尾張国勝重
Owari no Kuni Katsushige
Shinto Wakizashi
SCHOOL Sengo/Owari
PERIOD Shinto, Circa Enpo (1673-1681)
PAPER/CLASSIFICATION NTHK(NPO) Kanteisho  
MEI "Owari no Kuni Katsushige" 
FUJISHIRO RANKING Chu Jo Saku
TOKO TAIKAN RANKING 2 Million Yen
FORM Wakizashi
NAGASA 32.4 cm
SUGATA  Hira-zukuri
SORI Slight tori-sori
MUNE Iori-mune
KASANE 8 mm
MOTOHABA 3.1 cm
NAKAGO CONDITION Ubu
NAKAGO SHAPE Standard with kuri-jiri 
MEKUGIANA One
YASURIME  Kesho


Hamon :  Nie-deki gunome midare. Bright and wide nioi-guchi with profuse nie. There are hako formations mixed in and the hamon becomes wider toward the monouchi. Ko-ashi and yo can be seen.

Boshi :  Midare-komi with a long kaeri becoming muneyaki. Kinsuji can be seen along the mune.

Kitae :  Itame hada with abundant ji-nie and chikei. Yubashiri is present.

About this sword :   This is a wakizashi by Ise Katsushige. He was active circa Enpo(1673-1681). He was from Ise and later moved to Owari. He was a late Sengo school smith but is considered an Owari tosho, probably due to the number of works he made there. Sengo works were made famous by Muramasa. Katsushige is a well regarded maker. He is ranked as Chu Jo Saku by Fujishiro and given 2 million yen in the Toko Taikan. This blade is in full polish and it is healthy. The workmanship is Shoshu den in style and well done. There is an abundance of nie hataraki to study and this is a visually exciting sword. The wide mihaba and thick kasane convey a powerful feeling in hand. This sword was discovered in its current state, not long ago, in the mid-west. It was in the possession of a WWII veteran who had brought this home as a souvenir. So, the polish, condition, tsuka and saya are all now as they were prior to WWII.

This wakizashi is accompanied by an old koshirae. The fittings are all Edo period examples. The tsuba is shibuichi with gold nunome featuring chidori and waves. The shakudo fuchi may be mid Edo waki-Goto school. The kashira is in the wave theme and looks to be later work. The meunuki are of a cow and calf. The kozuka looks to be Goto work. It is shakudo nanako in the theme of a Noh play. The double habaki is a solid alloy rather than gold foil over copper. The urushi of the saya is matte green in a raised line pattern with a wave pattern in the kozuka pocket. There is a horn koiguchi, kurikata and kaeshizuno. The kojiri is copper. The overall condition of the koshirae is nice and this represents a composite koshirae of the late Edo period. Most old koshirae are composite. Meaning - custom assembled to fit a certain blade but from various parts from different schools and ages.

This sword is accompanied by an NTHK(NPO) kanteisho paper. The paper specifies that this blade was made circa Enpo (1673-1681). This sword is a joy to recommend in many ways. It is a zaimei example by a ranked smith and has an Edo period koshirae. The nakago is ubu and with only one ana. The blade is in high quality old polish, healthy and has no kizu. The nie hataraki in the blade offers so much to study and enjoy. An ideal example of shinto tokuden in every way.



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