Kantei keys
- Sugata
- Tachi with koshizori, with funbari and ko-kissaki. The one at the Tokugawa Art Museum is shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune and a high koshizori; the one at the Kyūshū National Museum has a wider mihaba than those of Tomonari. AT
- Jihada
- Tight ko-itame with fine ji-nie. In the official records, itame with ji-nie, jifu and midare-utsuri (Tokugawa Art Museum), itame with midare-utsuri (Tokyo National Museum) and tight ko-itame with ji-utsuri (Fukuyama Museum of Art). AT
- Hamon
- Suguha with ko-midare, ko-chōji and other mixtures, with an archaic air. Ko-midare and ko-chōji with ashi and yō, kinsuji, deep nioi and ko-nie in the one at the Tokugawa Art Museum; a medium suguha with ko-midare and abundant ashi and yō in the one in Tokyo; suguha with ko-midare, deep nie and sunagashi in the one in Kyūshū. AT
- Bōshi
- Midare-komi with hakikake and komaru (Tokugawa Art Museum); somewhat notare and komaru with hakikake (Fukuyama); thin and closed, yakizume (Kyūshū). HD
- Nakago
- Ubu in those of Tokyo and Kyūshū; the one in Kyūshū with a shallow kuri-jiri, katte-sagari yasurime and three mekugi-ana; the one at the Tokugawa Art Museum in the shape of kiji-momo. HD
- Mei
- 正恒 (Masatsune), in two characters, below the mekugi-ana. Never with a date. HD
- Hi
- The Japanese Wikipedia says that his blades do not bear hi, unlike those of Tomonari. The tachi at the Kyūshū National Museum bears at the base a hi with a kurikara (coiled dragon). AT
Compared with Tomonari
- The record of the Kyūshū National Museum gives him, compared with Tomonari, a wider mihaba and a tighter jigane.
- The Japanese Wikipedia adds that Tomonari carved hi and dated some signatures (now erased), and Masatsune did not.
- The record of the Fukuyama Museum of Art holds its tachi to be the work of the most archaic appearance and of the finest workmanship of all those of Masatsune.
Ko-Bizen in general
For the Ko-Bizen in general, Nagayama’s study collected by the Japanese Sword Index gives as kantei traits chōji-midare in nioi-deki, suguha with ko-midare and ko-chōji in nie-deki, a ko-mokume or chū-mokume hada and, often, jifu-utsuri.
Measurements of his tachi
| Tachi | Nagasa | Sori |
|---|---|---|
| Tokugawa Art Museum (National Treasure) | 71.8 cm | 2.7 cm |
| Kyūshū National Museum | 74.8 cm | 2.7 cm |
| Fukuyama Museum of Art (National Treasure) | 77.6 cm | 2.6 cm |
| Kōsetsu Bijutsukan (Important Cultural Property) | 77.9 cm | — |
| Japanese Sword Museum (Important Cultural Property) | 78.4 cm | — |
| Tokyo National Museum (National Treasure) | 2 shaku 6 sun 0 bu 4 rin (≈78.9 cm) | — |
The one at the Tokugawa Art Museum also has 2.9 cm of motohaba, 1.7 of sakihaba, 2.6 of kissaki and 14.5 of nakago.