Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Jūyō Tōken katana (NBTHK 47th session) by Yamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo of the Horikawa school in Echizen, with a signed ubu tang, kept in shirasaya with sayagaki.
Katana by Yamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo, a pupil of Horikawa Kunihiro who served the Matsudaira house and settled in Fukui, Echizen province. The blade was designated Jūyō Tōken by the NBTHK at its 47th session, in 2001. It measures 71.36 cm in nagasa with 1.36 cm of sori, 3.2 cm width at the base and 0.67 cm kasane, with a chū kissaki. According to the original seller and the paper, the jigane is a dense itame mixed with mokume, with abundant ji-nie and a dark tone; the hamon is a chū-suguha of strong nie with ko-ashi and yō, sunagashi, kinsuji and kuichigai-ba, and the bōshi turns back in ko-maru. The tang is ubu with one mekugi-ana and bears the signature (菊紋) 一 山城守藤原国清 (kikumon ichi Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo). It is kept in shirasaya with a sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro and a gold-foiled double habaki, both shown in the photographs. There is no koshirae. The original seller describes the blade as very healthy.
Strong points
- NBTHK Jūyō Tōken, 47th session, with the certificate and the zufu page photographed
- Signed ubu tang with the imperial chrysanthemum (kikumon)
- Chū-suguha hamon of strong nie with sunagashi and kinsuji, according to the paper
- Shirasaya with sayagaki by Tanobe Michihiro and gold-foiled double habaki
Points to bear in mind
- According to the paper, the stroke «一» (ichi) after the chrysanthemum points to the possible hand of the second generation; the NBTHK does not decide between first and second
- No koshirae: offered in shirasaya only
Score
211.3 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+140
NBTHK Jūyō paper +140
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
+30
Healthy according to the original seller +30
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
71.4 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+1.3
Price: the more affordable, the more points +1.3
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
- 71.4 cm
- Sori
- 1.4 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Jūyō
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Edo period (17th century)
- Province
- Echizen
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Sound condition according to the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,2 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,14 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,67 cm
- Blade weight
- 735 g