Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Hida no Kami Ujifusa, one of the three great smiths of Owari, with a signed ubu tang, NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, shirasaya with sayagaki and koshirae.
Katana signed 飛騨守藤原氏房作 (Hida no Kami Fujiwara Ujifusa saku), the work of Hida no Kami Ujifusa, counted among the three great smiths of Owari (Owari sansaku). According to the original seller, he moved from Mino to Owari with his father, Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa, trained under him and under Hōki no Kami Nobutaka, and received the title Hida no Kami in the late 16th century. The blade, with a nagasa of 73.3 cm and a sori of 1.9 cm, has the wide, robust shape of early Keichō shintō, with a long kissaki and bōhi with soehi carved on both sides. The photographs show a hamon of notare and gunome with a tight, clear nioiguchi; the original seller describes a ko-itame and ko-mokume jigane with chikei and ji-nie. The tang is ubu, with two mekugi-ana, one of them plugged. It comes with a shirasaya bearing a sayagaki by Tanobe and a koshirae with a copper openwork tsuba with a tomoe motif, fuchi-kashira carved with autumn grasses in gold iroe, solid gold menuki of bellflowers and arabesques, and a black stone-textured lacquered saya. The blade holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper and the menuki a Hozon Tōsōgu paper.
Strong points
- Work of Hida no Kami Ujifusa, one of the three great smiths of Owari
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper
- Ubu tang with full signature
- Shirasaya with sayagaki by Tanobe
- Koshirae with solid gold menuki certified Hozon Tōsōgu
- Gold-plated double habaki
Points to bear in mind
- The original seller describes the mounting but does not date it; the Hozon Tōsōgu paper covers only the menuki, not the whole koshirae.
- The listing does not state the condition or polish of the blade.
- One of the two mekugi-ana is plugged.
Score
106.8 pointscurrent max. 255
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Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin, with 2 mekugi-ana +25
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Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
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Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
+10
Mounting described, undated +5 · fitting with Hozon Tōsōgu paper +5
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Blade
+10
73.3 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+11.8
Price: the more affordable, the more points +11.8
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
- 73.3 cm
- Sori
- 1.9 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hida no Kami Ujifusa
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Momoyama period (late 16th century)
- Province
- Owari
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,25 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,34 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,55 cm
- Blade weight
- 700 g
A new mounting or a polish for your blade? Custom koshirae · Polishing