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Overview·Kantei·Designations·Provenance·Blade Forms·Signatures·School
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  1. Schools
  2. Ishido
  3. Yasuhiro

Ishido Yasuhiro

安廣

Jūyō
Vol. 42, No. 107 · Katana

Ishido Yasuhiro

安廣

4 ranked works

ProvinceKiiEraKanbun (1661–1673)PeriodEdoSchoolIshidoTraditionShintoToko Taikan300(top 60%)TypeSwordsmithCodeYAS82
1Gyobutsu
3Jūyō Tōken

Overview

Bicchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, whose personal name was Tomita Gorozaemon, is named by the published sources as a representative master of the Kishu Ishido group and the founder of the Osaka Ishido line, active around the era of the early period. The Ishido smiths were the generation that set out to revive the manner of the old , and Yasuhiro carried that revival as a house specialty: the published commentary describes his style as a tradition that may be called his hereditary art, a forging over which rises and on which is the temper he particularly excelled in. His name itself records the revival as historical project rather than imitation, for the school sought to recover the bright, -bearing steel that most smiths of his century could no longer produce. He worked first in Kishu under the and later moved to Osaka, where his manner became the seed of a second Ishido line, so that his blades stand at the head of two branches of the revival.

The feature that marks his work first is the in the revived manner, set over a forging in which stands clearly. On the pre-title the tightly forged carries dust-fine and a , and over it he takes the markedly wide and tempers a that mixes , , and , with and entering abundantly to produce a florid effect, the whole turned . The published sources name the school's two models directly, calling Yasuhiro and the Ishido group masters of the -copy and the -copy with an opened lower contour, both worked in . Running through his temper is an overall , a reverse slant in the and the that the commentary treats as one of his own tells, most marked in his early pieces.

The on which this temper sits is a , well packed, on the titled mixed with a flowing tendency and at times a -leaning grain along the , with fine and a faint rising over it. The is the conspicuous mark of the Ishido revival, the bright reflection that the published sources take for the foundation of his work and that separates him at sight from the great run of smiths. The runs straight to a with slight and a long or deep return, and on the early he carves a on the against on the , both finished in . The result on his best work is a high, bright with a tightening tendency, the broad and full of incident rather than reduced to small repeating patterns.

His hand divides cleanly by the moment in his career, read off the signature. Before he received his court title he signed such forms as Oite Kishu Yasuhiro and no Yasuhiro, at times prefixing Toichi as in no Toichi Yasuhiro; after receiving the title Bicchu no Kami he cut a long six- or seven-character signature, sometimes dividing the inscription across the two faces, and carved a chrysanthemum crest on the reverse, the mark of his titled work. The published commentary reads the wide, florid pre-title as a youthful, vigorous piece, where the strength of the is felt more than usual and the blade is filled with spirit, and notes that no other of such stout and magnificent build had been encountered. Apart from his house style stands a kawari- centered on large with deep and well-adhering ; the commentary ties this departure to his earlier name, written Yasuhiro with a different character, recording that in that period he left collaborations with Yamato no Kami Yasusada, so that features reminiscent of Yasusada can be recognized in the , and judging that such a work is therefore not unnatural for him.

What sets him apart within the field is drawn from his own grounded traits rather than from the comparand. His bright and his in the recovered manner are features most of his contemporaries could not make, and his recurrent and the chrysanthemum crest of his titled period mark his blades as his. The published sources judge his titled the full, unreserved display of Bicchu no Kami Yasuhiro's strengths and an outstanding work among his production, noting greater height variation in the edge than in his customary pieces. He stands at the junction of two Ishido branches, the representative of the Kishu group and the founder of the Osaka line, and into both he carried the and the -revival .

Yasuhiro's signed and survive in modest numbers, four of them on record at the level and all of them signed, with no work raised to National Treasure or Important Cultural Property rank, so that none is permanently held out of private hands. His designation factor and his standing in the reference gradings place him among the upper Ishido hands rather than the very first names of the period, which is the honest measure of a fine school smith rather than a national master. Provenance is recorded for two of his blades: the broad, robust pre-title the published sources call beyond anything they had seen was transmitted in the Shimazu house of Satsuma during the domain era, and one of his is recorded as held in the Imperial collection. A signed Yasuhiro sits almost wholly within the tier, held more often than traded, and a securely signed example, dividing between his florid pre-title manner and the chrysanthemum-marked work of his titled years, comes to the serious collector only from time to time, a representative piece of the Ishido revival when it does.

Kantei

one Ishido hand across his career: the early, pre-title work signed Kii no Kuni Yasuhiro, an exceptionally florid wide choji-midare over a clear midare-utsuri; and the titled work signed Bicchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro with a chrysanthemum crest, the same house-style choji at full strength, with a kawari-deki of large gunome carrying the trace of his earlier Yasuhiro name

Bicchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, personal name Tomita Gorozaemon, is the representative master of the Kishu Ishido group and the founder of the Osaka Ishido line, active around the Kanbun era. The Ishido smiths revived the Bizen manner, and Yasuhiro made it his house style: a well-packed ko-itame ground over which midare-utsuri rises, and on it a choji-midare he particularly excelled in, mixing juka-choji, ko-choji, gunome and ko-gunome, ashi and yo entering well, the whole turned nioi-gachi and overall carrying a saka-gokoro, a reverse slant the published sources treat as one of his marks. His signatures move with his career: in the early period Oite Kishu Yasuhiro and Kii no Kuni Yasuhiro, sometimes prefixed Toichi; after he received the title Bicchu no Kami he divided the inscription across both faces and cut a chrysanthemum crest on the reverse. The published sources call his early, pre-title wakizashi exceptionally florid and vigorous, and judge his titled katana the full display of his strengths, while admitting a kawari-deki of large gunome that recalls his earlier name Yasuhiro and his collaboration with Yamato no Kami Yasusada.

Diagnostic discriminators

a choji-midare in the revived Bizen manner is the Ishido house style and Yasuhiro's particular forte, mixing juka-choji, ko-choji and gunome over a ground in which midare-utsuri rises; the published sources set it against his occasional kawari-deki of large gunome

a midare-utsuri standing over the well-packed ko-itame is the conspicuous mark of the Ishido revival of Bizen, a feature most Shinto smiths could no longer produce; the published sources name it the foundation of his work

an overall saka-gokoro, a reverse slant in the choji and ashi, recurs across his work and the published sources treat it as one of his distinctive traits, especially marked in his early pieces

Observation by phase

The early, pre-title work (Kii no Kuni Yasuhiro)

Before he received the Bicchu no Kami title he signed such forms as Oite Kishu Yasuhiro, Kii no Kuni Yasuhiro, and at times prefixed Toichi. The published sources read his pre-title wakizashi as a youthful, vigorous work: a ko-itame-hada tightly forged with dust-fine ji-nie over which midare-utsuri stands out, and above it a markedly wide yakihaba within which he tempers a choji-midare mixing juka-fu, ko-choji, gunome and ko-gunome, ashi and yo entering abundantly to produce an exceptionally florid effect, the whole turned nioi-gachi and carrying a saka-gokoro. The boshi runs straight to a ko-maru with a long kaeri, and the carving sets a koshi-bi on the omote against gomabashi on the ura, both finished in maru-dome. The published sources note that the strength of its yakiba and its stout, broad, thick build are beyond what they had previously encountered in a wakizashi, and that the saka-gokoro is itself a tell of this early stage.

Sugata 姿
Jigane 地鉄
Hamon 刃文
Bōshi 帽子

The titled work (Bicchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, with chrysanthemum crest)

After receiving the Bicchu no Kami title he cut a long six- or seven-character signature, at times dividing the inscription across the two faces, and carved a chrysanthemum crest on the reverse, the mark of his post-title work. The titled katana show his house style at full strength: a ko-itame tightly forged, here mixed with a flowing tendency, fine ji-nie and a faint midare-utsuri, over which he begins with a suguha yakidashi and then sets a choji-midare mixed with gunome, angular elements, ko-choji and ko-gunome, ashi and yo entering well, nioi-gachi with a tightening tendency and a bright nioiguchi. The boshi runs straight to a ko-maru with slight hakikake and a deep return. The published sources call this the full, unreserved display of Bicchu no Kami Yasuhiro's strengths, noting greater height variation in the edge than usual and a saka-gokoro they take for one of his distinctive traits. A separate group of titled blades is a kawari-deki centered on large gunome with deep nioi and well-adhering nie, which the published sources tie back to his earlier name Yasuhiro and his collaboration with Yamato no Kami Yasusada, recognizable in the boshi.

Sugata 姿
Jigane 地鉄
Hamon 刃文
Bōshi 帽子
Scholarship

The published sources trace his signatures across his career: in the early period Oite Kishu Yasuhiro and Kii no Kuni Yasuhiro, sometimes prefixing Toichi as in Kii no Kuni Toichi Yasuhiro, and after he received the Bicchu no Kami title dividing the inscription across the two faces and carving a chrysanthemum crest on the reverse.

On the large-gunome kawari-deki the published sources reason that, since his earlier name Yasuhiro left collaborations with Yamato no Kami Yasusada, features reminiscent of Yasusada can be recognized in the boshi and elsewhere, so such a departure from his choji-midare house style is not unnatural for him.

Designations

Kokuhō—
Jūyō Bunkazai—
Jūyō Bijutsuhin—
Gyobutsu1
Tokubetsu Jūyō—
Jūyō Tōken3

Elite Standing

0.01 across 4 designated works

Top 33% among smiths

Provenance

2 documented provenances across certified works by Yasuhiro

Provenance Standing

2 works held in elite collections across 2 documented provenances

Top 68% among smiths

Raw score: 1.92 / 10

Blade Forms

Distribution across 4 ranked works

Signatures

Signature types across 4 ranked works

Currently Available

Ishido School

Other artisans of the Ishido school

  1. 1.Tsunemitsu常光1 for sale7designated
  2. 2.Ippo一峯3 for sale1designated
  3. 3.Korekazu是一2 for sale2designated
  4. 4.Nagayuki長幸2designated