Katsumi was born in in Bunsei 12 (1829). At the age of twelve he entered the school of Tanaka Seijū, and in Kōka 1 (1844), at seventeen, he was adopted into his master's household and took the name Kiyoshige. While still young he was awarded the court title Hōkyō, and his teacher permitted him the art name Tōryūsai. After falling out with Seijū, however, he left the Tanaka house. Thereafter he studied under Shibata Zeshin, and in Man'en 1 (1860) he was adopted into the Itō Masahiro family, taking the name Masataka and becoming the tenth head of the Itō house — recognized as the principal line of Bushū tsuba makers. He changed his name to Katsumi in his late thirties and used the art name Ōkei Inshi in his mature period. He died in Meiji 43 (1910) at the age of eighty-two.
Katsumi's technical command encompasses the full range of metalworking disciplines transmitted through the Tōryūsai school: takabori with polychrome iroe, zōgan inlay in gold, silver, and shakudō, katakiribori, and nunome-zōgan — all deployed with precision. In his Chōjū-giga tsuba from his seventy-sixth year2, the techniques of takaboriiroe and zōgan are deployed to their fullest extent, while the composition successfully preserves the spirit of the original painting4. His Daisei Fudō Myōō tsuba1 makes extensive use of zōgan and iroe in keeping with Seijū's circle, resulting in a compelling image in which the awe-inspiring power of Fudō Myōō seems to unfold directly before the viewer's eyes3.
The NBTHK consistently identifies Katsumi's works as pieces that reveal his true strength — a forceful, firmly grounded technique enriched by cross-disciplinary training under Zeshin. His collaborative tsuba with Hōkyō Kiyoshige constitutes valuable material for the study of the Tōryūsai school, clearly demonstrating the individual strengths of both makers. Whether in the spirited narrative compositions of his later years or the emphatic sculptural presence of his mature devotional subjects, Katsumi's oeuvre abundantly demonstrates the achievements of a master who stood at the confluence of the Tōryūsai and Itō traditions.
Historical importance
Where Katsumi stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
Katsumi(勝見) was a maker of Japanese sword fittings (tōsōgu) of the Ito school in Musashi province, active during the Late Edo / Bakumatsu (mid-19th c.) period.