NihontoWatchIkkansai Shigemasa, whose real name was Sakai Hiroshi, was born in Meiji 38 in Otowa-cho, Shizuoka City, as the third son of Sakai Yasujiro (the younger brother of the swordsmith Miyaguchi Masatoshi). In Taisho 10, he became a disciple of the master Kasama Shigetsugu. After nearly 15 years of training, Shigemasa received the character "Shige" from Kasama Shigetsugu. His first mei was Shigemasa (繁正). Later, he changed his mei to Shigemasa (繁政). From Showa 8, he forged swords at the Yasukuni Jinja Nihonto Tanrenkai and the Okura Nihonto Tanrenjo. In Showa 16, he became independent in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo. He received certification as a Rikugun Jumei Tosho, and furthermore, in Showa 19, he also received certification as a Kaigun Jumei Tosho. After the war, he took the name Ikkansai Shigemasa and continued to forge swords energetically, and was certified as Mukansa by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai. He passed away in Heisei 8 at the age of 91. Ikkansai Shigemasa is a highly renowned master smith who deeply carved his name into the history of pre-war and post-war nihonto. This sword was forged in the year he was appointed as a Kaigun Jumei Tosho, and it is a sword that shows a grand sugata with a nagasa of 2 shaku 2 sun, which was the standard length at the time, a very wide mihaba, and ample hiraniku. The jitetsu is skillfully done as per his reputation, a strong forged jigane where the itame hada is well-kneaded with a nagare-kokoro and covered in ji-nie. The hamon is in the ko-nie deki that Shigemasa excelled at, tempering a sakagakaru choji-ba. Inside the ha, ashi enter frequently, and sunagashi and kinsen appear along the habuchi, working actively. The boshi continues as it is, hakikake at the tip, and returns to komaru. A thick and powerful mei is carved into the nakago finished with kiri-yasurime. At a glance, this sword appears to be a custom-ordered item for a person who was no ordinary individual. This is because, setting aside the quality of the workmanship, when looking at swords from around Showa 19, works crafted with this much devotion are extremely few. The fact that it was made during the peak period of Ikkansai Shigemasa, who was also appointed as a navy swordsmith, may be one factor, but this work is unmistakably perceived to be a representative masterpiece of Shigemasa. It is a masterpiece sword by Ikkansai Shigemasa. Shirasaya, kin-paku ichiju habaki. Hozon Token Kanteisho.
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Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
around 1926-1989
4 pieces on the market now
Shōwa to the present: destruction and revival
The twentieth century nearly killed the craft twice: wartime distortion, then the occupation ban. The NBTHK’s founding in 1948 and licensed forging from 1953 rebuilt the sword as an art, crowned by Living National Treasures and the mukansa rank.
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.
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