Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Commissioned katana by Katsumura Norikatsu of Mito, dated the 11th month of Bunkyū 3 (1863), with an ubu tang, in shirasaya and with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers.
Katana by Katsumura Norikatsu, a smith of Mito in Hitachi province. According to the original seller, he trained under Sekiuchi Norimune and later in Edo under Unju Korekazu and Hosokawa Masayoshi, and led the Katsumura workshop at the Mito house forge in Edo. The blade, shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune and chū-kissaki, measures 74.5 cm in nagasa with 2.0 cm of sori; it is wide (3.36 cm at the base) and thick (0.83 cm), with an imposing stance. According to the original seller, the jigane is a tight masame with ji-nie and chikei; the hamon, suguha-based with ko-midare, ko-gunome and gentle notare, shows ko-ashi, hotsure and kinsuji, and the bōshi is midarekomi with hakikake and a komaru turn-back. The tang is ubu, with kiri-yasuri file marks and one mekugi-ana. The omote is signed 水府住勝村徳勝作之 (Suifu-jū Katsumura Norikatsu saku kore); the ura carries the commission 応大久保忠光需 (Ōkubo Tadamitsu no motome ni ōjite) and the date 文久三年十一月日 (Bunkyū sannen jūichigatsu hi). It is kept in shirasaya with a one-piece silver-foiled habaki and comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers, no. 1024971, issued in 2025.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers, visible in the photographs
- Signed ubu tang with commission inscription and an 1863 date
- Long, robust 74.5 cm blade typical of late Edo
- Work of the Katsumura workshop of Mito in the bakumatsu years
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: the blade is offered in shirasaya only
- The listing does not explicitly state the condition or the date of the polish
Score
97.1 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+15
74.5 cm: long blade, 74 cm or more +15
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+12.1
Price: the more affordable, the more points +12.1
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
- 74.5 cm
- Sori
- 2 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Katsumura Norikatsu
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 11th month of Bunkyū 3 (1863)
- Province
- Hitachi
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,36 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,80 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,83 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,60 cm