War at home and trade abroad made Muromachi Bizen the busiest forge region in Japan: a century of Sengoku demand after the Ōnin War, and export missions to Ming China carrying blades by the tens of thousands.
This katana is signed "Bishu Osafune Sukesada" and was forged in 1567 during the late Muromachi period. Sukesada was a prominent smith of the Osafune school in Bizen province, known for producing many refined blades during the Sengoku era. The sword comes with an NBTHK Hozon Certificate, shirasaya, and koshirae.
Certificate reading — 銘 備州長船祐定作 永禄十年二月日
NihontoWatchmei · Osafune · Muromachi · nagasa 69cm · sori 2.2cm
Bizen-den · Bizen · around 1532-1555
5 pieces on the market now
Sukesada represents the most prosperous smithing lineage among the Osafune swordsmiths of the late Muromachi period, collectively termed Sue-Bizen. According to the Hayami Den, as many as twenty-one smiths are recorded as having appended a zokumyo (common name) to their signatures while working under the Sukesada name. Within this large group, those who particularly distinguished themselves in technical ability are the smiths bearing the titles Yosazaemon no Jo, Hikobei no Jo, and Genbei no Jo. Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada stands foremost among them, being especially rich in the number of superior works. Two generations bear the same signature; from an extant tanto signed "Tenbun 6, made at the age of seventy-one," one can calculate retrospectively that the first generation was born in Onin 1 (1467). Hikobei no Jo Sukesada is traditionally said to have been the father of Yosazaemon no Jo. Genbei no Jo Sukesada enjoys a strong reputation for the excellence of his forging and is further characterized by particular strength in suguha-toned temper patterns. A later generation, Shichibee Sukesada, is recorded as the fifth generation descended from Yosazaemon no Jo of the Eisho era, faithfully continuing the style of his forebears. The Sukesada line also produced notable joint works (gassaku), as in the celebrated naginata made collaboratively with Jirozaemon no Jo Katsumitsu for the Bizen warlord Ukita Yoshie.
The working range of the Sukesada smiths is broad, encompassing koshi-biraki gunome (gunome with an opened waist), suguha, and hitatsura, and in each mode a high level of skill is evident. The forging is characteristically a dense ko-itame-hada, tightly compacted and well refined, with extremely fine ji-nie adhering thickly, fine chikei, and a faint midare-utsuri standing out. Their signature temper centers on koshi-biraki gunome mixed with choji, ko-gunome, and togariba; in places it takes on a compound, double-layered (fukushiki) character, producing the distinctive formation known as kani no tsume (crab's claws). The hamon is nioi-dominant with well-adhering ko-nie, accompanied by kinsuji and sunagashi, while vigorous tobiyaki frequently appear, at times developing into a hitatsura-like manner. The nioiguchi is consistently bright and clear. Their blades display the typical uchigatana form of the late Muromachi period, with somewhat compact proportions, thick kasane, pronounced sakizori, and an extended chu-kissaki, conveying an impression of robust and powerful bearing. Production extends across katana, wakizashi, tanto in hira-zukuri and moroha-zukuri, and naginata of bold and magnificent form.
The Sukesada line constitutes the most representative body of swordsmiths within the Sue-Bizen tradition, and their works were transmitted in the collections of prominent warrior houses including the Sendai Date, the Mori, the Ikeda of Bizen, the Ii of Hikone, and the Shonai Sakai families. Works by the leading Sukesada smiths are distinguished by an abundance of points worthy of appreciation: the forging achieves an excellent-quality (seiryo) texture that is generally tightly compacted, and both ji and ha are bright and vividly clear, showing workmanship of exceptional distinction. Their versatility is particularly noteworthy, ranging from the calm composure of broad suguha with a tightened nioiguchi to the flamboyant vigor of large-patterned midare rich in variation and internal activity. Whether in the restrained power of a suguha-based work or the spirited expansiveness of a hitatsura-inflected piece, the Sukesada smiths consistently demonstrate that both ji and ha are exceedingly kenzen (sound and well-preserved), a testament to the superlative technical accomplishment that places them at the forefront of late Muromachi swordmaking.
Bizen-den · Bizen
Phase: Sue-Bizen末備前· 1441–1596
78 pieces on the market now
The last great chapter of Osafune unfolds in the Eisho and Tenbun years of the late Muromachi, when the riverside workshop turned its accumulated craft toward an age of constant war. Where Oei-Bizen had looked backward, reviving the tachi shape and the choji temper of the Kamakura masters under Yasumitsu and Morimitsu, Sue-Bizen faces forward into Sengoku demand. The leading hands carry the same family characters one generation further: the Sukesada group, headed by Yosazaemon-no-jo Sukesada and the Hikobee-jo Sukesada said to be his father, alongside Katsumitsu (often Jirozaemon-no-jo), Munemitsu, Tadamitsu of the Heiroemon-jo line, and the Kiyomitsu smiths Magoemon-no-jo and Gorozaemon-no-jo. The setsumei draw a sharp line through their output. Commissioned blades, chumon-uchi, were signed with full zokumyo, dated, and frequently inscribed with the name of the ordering party, as on the Katsumitsu and Sadamitsu naginata of Meio 8 made for the Miyake of Kojima, a house that fed into the Ukita. Below them ran the bulk trade of kazu-uchimono, the arms that supplied the warring provinces, and it is the chumon-uchi masters that the designations preserve. What the steel does in this window is distinct from every earlier Osafune register. The shape is the uchigatana: wide mihaba with thick kasane, pronounced sakizori, an extended chu-kissaki or o-kissaki, and a short nakago suited to the katate-uchi one-handed draw, a body unlike the koshizori tachi of Ko-Osafune or the broad Nanbokucho profile of Soden-Bizen. The forging tightens into ko-itame over which a midare-utsuri stands faintly rather than vividly, weaker than the bright reflection of the founding generation.
The signature temper is the open-waisted koshi-no-hiraita gunome, splitting at the heads into fukushiki compound midare and mixed with togariba and choji; it is nioi-based with ko-nie and a bright nioiguchi, with ashi, yo, kinsuji and small tobiyaki worked through. Against this, Soden-Bizen had pushed Soshu nie and notare, while the founders had tempered flamboyant choji over a vivid utsuri. Two specialties branch off the gunome base: the Kiyomitsu and Tadamitsu suguha, calm and tightly forged, and the hitatsura of high-tempered pieces with long muneyaki and yubashiri, seen in the warlord-smiths Akamatsu Masanori and Ishikawa Yukihisa. To kantei a Sue-Bizen blade is to read the body first and the temper second. The compact uchigatana sugata with thick kasane and a short tang fixes the late-Muromachi date; the faint utsuri over dense ko-itame keeps it in Bizen; the open-waisted compound gunome names the group. The masters then separate by hand: Katsumitsu is set apart by the abundant choji he folds into the gunome, yielding a more florid, brilliant dekiguchi than his peers; Tadamitsu and the Kiyomitsu smiths are read out by their suguha, with Magoemon-no-jo's itame standing in mokume to distinguish his ground. The cutting reputation is documented directly, as on the Hikobee-jo Sukesada katana of Keicho 5 carrying a tameshi inscription naming the tester Ichihara Hachibee. Provenance threads through the supplementary signatures: Masanori's reward blades cut for his retainers, the Miyake names tying the workshop to the Ukita, and the Shinjuro Sukesada whose few large works may have ended in the Tensho flood. The horimono carried from the mainline, bonji with rendai, Fudo Myoo, and shrine dedications, persist on these blades as a final mark of the line. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sukesada祐定 | 1504-1551 | 72 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1532-1583 | 18 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1547-1592 | 8 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1487-1521 | 5 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1532-1573 | 3 |
War at home and trade abroad made Muromachi Bizen the busiest forge region in Japan: a century of Sengoku demand after the Ōnin War, and export missions to Ming China carrying blades by the tens of thousands.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
This katana is signed "Bishu Osafune Sukesada" and was forged in 1567 during the late Muromachi period. Sukesada was a prominent smith of the Osafune school in Bizen province, known for producing many refined blades during the Sengoku era. The sword comes with an NBTHK Hozon Certificate, shirasaya, and koshirae.
Certificate reading — 銘 備州長船祐定作 永禄十年二月日
NihontoWatchmei · Osafune · Muromachi · nagasa 69cm · sori 2.2cm
Bizen-den · Bizen · around 1532-1555
5 pieces on the market now
Sukesada represents the most prosperous smithing lineage among the Osafune swordsmiths of the late Muromachi period, collectively termed Sue-Bizen. According to the Hayami Den, as many as twenty-one smiths are recorded as having appended a zokumyo (common name) to their signatures while working under the Sukesada name. Within this large group, those who particularly distinguished themselves in technical ability are the smiths bearing the titles Yosazaemon no Jo, Hikobei no Jo, and Genbei no Jo. Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada stands foremost among them, being especially rich in the number of superior works. Two generations bear the same signature; from an extant tanto signed "Tenbun 6, made at the age of seventy-one," one can calculate retrospectively that the first generation was born in Onin 1 (1467). Hikobei no Jo Sukesada is traditionally said to have been the father of Yosazaemon no Jo. Genbei no Jo Sukesada enjoys a strong reputation for the excellence of his forging and is further characterized by particular strength in suguha-toned temper patterns. A later generation, Shichibee Sukesada, is recorded as the fifth generation descended from Yosazaemon no Jo of the Eisho era, faithfully continuing the style of his forebears. The Sukesada line also produced notable joint works (gassaku), as in the celebrated naginata made collaboratively with Jirozaemon no Jo Katsumitsu for the Bizen warlord Ukita Yoshie.
The working range of the Sukesada smiths is broad, encompassing koshi-biraki gunome (gunome with an opened waist), suguha, and hitatsura, and in each mode a high level of skill is evident. The forging is characteristically a dense ko-itame-hada, tightly compacted and well refined, with extremely fine ji-nie adhering thickly, fine chikei, and a faint midare-utsuri standing out. Their signature temper centers on koshi-biraki gunome mixed with choji, ko-gunome, and togariba; in places it takes on a compound, double-layered (fukushiki) character, producing the distinctive formation known as kani no tsume (crab's claws). The hamon is nioi-dominant with well-adhering ko-nie, accompanied by kinsuji and sunagashi, while vigorous tobiyaki frequently appear, at times developing into a hitatsura-like manner. The nioiguchi is consistently bright and clear. Their blades display the typical uchigatana form of the late Muromachi period, with somewhat compact proportions, thick kasane, pronounced sakizori, and an extended chu-kissaki, conveying an impression of robust and powerful bearing. Production extends across katana, wakizashi, tanto in hira-zukuri and moroha-zukuri, and naginata of bold and magnificent form.
The Sukesada line constitutes the most representative body of swordsmiths within the Sue-Bizen tradition, and their works were transmitted in the collections of prominent warrior houses including the Sendai Date, the Mori, the Ikeda of Bizen, the Ii of Hikone, and the Shonai Sakai families. Works by the leading Sukesada smiths are distinguished by an abundance of points worthy of appreciation: the forging achieves an excellent-quality (seiryo) texture that is generally tightly compacted, and both ji and ha are bright and vividly clear, showing workmanship of exceptional distinction. Their versatility is particularly noteworthy, ranging from the calm composure of broad suguha with a tightened nioiguchi to the flamboyant vigor of large-patterned midare rich in variation and internal activity. Whether in the restrained power of a suguha-based work or the spirited expansiveness of a hitatsura-inflected piece, the Sukesada smiths consistently demonstrate that both ji and ha are exceedingly kenzen (sound and well-preserved), a testament to the superlative technical accomplishment that places them at the forefront of late Muromachi swordmaking.
Bizen-den · Bizen
Phase: Sue-Bizen末備前· 1441–1596
78 pieces on the market now
The last great chapter of Osafune unfolds in the Eisho and Tenbun years of the late Muromachi, when the riverside workshop turned its accumulated craft toward an age of constant war. Where Oei-Bizen had looked backward, reviving the tachi shape and the choji temper of the Kamakura masters under Yasumitsu and Morimitsu, Sue-Bizen faces forward into Sengoku demand. The leading hands carry the same family characters one generation further: the Sukesada group, headed by Yosazaemon-no-jo Sukesada and the Hikobee-jo Sukesada said to be his father, alongside Katsumitsu (often Jirozaemon-no-jo), Munemitsu, Tadamitsu of the Heiroemon-jo line, and the Kiyomitsu smiths Magoemon-no-jo and Gorozaemon-no-jo. The setsumei draw a sharp line through their output. Commissioned blades, chumon-uchi, were signed with full zokumyo, dated, and frequently inscribed with the name of the ordering party, as on the Katsumitsu and Sadamitsu naginata of Meio 8 made for the Miyake of Kojima, a house that fed into the Ukita. Below them ran the bulk trade of kazu-uchimono, the arms that supplied the warring provinces, and it is the chumon-uchi masters that the designations preserve. What the steel does in this window is distinct from every earlier Osafune register. The shape is the uchigatana: wide mihaba with thick kasane, pronounced sakizori, an extended chu-kissaki or o-kissaki, and a short nakago suited to the katate-uchi one-handed draw, a body unlike the koshizori tachi of Ko-Osafune or the broad Nanbokucho profile of Soden-Bizen. The forging tightens into ko-itame over which a midare-utsuri stands faintly rather than vividly, weaker than the bright reflection of the founding generation.
The signature temper is the open-waisted koshi-no-hiraita gunome, splitting at the heads into fukushiki compound midare and mixed with togariba and choji; it is nioi-based with ko-nie and a bright nioiguchi, with ashi, yo, kinsuji and small tobiyaki worked through. Against this, Soden-Bizen had pushed Soshu nie and notare, while the founders had tempered flamboyant choji over a vivid utsuri. Two specialties branch off the gunome base: the Kiyomitsu and Tadamitsu suguha, calm and tightly forged, and the hitatsura of high-tempered pieces with long muneyaki and yubashiri, seen in the warlord-smiths Akamatsu Masanori and Ishikawa Yukihisa. To kantei a Sue-Bizen blade is to read the body first and the temper second. The compact uchigatana sugata with thick kasane and a short tang fixes the late-Muromachi date; the faint utsuri over dense ko-itame keeps it in Bizen; the open-waisted compound gunome names the group. The masters then separate by hand: Katsumitsu is set apart by the abundant choji he folds into the gunome, yielding a more florid, brilliant dekiguchi than his peers; Tadamitsu and the Kiyomitsu smiths are read out by their suguha, with Magoemon-no-jo's itame standing in mokume to distinguish his ground. The cutting reputation is documented directly, as on the Hikobee-jo Sukesada katana of Keicho 5 carrying a tameshi inscription naming the tester Ichihara Hachibee. Provenance threads through the supplementary signatures: Masanori's reward blades cut for his retainers, the Miyake names tying the workshop to the Ukita, and the Shinjuro Sukesada whose few large works may have ended in the Tensho flood. The horimono carried from the mainline, bonji with rendai, Fudo Myoo, and shrine dedications, persist on these blades as a final mark of the line. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sukesada祐定 | 1504-1551 | 72 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1532-1583 | 18 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1547-1592 | 8 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1487-1521 | 5 |
| Sukesada祐定 | 1532-1573 | 3 |
War at home and trade abroad made Muromachi Bizen the busiest forge region in Japan: a century of Sengoku demand after the Ōnin War, and export missions to Ming China carrying blades by the tens of thousands.
Certifies a genuine blade worth preserving: a signature confirmed correct, or, if unsigned, an era, province, and school that the NBTHK can reliably identify.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.
