Nagasa: 1 shaku 1 bun It has arrived—a wonderful sunnobi tanto by the swordsmith Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga, famously known as the teacher of Tatara Nagayuki, who is renowned for producing Shinto Saijo Owazamono (swords of supreme cutting ability). Because the Shinto period of the Edo era was a time of continued peace, unlike the Sengoku period, there were no orders for tanto intended for actual combat. Consequently, the production of tanto during the Shinto period was small, making this piece a precious work. The creator of this tanto, Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga, was originally from Kishu and active around the Enpo era (1680, 346 years ago). He later moved from Kishu to Osaka. He was a relative of Bitchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, the head smith of the Kishu Ishido school, and was one of the leading smiths of the group known as the Osaka Ishido. As this tanto was a special-order piece, it exhibits a healthy and excellent hira-zukuri sugata with a long dimension, a wide moto-mihaba, and a distinct difference in width compared to the saki-mihaba. The jigane is typical Osaka Shinto steel, with a finely forged ko-itame hada that appears moist and bright. The hamon is in nioi-deki, emulating the difficult hitatsura (all-over tempering) of the Bizen Osafune master smith Yosozaemon-no-jo Sukesada. It is a magnificent and spirited gunome-midare, tempered high with a deep kaeri reaching the mune, interspersed with tobiyaki in the ji, ambitiously and splendidly achieving a hitatsura effect. This tanto by Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga, famous as the mentor of Tatara Nagayuki, is a masterpiece that demonstrates the true essence of his high level of skill. We have received this piece from an elderly connoisseur who said, "I have grown old, so please pass this on at a low price to someone who will cherish it." Because it is in an old togi (polish), the details are currently not perfectly clear, but if it undergoes a finishing re-polish, it will become an unrecognizable, magnificent tanto. We are offering this precious sunnobi tanto by Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga—a special custom order from the Shinto period—at an ultra-bargain price through the owner's kindness. Please do enjoy it.
NihontoWatchKanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 30.1cm
Shinto · Settsu · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
1 piece on the market now
Where Yasunaga 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Shinto · Settsu
2 pieces on the market now
Settsu Province, and Osaka in particular, gathered the smiths the setsumei group under the name Osaka Ishido (大坂石堂). " Within that movement the setsumei trace a clear chain of teaching. Bicchu no Kami Yasuhiro stood at the head of the Kishu group, his followers sharing the "yasu"[[c:1]] element in their names; Kawachi no Kami Yasunaga, styled Hachizaemon, studied under Yasuhiro, moved from Kishu to Osaka, and took the title Kawachi no Kami. " Hanabusa Bizen no Kami Sukekuni and his nephew Sukeharu, also originally of the Kishu Ishido group, are named among the same body. The unifying aim the setsumei attach to all of them is the revival of Kamakura Bizen Ichimonji choji, "the Ishido lineage's traditional specialty," carried into the shinto era. The shared vocabulary is consistent across the register. " The temper divides into two modes the setsumei repeatedly distinguish: a flamboyant choji-midare aimed at Ichimonji, mixing o-choji, juka-choji-like blossoms, ko-choji, gunome, and togariba, with ashi and yo entering vigorously; and a gunome with an opened "waist" (koshi no hiraita) compounded in fukushiki-fu manner, taking Sue-Bizen, and Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada in particular, as its model. Through both runs a ko-nie-deki, nioi-dominant edge whose nioiguchi tends to tighten yet stays bright and clear, with tobiyaki, fine sunagashi, and kinsuji.
Sukekuni and Sukeharu are set slightly apart, working nie-laden gunome, notare mixed with gunome, hako-ba, and toran-like o-gunome, with suguha also frequent. To recognize the hand, the setsumei point to the boshi that enters midare-komi, sharpens to a point, and returns deeply, together with the tightening nioiguchi and intermixed togariba. " Nagayuki's Sue-Bizen copies are said to reproduce even the sugata and nakago, with compact proportions and sakizori capturing the late-Bizen silhouette; one example was thought aimed at Katsumitsu, in whom choji stands out. Named works anchor the standing of the group. A matched daisho dated Jokyo 3 (1686) bears the inscription "forged using Chigusa iron" (chigusa-tetsu), a piece read as a special commission; a dated katana of Jokyo 4 carries an added "nanban-tetsu" inscription; one blade holds a kinpun-mei reading "White Cloud / Tatara"[[c:2]]. Two Ujinagayuki katana descend from General Tani Tateki, the Meiji military figure and sword enthusiast. On the strength of his command of the choji edge and the Bizen tradition, the register names Tatara Nagayuki the leading master of Bizen-den among shinto smiths. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Nagayuki長幸 | 1673-1681 | 10 |
| Sukekuni祐國 | 1661-1673 | 1 |
| Yasunaga康永 | 1661-1673 | 1 |
| Sukeharu祐春 | 1661-1690 | 0 |
Ōsaka: swords for the merchant capital
Ōsaka was the merchant capital, and its swords followed the money: luxury wakizashi for townsmen permitted no more than one, and the brilliant showpieces of Sukehiro’s tōranba and of Shinkai, called the Ōsaka Masamune. Swords made, frankly, to be looked at.
This work carries older NBTHK “Kichō”-era papers, which the NBTHK no longer issues and now regards as unreliable. To confirm the attribution, submission to an official Japanese examination body (such as the NBTHK or NTHK) for modern certification could be considered.
For returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
Nagasa: 1 shaku 1 bun It has arrived—a wonderful sunnobi tanto by the swordsmith Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga, famously known as the teacher of Tatara Nagayuki, who is renowned for producing Shinto Saijo Owazamono (swords of supreme cutting ability). Because the Shinto period of the Edo era was a time of continued peace, unlike the Sengoku period, there were no orders for tanto intended for actual combat. Consequently, the production of tanto during the Shinto period was small, making this piece a precious work. The creator of this tanto, Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga, was originally from Kishu and active around the Enpo era (1680, 346 years ago). He later moved from Kishu to Osaka. He was a relative of Bitchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro, the head smith of the Kishu Ishido school, and was one of the leading smiths of the group known as the Osaka Ishido. As this tanto was a special-order piece, it exhibits a healthy and excellent hira-zukuri sugata with a long dimension, a wide moto-mihaba, and a distinct difference in width compared to the saki-mihaba. The jigane is typical Osaka Shinto steel, with a finely forged ko-itame hada that appears moist and bright. The hamon is in nioi-deki, emulating the difficult hitatsura (all-over tempering) of the Bizen Osafune master smith Yosozaemon-no-jo Sukesada. It is a magnificent and spirited gunome-midare, tempered high with a deep kaeri reaching the mune, interspersed with tobiyaki in the ji, ambitiously and splendidly achieving a hitatsura effect. This tanto by Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga, famous as the mentor of Tatara Nagayuki, is a masterpiece that demonstrates the true essence of his high level of skill. We have received this piece from an elderly connoisseur who said, "I have grown old, so please pass this on at a low price to someone who will cherish it." Because it is in an old togi (polish), the details are currently not perfectly clear, but if it undergoes a finishing re-polish, it will become an unrecognizable, magnificent tanto. We are offering this precious sunnobi tanto by Kawachi no Kami Minamoto Yasunaga—a special custom order from the Shinto period—at an ultra-bargain price through the owner's kindness. Please do enjoy it.
NihontoWatchKanbun (1661-1673) · nagasa 30.1cm
Shinto · Settsu · around 1661-1673
Fujishiro Jo saku · Tōken Taikan top 76%
1 piece on the market now
Where Yasunaga 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Shinto · Settsu
2 pieces on the market now
Settsu Province, and Osaka in particular, gathered the smiths the setsumei group under the name Osaka Ishido (大坂石堂). " Within that movement the setsumei trace a clear chain of teaching. Bicchu no Kami Yasuhiro stood at the head of the Kishu group, his followers sharing the "yasu"[[c:1]] element in their names; Kawachi no Kami Yasunaga, styled Hachizaemon, studied under Yasuhiro, moved from Kishu to Osaka, and took the title Kawachi no Kami. " Hanabusa Bizen no Kami Sukekuni and his nephew Sukeharu, also originally of the Kishu Ishido group, are named among the same body. The unifying aim the setsumei attach to all of them is the revival of Kamakura Bizen Ichimonji choji, "the Ishido lineage's traditional specialty," carried into the shinto era. The shared vocabulary is consistent across the register. " The temper divides into two modes the setsumei repeatedly distinguish: a flamboyant choji-midare aimed at Ichimonji, mixing o-choji, juka-choji-like blossoms, ko-choji, gunome, and togariba, with ashi and yo entering vigorously; and a gunome with an opened "waist" (koshi no hiraita) compounded in fukushiki-fu manner, taking Sue-Bizen, and Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada in particular, as its model. Through both runs a ko-nie-deki, nioi-dominant edge whose nioiguchi tends to tighten yet stays bright and clear, with tobiyaki, fine sunagashi, and kinsuji.
Sukekuni and Sukeharu are set slightly apart, working nie-laden gunome, notare mixed with gunome, hako-ba, and toran-like o-gunome, with suguha also frequent. To recognize the hand, the setsumei point to the boshi that enters midare-komi, sharpens to a point, and returns deeply, together with the tightening nioiguchi and intermixed togariba. " Nagayuki's Sue-Bizen copies are said to reproduce even the sugata and nakago, with compact proportions and sakizori capturing the late-Bizen silhouette; one example was thought aimed at Katsumitsu, in whom choji stands out. Named works anchor the standing of the group. A matched daisho dated Jokyo 3 (1686) bears the inscription "forged using Chigusa iron" (chigusa-tetsu), a piece read as a special commission; a dated katana of Jokyo 4 carries an added "nanban-tetsu" inscription; one blade holds a kinpun-mei reading "White Cloud / Tatara"[[c:2]]. Two Ujinagayuki katana descend from General Tani Tateki, the Meiji military figure and sword enthusiast. On the strength of his command of the choji edge and the Bizen tradition, the register names Tatara Nagayuki the leading master of Bizen-den among shinto smiths. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Nagayuki長幸 | 1673-1681 | 10 |
| Sukekuni祐國 | 1661-1673 | 1 |
| Yasunaga康永 | 1661-1673 | 1 |
| Sukeharu祐春 | 1661-1690 | 0 |
Ōsaka: swords for the merchant capital
Ōsaka was the merchant capital, and its swords followed the money: luxury wakizashi for townsmen permitted no more than one, and the brilliant showpieces of Sukehiro’s tōranba and of Shinkai, called the Ōsaka Masamune. Swords made, frankly, to be looked at.
This work carries older NBTHK “Kichō”-era papers, which the NBTHK no longer issues and now regards as unreliable. To confirm the attribution, submission to an official Japanese examination body (such as the NBTHK or NTHK) for modern certification could be considered.
For returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
