Kantei

NH-0477 Rank 25

Yokoyama Sukekane

Katana by Yokoyama Sukekane of Bizen Osafune, signed and dated 1860, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers and a complete koshirae that the original seller describes as a period mounting.

Shintō (1596-1780)2nd month of Man'en 1 (1860)BizenNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana by Yokoyama Sukekane, a smith of Osafune in Bizen who, according to the original seller, carried on the Sukesada line and styled himself the 58th-generation descendant of Tomonari; his known work spans roughly 1834 to 1872. The blade has a nagasa of 72 cm and a sori of 2.2 cm, with a motohaba of 3.17 cm and a kasane of 0.67 cm. The seller describes a well-forged ko-itame jigane with ji-nie and a nioi-deki hamon of chrysanthemum chōji, with abundant ashi and a bright nioiguchi. The nakago, intact according to the photographs and with a single mekugi-ana, is signed «Bizen Osafune jū Yokoyama Sukekane saku» and, on the ura, «Tomonari gojūhachi-dai mago» with the date of the 2nd month of Man'en 1 (1860). The photographs show a complete koshirae, which the seller describes as a period mounting: senda-kizami lacquered saya with mother-of-pearl, an iron tsuba with a shakudō rim depicting Kōsekikō and Chōryō, shakudō menuki of the peaches of the immortals and a signed fuchi-kashira with warriors from the Tamagawa school of Mito. It is accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate from 1983.

Strong points

  • Blade signed and dated in the 2nd month of Man'en 1 (1860), with the Tomonari lineage on the ura.
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate (1983), visible in the photographs.
  • Nakago intact according to the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana.
  • Complete koshirae with a signed Tamagawa-school fuchi-kashira, according to the original seller.
  • Chōji hamon in late-Edo Bizen-den.

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller describes the mounting as a period one, without a precise date or its own papers.
  • The seller does not state the condition of the blade; the photographs show no obvious flaws but are not enough to rule them out.
  • The original seller mentions a shirasaya that does not appear in any of the photographs.

Score breakdown

70.1/100

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 18 of 18 Signed and with an engraved date
  2. Tang 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting 10 of 18 Period mounting · with a signed fitting
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 72 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 0 of 4 No shirasaya: one will have to be made
  7. Price 3.1 of 10 Rank 105 of 151 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest