NihontoWatchSumitani Masamine was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in Showa 56. Born in Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture in Taisho 10, he learned sword-making techniques during his time at Ritsumeikan Higher Technical School. Although sword-making was prohibited for a long time following the end of the war, in Showa 31, he built the "Sankatei" forge at the back of his home and resumed his long-desired sword-making, aiming from an early stage to reproduce ancient masterpieces. His choji hamon, which copied the famous swords of Bizen, came to be called "Sumitani Choji," and he rose to the rank of Mukansa and then Living National Treasure; however, the reproduction of the jigane did not go as he wished, and it was not until the Heisei era that he realized the difference lay not only in the steel itself but in the manufacturing process. Even after receiving such honors, he reproduced the jigane of koto with astonishing inquisitiveness and technical skill. This work is a masterpiece with an impressive utsuri that makes it hard to believe it is a gendaito. This wakizashi with a restrained length has the taihai of a sunnobi tanto, with a mitsumune, a bohi carved in, and a wide mihaba. The sakagakaru choji hamon is well-filled with ko-ashi and naga-ashi, and the thick, consistent covering of konie creates a finish reminiscent of Bitchu Aoe. A faint, irregular utsuri rises in the ko-itame hada jigane, and the boshi is komaru with a deep kaeri. The鏨 is cut deeply into the ubu nakago, and the nenkio of Heisei 2 is from around the time Mr. Sumitani was sixty-nine years old. It is a work from the creative period when he was able to reproduce the utsuri of koto, and it is even more deeply moving when looking back on Mr. Sumitani's journey. Exhibited work from the "Living National Treasure Sumitani Masamine Exhibition -The Mysterious Colors of the Japanese Sword-" held at the Sano Art Museum in Shizuoka Prefecture and the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art in Heisei 3 to 4. Published in the same catalog. Accompanied by a Tokubetsu Hozon Token Kanteisho.
NihontoWatchOffered by Tokka Biz
7 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Ishikawa · around 1921-1998
7 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.
A Hozon-certified blade judged to show notably superior workmanship and a better state of preservation. The bar is higher: re-tempered blades and most unsigned Muromachi/Edo works are excluded.
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.
NBTHK official siteIf the item is not to your liking, please feel free to return it for any reason. Return shipping is the customer's responsibility. After the item arrives and we confirm it is in the same condition as at the time of sale, we transfer the refund to your designated account the same day. Purchases made at the store are outside the scope of cooling-off.
¥1,380,000