説明

Skip to content ITEM# UJKA143 – Catalogue 29 – Sold A Tomoyoshi ‘Endorsement Award’ Katana (大阪住和泉朝吉作) Tomoyoshi, whose family name was Izumi, worked in Osaka during the early Shôwa era (1926-1989), producing blades of considerable quality during the militaristic period leading into and through the Second World War. This katana was forged in August 1937 – the 12th year of Shôwa – and was subsequently entered into a sword-forging competition in 1940 held to commemorate the 2,600th anniversary of the accession of Emperor Jimmu, founder of the Japanese imperial line. The blade won the Endorsement Award (suisen-sho), and this honour was carefully chiselled onto the nakago alongside the full date inscription. Tomoyoshi’s standing was formally acknowledged by Kurihara Akihide , who ranked him Joko-no-retsu – master swordsmith – in his 1942 survey of approximately 300 contemporary smiths. His greatest competitive achievement came in 1941 when he took the Second Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontô Denrankai , the forerunner of today’s NBTHK sword-making contest. The blade is rooted firmly in the Yamato tradition – a fitting tribute to Emperor Jimmu, who is said to have captured Yamato (present-day Nara) and established it as his seat of power. The jihada is a free-flowing nagare-hada with wavy masame straight-grain patterns standing prominently in the steel. The hamon is a beautifully executed naka-suguha – the straight temper line synonymous with the Yamato tradition – enlivened by tight ko-midare , long ashi, kinsuji and sunagashi. The construction is wide and powerful, with a commanding moto-haba of 3.3cm that gives the blade the presence of something much older. Muneyaki activity along the spine adds further character. The koshirae was commissioned as a custom project in 2015 using antique fittings, unified throughout by the tombo (dragonfly) theme – a creature revered by samurai as a symbol of bravery, agility and victory, for it always flies forward and never retreats. Th