Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Satsuma katana signed by Hōki no Kami Taira no Ason Masayuki and dated Kansei 6 (1794), in shirasaya with sayagaki and with a shakudō koshirae.
A shinshintō katana from Satsuma province by Masayuki, whom the original seller places alongside Motohira as one of the two great smiths of Kyūshū in his day. The tang is signed 伯耆守平朝臣正幸 (Hōki no Kami Taira no Ason Masayuki) and dated 寛政六年寅二月 (Kansei rokunen tora nigatsu), the second month of 1794. The photographs show a tang with a single mekugi-ana and a complete signature. The blade measures 67.6 cm in nagasa with 1.82 cm of sori; it is broad and thick, with a slightly extended kissaki. According to the original seller, the jigane is a dark, fine ko-itame and the hamon a nie-based gunome-midare with a deep nioiguchi, sunagashi and kinsuji, with a hakikake bōshi; the blade has been polished. It is kept in a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki by Dr. Kanzan dated 1957, and comes with a koshirae: a shakudō kenjō tsuba with gilt rim, shakudō nanako fuchi-kashira, tree-and-bird menuki and a black lacquered saya with a wrinkled texture. The original seller states NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Strong points
- Signed and dated: 伯耆守平朝臣正幸 (Hōki no Kami Taira no Ason Masayuki), 1794
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers stated by the original seller
- Shirasaya with sayagaki by Dr. Kanzan (1957)
- Complete koshirae with shakudō fittings and black lacquered saya
- Tang with a single mekugi-ana in the photographs
Points to bear in mind
- The NBTHK paper does not appear in the photographs.
- The listing says nothing about the blade's condition beyond the polish.
- The mounting is described but not dated by the original seller.
- The listing mentions «suriage», but the photographs show the full signature and date with a single mekugi-ana.
Score
114.7 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
−10
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20 · recent polish +10
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+5
Mounting described, undated +5
-
Blade
+5
67.6 cm: close to the usable range +5
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+14.7
Price: the more affordable, the more points +14.7
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
- 67.6 cm
- Sori
- 1.8 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Ijichi Masayuki
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 2nd month of Kansei 6 (1794)
- Province
- Satsuma
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Recent polish declared by the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,22 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,15 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,67 cm
- Blade weight
- 766 g
A new mounting or a polish for your blade? Custom koshirae · Polishing