Description
ITEM DESCRIPTION:
Comes with kimono or cotton bag. Comes with certificate of supein Nihonto. Comes with copy of Tokosusho. Comes with NBTHK Tokobetsu kicho Certificate.
Documentation
Kanteisho (appraisal certificate)
-
Mei (signature): Kunimasa
-
Jidai (period/era): circa Genroku
-
Jūsho (residence): Nakamura, Uda District, Ōshū
-
Nagasa (blade length): 2 shaku 4 sun 1 bu, slightly shorter (approx. 73.0 cm)
-
Attribution/grade: Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken (especially worthy of preservation)
-
Date: 1 June 2016
-
Certificate no.: 1005478
Torokusho (registration certificate)
-
Registration: Ishikawa No. 19870
-
Type: Katana
-
Nagasa: 73.0 cm
-
Sori (curvature): 1.5 cm
-
Mekugi-ana (peg holes): 3
-
Mei on the tang: Ōshū Uda-gun Nakamura-jū Kunimasa
-
Issued (registration date): Shōwa 50 (1975), day 30 (month field not filled on the form)
Approximate date of the blade
The appraisal places the sword circa the Genroku era, which corresponds to roughly 1688–1704 (late 17th to very early 18th century, Edo period). The 1975 date on the Torokusho is the registration date, not the forging date.
Blade description (technical)
The blade is signed 奥州宇多郡中村住国正, read as Ōshū Uda-gun Nakamura-jū Kunimasa. The Kanteisho attributes the work to Kunimasa and places it “around Genroku,” within the Edo period. The place name “Uda-gun Nakamura” corresponds to the area of modern Sōma (Fukushima) and its historical setting, home to the Sōma Nakamura domain and Nakamura Castle throughout the Edo period.
Shinogi-zukuri katana with a long nagasa (73.0 cm) and elegant, well-balanced sugata. The hamon presents as a continuous, restrained line with a gentle undulation, reading as suguha with a soft notare tendency, consistent along the edge. The nakago shows an aged dark patina, carries the full residence-and-name mei, and is pierced with three mekugi-ana, matching the Torokusho record.
Koshirae (mountings)
Complete koshirae with a black-lacquer saya in a clean, classical taste. Tsuka wrapped in black tsuka-ito over white samegawa, with partially visible gilt menuki beneath the wrap. The fuchi and kashira are carved in high relief with a flowing wave/scroll-like motif in a warm reddish tone, giving the mounting a distinctive character without becoming loud. The tsuba is iron, dark-toned and appropriately understated for the set. A plain wooden shirasaya is also included for storage and preservation.
Specifications
Katana, signed Ōshū Uda-gun Nakamura-jū Kunimasa
Edo period, circa Genroku (1688–1704)
Nagasa: 73.0 cm
Sori: 1.5 cm
Mekugi-ana: 3
Kanteisho: Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken, dated 1 June 2016, no. 1005478
Torokusho: Ishikawa registration no. 19870, issued Shōwa 50 (1975)
