province, during the Shintō period; the original seller places it in the early Edo period, around the Kanbun era. The blade measures 63.8 cm with 1 cm of sori, a motohaba of 3.25 cm and a motokasane of 0.69 cm, and weighs 665 g bare: a short, light katana with its balance close to the hand. According to the original seller, the jigane is dense and clean, free of forging flaws, and the hamon is a gunome midare with a bright nioiguchi, rounded heads and fine sunagashi; the photographs clearly show this gunome along the entire edge. The bōshi, according to the seller, is slightly irregular on the omote and straight with a hint of undulation on the ura, with a rounded turn-back. The polish is old but well executed. The tang, which the photographs show intact with two mekugi-ana, is signed 関住兼門 (Seki-jū Kanekado). The blade is kept in shirasaya, with a gold-foiled copper habaki. It is accompanied by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers issued in 2021, which classify it as shintō.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers (2021)
- Signed 関住兼門 (Seki-jū Kanekado), with an intact tang
- Gunome midare hamon with rounded heads, clearly visible in the photographs
- Light, well-balanced blade: 665 g bare
- Kept in shirasaya with a gold-foiled copper habaki
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: the blade comes in shirasaya only
- Old polish, according to the original seller
- The Kanbun-era dating is the original seller's estimate; the blade bears no engraved date
Score
135 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs, with 2 mekugi-ana +20
-
Declared condition
+30
Healthy according to the original seller +30
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
0
63.8 cm: outside the usable range 0
-
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
- 63.8 cm
- Sori
- 1 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Kanekado
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Early Edo, around the Kanbun era (1661–1673)
- Province
- Seki
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Sound condition according to the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,25 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,24 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,69 cm
- Blade weight
- 665 g