Kantei

NH-1019 Rank 8

Osafune Norimitsu

Katana of the Osafune school, in Bizen, signed 備州長船則光 (Bishū Osafune Norimitsu) and dated 1454. It keeps an uchigatana koshirae with lacquered saya and, according to the original seller, papers for both blade and mounting.

Kotō (up to 1596)2nd month of Kyōtoku 3 (1454)BizenNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Blade of the Osafune school, in the province of Bizen, from the Norimitsu line in the middle of the Muromachi period. It measures 67 cm of nagasa with 2.3 cm of sori, in shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune and a medium kissaki. The original seller describes an itame hada tending towards masame, with ji-nie and nie-utsuri, and a gunome hamon mixed with ko-chōji, sunagashi and ko-nie; the bōshi turns back in a slightly pointed komaru, and the blade is declared sound in both ji and ha. The nakago is ubu, with kurijiri end and katte-sagari yasurime, and four mekugi-ana can be counted in the photographs, three of them plugged. It is signed 備州長船則光 (Bishū Osafune Norimitsu) and dated 享徳三年二月日 (Kyōtoku sannen nigatsu hi). It comes with an uchigatana koshirae whose lacquered saya shows an ajiro weave, an iron tsuba with a dragon, nanako fuchi-kashira with gold rims and fox menuki, together with a gilt double habaki. According to the original seller, the blade holds Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken and the mounting Hozon Tōsōgu.

Strong points

  • Signature and date on the tang: 備州長船則光 (Bishū Osafune Norimitsu), 享徳三年二月日 (Kyōtoku sannen nigatsu hi).
  • Ubu nakago, with kurijiri end and katte-sagari yasurime.
  • Complete uchigatana koshirae: iron tsuba with a dragon, nanako fuchi-kashira and fox menuki in gold and shakudō.
  • The original seller declares Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken for the blade and Hozon Tōsōgu for the mounting.
  • A shirasaya and a gilt double habaki are included according to the original seller.

Points to bear in mind

  • No certificate appears in any photograph: the levels come from what the original seller declares.
  • The tang keeps four mekugi-ana, three of them plugged, a sign of successive remountings.
  • The original seller does not date the mounting, which can only be placed by its appearance.
  • The shirasaya is not visible in the photographs; it is listed only among the declared accessories.

Score breakdown

75.3/100

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 16 of 22 Tang intact according to the seller at origin, but with 4 mekugi-ana
  3. Mounting 13 of 18 Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin · with its own NBTHK paper
  4. Declared condition 17 of 20 Sound condition according to the seller at origin
  5. Blade 6 of 8 67 cm: close to the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 1.3 of 10 Rank 141 of 161 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest