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About the maker

Shinto Sadanori貞則

Suzuki Kaga no Kami Sadanori was a native of Kikuchi in Higo Province whose common name was Saemon (also given as Sayuemon). He traveled to Osaka and studied under Inoue Shinkai, one of the foremost Osaka-shinto masters. Thereafter he entered the service of the Naito family, and when the Naito were enfeoffed at Taira in Iwaki in Oshu, Sadanori accompanied them and relocated there. His signatures also confirm that he resided at Horikawa in Rakuyo (Kyoto), lending his inscriptions considerable documentary value for tracing the geographic movements of Shinkai's disciples. His manner of work encompasses *suguha*, *suguha* with *notare*, and *gunome* patterns. The *kitae* characteristically shows dense *ko-itame-hada* with thickly formed *ji-nie*, and the *nioiguchi* is bright and clear. In his finest works, the deep *nioi* and thickly adhering *nie* call to mind the style of his master Shinkai. One particularly notable katana -- tempered in a *notare* mixed with large gunome, with deep nioi, *ko-nie* well applied, and a clear nioiguchi with slight *tobiyaki* -- demonstrates how closely he absorbed his teacher's approach. His tang work is also distinctive, with *o-sujikai yasurime* and bold, thick-chiseled long signatures, sometimes accompanied by *kesho-yasuri*. Relatively few of Sadanori's works survive today; however, inheriting his teacher's style, he was recognized as a highly capable smith. The NBTHK setsumei consistently note the connection to Shinkai in both *jigane* and *hamon*, characterizing one blade as "so accomplished that it calls to mind his master Shinkai" and proclaiming it "the finest masterpiece among Sadanori's works." His dated inscriptions -- ranging from Enpo 3 (1675) through Enpo 7 (1679) -- provide valuable chronological markers for the study of the Osaka-shinto tradition and its reach into the Tohoku region through domain patronage.

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