Kantei

NH-1017 Rank 30

Koyama Munetsugu

Katana signed 備前介宗次 (Bizen no Suke Munetsugu) and dated 1850, with a gunome-chōji hamon, a ribbed black-lacquer koshirae and a shirasaya for storage.

Shintō (1596-1780)8th month of Kaei 3 (1850)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana by Koyama Munetsugu, who signed 備前介宗次 (Bizen no Suke Munetsugu), a late Edo master trained, according to the original seller, in the school of Katō Tsunahide and renowned for his command of Bizen-den; the same seller records his civil name, Koyama Sōbei, his work for the Matsudaira house of Shirakawa and his art names Seiryōsai and Issensai. The blade measures 71.3 cm nagasa, 1.6 cm sori and 0.69 cm kasane. The photographs show a tightly packed ko-itame jigane and a gunome-chōji hamon with pointed heads, active ashi and yō, kinsuji and sunagashi, and a bright nioiguchi. The tang, described by the seller as ubu, keeps the signature on the omote and the date 嘉永三年八月日 (Kaei sannen hachigatsu hi) on the ura; two mekugi-ana are visible on both faces, one of them plugged. The blade comes with an uchigatana koshirae with a ribbed black-lacquer saya, an iron tsuba inlaid in gold and silver and gilt shishi fittings, plus a shirasaya. The original seller states an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate, which is not photographed.

Strong points

  • Signature 備前介宗次 (Bizen no Suke Munetsugu) and date legible on the tang
  • Ubu tang according to the original seller, with continuous shape and yasurime in the photographs
  • Gunome-chōji hamon with ashi, yō, kinsuji and sunagashi in the close-ups
  • Complete uchigatana koshirae with ribbed black-lacquer saya and gilt shishi fittings
  • Shirasaya for storage in addition to the mounting
  • Two-piece gilt habaki with chiselled surface

Points to bear in mind

  • The origami appears in no photograph: the paper level is the one stated by the original seller
  • The tang shows a second, plugged mekugi-ana, a sign of a later remounting
  • The seller describes the mounting but does not date it

Score breakdown

69.9/100

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 seller at origin, with 2 mekugi-ana
  3. Mounting 1 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
  4. Declared condition 17 of 20 Sound condition according to the seller at origin
  5. Blade 8 of 8 71.3 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 1.9 of 10 Rank 130 of 161 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest