Kantei

NH-1012 Rank 42

Nakajima Ujinori

Katana by Nakajima Ujinori of Tosa, signed and dated Bunkyū 3 (1863), in an uchigatana koshirae with black lacquered saya; Tokubetsu Hozon paper according to the original seller.

Shintō (1596-1780)1st month of Bunkyū 3 (1863)TosaNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana by Nakajima Ujinori, a Tosa smith of the late Edo period, dated to the first month of Bunkyū 3 (1863), when, according to the original seller, he was 45 years old. The blade, 76.9 cm in nagasa with 1.52 cm of sori, is wide and very thick in kasane, with an extended chū-kissaki: the shape associated with the imperial loyalist samurai of Tosa at the time. The original seller describes a masame jihada with ji-nie and chikei, and a suguha-based hamon mixed with ko-gunome and ko-notare, with tobiyaki in the monouchi and kinsuji. The long tang, with two mekugi-ana that the seller explains as intentional, bears on the omote the cursive signature 建依別中嶋氏詮造之 (Takeyoriwake Nakajima Ujinori kore o tsukuru) and on the ura the date 文久三癸亥正月日 (Bunkyū san mizunoto-i shōgatsu-jitsu). It comes in an uchigatana koshirae with a black rō-iro lacquered saya and a notably long tsuka and saya, a reinforced iron fuchi, an iron kashira with crab and bamboo grass, and a pierced iron tsuba with waves that the seller attributes to Tosa Myōchin. The seller also declares a gold-foiled single habaki and a shirasaya. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, according to the original seller.

Strong points

  • Signed and dated to the first month of Bunkyū 3 (1863)
  • Complete uchigatana koshirae with long tsuka and saya, iron fuchi and kashira
  • Wide, thick blade in the characteristic late-Edo Tosa shape
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper declared by the original seller
  • With shirasaya and gold-foiled habaki, according to the original seller

Points to bear in mind

  • The original seller does not state the condition of the blade or the date of the polish.
  • The mounting is undated and has no paper of its own; the photographs show wear from use on the ito.
  • Neither the origami nor the shirasaya appears in the photographs.
  • The tang has two mekugi-ana, which the original seller presents as planned from the forging.

Score breakdown

67.8/100

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 18 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs, with 2 mekugi-ana
  3. Mounting 1 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
  4. Declared condition 11 of 20 Condition not declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 76.9 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 7.8 of 10 Rank 36 of 161 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest