Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana signed by Hakuryūshi Nagashige of Sendai and dated Keiō 4 (1868), with an ubu tang, kept in shirasaya and accompanied by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Katana by Hakuryūshi Nagashige, the eleventh and last generation of the Nagashige house of Sendai, in Mutsu province, a line which, according to the original seller, settled in Sendai around the Keichō era and continued until Meiji. The blade is shinogi-zukuri with an iori-mune, a restrained sori and a small chū-kissaki, giving a slender, elegant form. According to the original seller, the jigane is a dense, clean ko-itame, and the hamon a chū-suguha that becomes slightly irregular towards the monouchi, with ko-nie and several kuichigai; the bōshi runs straight with a ko-maru and short kaeri. The tang is ubu, with sujikai yasurime with keshō, a kurijiri and a single mekugi-ana, as the photographs confirm. It is signed on the omote 仙台白龍子藤原永繁 (Sendai Hakuryūshi Fujiwara Nagashige) and dated on the ura 慶応四年二月日 (Keiō yonen nigatsu hi), in the final months of the shogunate. It has a solid silver habaki with a Yūjō-yasuri koshi and is kept in shirasaya, without mountings. It holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate issued in 2026.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken certificate, issued in 2026.
- Signed and dated in the 2nd month of Keiō 4 (1868).
- Ubu tang with a single mekugi-ana.
- Work of the eleventh generation of the Nagashige of Sendai.
- Solid silver habaki.
Points to bear in mind
- Offered in shirasaya, without koshirae.
- The original seller does not state the condition or the date of the last polish.
Score
110 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+25
Tang intact according to the seller at origin +25
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
71.5 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+30
Price: the more affordable, the more points +30
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
- 71.5 cm
- Sori
- 1.1 cm
- Tang
- Intact (ubu)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Hakuryūshi Nagashige
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 2nd month of Keiō 4 (1868)
- Province
- Mutsu
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,0 cm
- Sakihaba
- 1,9 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,7 cm