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Specifications

About the maker

Shimosaka Shigetaka重高

The first-generation Harima Daijo Shigetaka was a disciple of the first-generation Echizen Yasutsugu, and among the smiths of the Echizen group he is regarded as possessing the highest level of skill. An extant wakizashi bearing a date of Genna 2 (1616) establishes his period of activity in the early Edo period. The line continued through several generations into the Bakumatsu, yet it is the *shodai* whose work most closely approaches the range of his master. While many Echizen smiths characteristically finish their tangs in *ken-gata* form, Shigetaka is distinctive in employing *kurijiri*, with the first generation tending toward a particularly shallow contour. Shigetaka's forging presents tightly packed *itame-hada* mixed with *mokume*, with *ji-nie* adhering well and fine *chikei* entering; the steel frequently bears a darkened, "*kane*-colored" tone that the NBTHK setsumei note as especially noteworthy in comparison with typical Echizen work. His *hamon* characteristically favors *suguha-cho* with shallow *notare*, mixed with *ko-gunome* and somewhat pointed elements; *ashi* enter well, the *nioi* is deep with thick *nie*, and *kinsuji* and *sunagashi* appear throughout. The *boshi* typically forms *ko-maru* with a rather deep *kaeri*, showing *hakikake* at the tip. His manner of signing is compact and vertically tightened, executed with a thick chisel. The *naginata-zukuri* wakizashi modeled after the celebrated Meibutsu "Honebami Toshiro" is praised as one of his greatest masterpieces, demonstrating faithful *utsushi* technique and splendid *horimono* in the *kinai-bori* manner. Surviving works by the *shodai* are not commonly encountered, and among them katana are particularly few; *hira-zukuri* wakizashi are comparatively numerous, while tanto include both *hira-zukuri* and *kanmuri-otoshi-zukuri* forms. The *kanmuri-otoshi* examples display an archaic manner suggesting an intention to evoke old Yamato precedents. Across his oeuvre, the refinement and compactness of the forging stands apart from ordinary Echizen production.

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