Kantei

NH-0435 Rank 107

Kunimitsu

Shintō katana from Settsu signed Sesshū-jū Kunimitsu, of the Kunisuke school of Osaka, with a suguha in nioi, a restrained mounting and a Tokubetsu Hozon certificate according to the original seller.

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

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana signed Sesshū-jū Kunimitsu, a shintō work from Settsu (Osaka) that the original seller places in the early Edo period, in the Kanbun era, and assigns to the school of Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke, the house that founded Osaka shintō; according to the listing, the signature would belong to the early period of Musashi no Kami Kunitsugu, son of the first Kunisuke. The blade has a nagasa of 61.2 cm and a sori of 1.6 cm, in shinogi-zukuri with deep curvature, a profile tapering to a chū-kissaki and a nakago that is short in proportion, in the katate-uchi style of the Sengoku period. The seller describes a tight ko-itame hada with itame and masame near the mune, and a fairly wide suguha hamon in nioi with ko-nie, ashi and nioi-kuzure features; the bōshi is straight with a deep ko-maru return. The photographs show the tang with a single mekugi-ana, katte-sagari yasurime and kurijiri, with the full signature on the omote. It comes with a mounting of restrained taste: black-lacquered saya, tsuka with same and ochre wrap, dark-metal fuchi-kashira with gilt figures, menuki and an openwork iron tsuba; the seller neither dates it nor describes its fittings. It holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, according to the seller, and comes with a shirasaya.

Strong points

  • Full signature Sesshū-jū Kunimitsu, Kunisuke school of Osaka shintō
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, according to the original seller
  • Tang with a single mekugi-ana and no sign of shortening in the photographs
  • Complete mounting of restrained taste with an openwork iron tsuba, plus shirasaya
  • Suguha in nioi with ko-nie and ashi, of Bizen flavour, as described by the seller

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller neither dates the mounting nor describes its fittings
  • The listing does not state the blade's condition
  • The certificate does not appear in the photographs provided

Score breakdown

52.9/100

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 -2 of 18 Mounting documented only in the photographs
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 4 of 8 61.2 cm: outside the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 9.9 of 10 Rank 3 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest