NihontoWatch【重要刀剣図譜より】 形状 鎬造、丸棟、身幅広く、元先の幅差目立たず、身幅の割に鎬幅狭く、反りやや浅くつき、大鋒。 鍛 小板目肌よく錬れてつみ、小杢目交じり、地沸微塵につき、随処に地斑状の肌合を交え、乱れ映り鮮明に立ち、刃寄りは二重・三重の筋状の映りを形成して、いわゆる段映りとなる。 刃文 直刃を基調に互の目・角がかる刃・小互の目など交じり、処々逆がかり、小足・逆足・葉入り、匂口しまり、小沸つき、匂口明るく冴える。 帽子 表は直ぐ調に小さく乱れ、突き上げて先尖りごころとなり、裏は乱れ込み、 突き上げ気味に先小丸、共に長めに返る。 彫物 表裏に棒樋を掻き通す。 茎 大磨上、先刃上がり栗尻、鑢目筋違、目釘孔二中一埋、無銘。 説明 備中国は古くより鉄の産地として知られ、青江派の刀工は同国の子位や万寿の地で作刀した。同派の中、鎌倉時代中期頃までのものを古青江、それ以降南北朝期にかけてのものを青江と汎称し大別している。青江の作風には、概ね、匂口のしまった直刃の作と、南北朝時代最盛期の延文頃に至って完成された、特色ある逆丁子乱れの二様がある。 この刀は、小板目肌がよく錬れてつんだ精緻な鍛えに、地沸が微塵につき、刃文は直刃を基調に互の目・角がかる刃・小互の目等が交じり、処々逆がかり、小足・逆足・葉が入り、匂口がしまって小沸がつき、明るく冴え、帽子は突き上げて先が尖りごころとなるなどの出来口をあらわしており、この期の青江の特色がよく明示されている。また地には鮮明な乱れ映りが立つと同時に、刃寄りには二重・三重に筋状の映りを形成して、いわゆる段映りの態を見せており、さらに地斑状の肌合が看て取れるなど、これらの点も同派の大きな見どころである。幅広・大鋒の堂々とした豪壮な体配と上記の地刃の様相から、制作年代は南北朝期の延文・貞治頃と鑑せられるものである。青江極めの白眉であり、至って健全に保たれていることも好ましい。なお本作の棟は丸棟となっているが、同派には丸棟を経眠することが少なくない。
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Bizen-den · Bitchu
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The Aoe school arose in Bitchu Province, a region celebrated for iron production since antiquity. The early eleventh-century miscellany Shin Sarugaku-ki already lists "the swords of Bitchu" among the noted products of the provinces, and roughly two centuries later the Aoe swordsmiths emerged as heirs to that high reputation, flourishing chiefly in the lower basin of the Takahashi River in such locales as Koji and Manju. The school is traditionally said to have begun with Yasutsugu around the Shoan era, and thereafter it prospered greatly down to the later part of the Nanbokucho period. Within this lineage, works produced up through approximately the mid-Kamakura period are distinguished as Ko-Aoe, while those from the late Kamakura period onward through the Nanbokucho era are broadly termed Aoe. Representative smiths of the Nanbokucho phase include Tsugunao, Tsuguyoshi, Moritsugu, and Naotsugu, yet a great many surviving blades are mumei and attributed to the school collectively rather than to individual hands, reflecting the depth and continuity of the tradition as a whole. The NBTHK identifies two principal modes of Aoe workmanship. The first is a suguha-based temper in which the nioiguchi tends toward tightness, producing a bright and clear effect; the second is the distinctive saka-choji-midare that reached full maturity around the Enbun era (1356-1361), during the height of the Nanbokucho period. Ko-Aoe works are generally ko-nie-deki, with a somewhat shizumi (subdued) nioiguchi in suguha mixed with small undulations; by the late Kamakura period the nie becomes calmer, and in Nanbokucho pieces the nioiguchi tightens and the construction shifts to nioi-deki. It is specifically noted that whereas smiths of other provinces in this period display nie-deki under the influence of the Soshu tradition, Aoe works remain nioi-deki -- a hallmark distinction.
The forging characteristically shows ko-itame mixed with mokume, with finely standing grain producing the so-called chirimen-hada (crepe-like texture); jifu (patchy, mottled surface features) and sumihada (sooty-toned areas) are frequently intermingled. The jihada regularly exhibits midare-utsuri, and toward the cutting edge a layered, streak-like utsuri known as dan-utsuri is a major highlight of the school. Fine ji-nie adheres thickly, with chikei entering well. Overall, when compared with Bizen works of the same era, Aoe blades present a somewhat restrained and austere taste. Across the tradition's long arc from the late Heian period to the close of the Nanbokucho era, the NBTHK consistently praises Aoe works for the brightness and clarity of both ji and ha, frequently employing the term saeru (clear, brilliant) to describe the nioiguchi. Blades are commended for being kenzen (sound and well-preserved), for retaining ample nikuoki (blade "flesh"), and for conveying an atmosphere of sincerity and quiet elegance. The recurring evaluative language -- "the salient points of Aoe are conspicuously displayed," "an especially fine example even among works attributed to this school[[c:1]]" -- underscores the NBTHK's regard for the tradition as one producing consistently high-caliber work whose collective identity is immediately recognizable. The school's Nanbokucho-period output, with its wide mihaba, imposing o-kissaki, and bold boshi that rises and returns with a pointed tendency, conveys the powerful period character of that age, while earlier Ko-Aoe pieces are valued for their thoroughly archaic feeling and deep flavor. Taken together, the Aoe school represents one of the major traditions of western Japan, distinguished by its refined forging, luminous suguha, and the singular visual drama of its utsuri effects. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tsugunao次直 | 1345-1361 | 26 |
| Masatsune正恒 | 1213-1219 | 31 |
| Naotsugu直次 | 1288-1350 | 20 |
| Yasutsugu康次 | 1211-1213 | 10 |
| Kanetsugu包次 | 1211-1213 | 9 |
Bizen in the Nanbokuchō period
Sixty years of war between two courts drove blades long and broad, and Osafune met the demand: Kanemitsu and Chōgi led forges serving the provincial warriors who did the fighting, while Sōshū influence arrived with the armies to create Sōden-Bizen.
A blade designated by the Japanese government for its high artistic and historical value, a standing comparable to an Important Sword. The designation carries an export restriction: a Jūyō Bijutsuhin is kept within Japan and forfeits its status if it ever leaves the country.
The Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin) designation dates to the 1933 Law for the Preservation of Important Works of Fine Arts, passed during the Great Depression to stem the outflow of Japan’s cultural treasures abroad. The systems of Important Cultural Property and National Treasure did not yet cover privately-held works, so accreditation by the Minister of Education marked an object as a quasi-National Treasure that could not be exported. About 8,300 works were accredited before the system closed, roughly 1,000 of them swords. The 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties superseded it: higher-ranked pieces were promoted to Important Cultural Property, the rest kept their standing Jūyō Bijutsuhin status, and no new designations have been made since.
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