Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Tadayuki of the Takada school of Bungo, dated Shōtoku 1 (1711), with an unaltered tang and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers. Presented in shirasaya.
Blade by Yamato no Kami Fujiwara Tadayuki, a smith of the Takada school of Bungo province, active in the mid Edo period. The tang, which the photographs show unaltered with a single mekugi-ana, bears on the omote the signature 大和守藤原忠行 (Yamato no Kami Fujiwara Tadayuki) and on the ura the date 正徳元年八月吉日 (Shōtoku gannen hachigatsu kichijitsu) followed by 暴鍛作之 (Sarashi-kitae kore o tsukuru), an additional inscription the smith often used, understood to refer to particularly careful forging. Nagasa 64.7 cm, sori 1.8 cm, motohaba 2.93 cm, weight 765 g. According to the original seller, the jigane is koitame mixed with komokume, with fine ji-nie and chikei, and the hamon combines notare and gunome with a broad nioiguchi and abundant nie; the close-up photographs show this undulating pattern. Copper habaki. The NBTHK certified it Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken on 1 June Heisei 28 (2016), with an attribution to the Takada school. It comes in shirasaya, without mounts.
Strong points
- Signed and dated: 正徳元年八月吉日 (Shōtoku gannen hachigatsu kichijitsu), 1711
- Inscription 暴鍛作之 (Sarashi-kitae kore o tsukuru), typical of the smith
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers (2016)
- Unaltered tang according to the photographs, single mekugi-ana
- Notare and gunome hamon visible in the photographs
Points to bear in mind
- Presented in shirasaya, without koshirae.
- The original seller's listing does not state the condition of the blade.
Score
95 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
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
0
64.7 cm: outside the usable range 0
-
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
- 64.7 cm
- Sori
- 1.8 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Takada Tadayuki
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- 8th month of Shōtoku 1 (1711)
- Province
- Bungo
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 2,93 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,04 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,8 cm
- Blade weight
- 765 g