Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shintō-period katana signed 河内守国助 (Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke), with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller and kept in shirasaya.
Katana attributed by its signature to Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke, a smith of the Ōsaka school in Settsu province during the Shintō period. According to the original seller, the tang bears the signature 河内守国助 (Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke); in the available photograph the signature cannot be read at that resolution. The blade measures 67.3 cm in nagasa (二尺二寸二分, ni-shaku ni-sun ni-bu). The original seller describes the hamon as 互の目乱れ (gunome midare), and the photographs show an undulating, lively temper line along the whole blade, in shinogi-zukuri with a chū-kissaki point. The photographs show a tang of continuous shape, apparently intact, with a single mekugi-ana. The piece has no mounting: according to the original seller, it is kept in shirasaya. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (特別保存刀剣, tokubetsu hozon tōken), which does not appear in the photographs. The listing says nothing about the condition of the blade.
Strong points
- Signed 河内守国助 (Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke), according to the original seller
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper declared by the original seller
- Gunome midare hamon, according to the original seller
- Tang apparently ubu in the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana
- Kept in shirasaya
Points to bear in mind
- No koshirae: the blade is offered in shirasaya only, which does not appear in the photographs
- The listing does not state the condition of the blade
- The paper does not appear in the photographs and the signature cannot be read in the only available photo
- The signature does not establish which generation of Kunisuke made the blade
Score
77.6 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+5
67.3 cm: close to the usable range +5
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+17.6
Price: the more affordable, the more points +17.6
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
- 67.3 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Shintō period (1596–1780)
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No