It’s here, it’s here—a famous *tarto* with a connection to the renowned O-Sa has appeared. The smith Sa, whose real name was Saemon Saburo Yasuyoshi, signed his *mei* simply as "Sa." Because of this, he has been called "Samonji" since ancient times. This genius master smith suddenly appeared in Chikuzen (Fukuoka Prefecture) and is famously known as one of the highest-ranking disciples among the *Masamune Jittetsu* (Ten Great Disciples of Masamune). Along with Awataguchi Yoshimitsu, Shintogo Kunimitsu, Norishige, and Osafune Kagemitsu, he left behind masterpieces as a grandmaster of the *tanto*. During the Nanboku-cho period, in the 2nd year of Engen (1336) (688 years ago), Ashikaga Takauji—who had been ordered to be pursued by Kusunoki Masashige and Kitabatake Akiie after defecting from Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration—was defeated in and around Kyoto. He fled by sea to Kyushu. There, over two hundred swordsmiths of the Sa school joined Kikuchi Taketoshi, leader of the Higo Loyalists who sided with Emperor Go-Daigo, to intercept Ashikaga Takauji’s army at Tatarahama (near the Tatara River in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka). However, the Kikuchi army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Samonji school fought bravely alongside them, many dying in battle. The surviving swordsmiths left Hakata and migrated to Hirado in Hizen, Oishi in Chikugo, and Nagato, where they flourished as Hirado Sa, Oishi Sa, and Choshu Sa. In that same year of Engen 2 (1336), the loyal vassal Kusunoki Masashige also died at the Battle of Minatogawa, leading to the establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate by Ashikaga Takauji. This *tanto* is an *ubu mumei* piece appraised as Hirado Sa. Because it follows the lineage of O-Sa, its *sugata* reflects the style of O-Sa; the *mune* is *shin-no-mune*, the *motohaba* is somewhat narrow with *sori*, presenting the excellent *tanto* form characteristic of Sa. The *jigane* is a match for O-Sa, featuring *itame-hada* mixed with *mokume-hada*. The *hamon* is a *notare-midare* mixed with *gunome* with *konie*, showing the characteristic Sa "double-edge" (*nijuba*) near the *boshi*, with *kinsuji* appearing within the blade; it is bright and very clear. The *bonji* engravings on both the *omote* and *ura* of the *jitetsu* are also very pleasing. The representative smith of Hirado Sa, who inherited the lineage of the *tanto* master O-Sa, was Sa Yasuyoshi; this *tanto* could well be appraised as Sa Yasuyoshi. On this occasion, an elderly connoisseur who has thoroughly enjoyed this Sa *tanto* has entrusted it to us, asking that this famous Hirado Sa *tanto* be passed on affordably to a younger generation of Sa enthusiasts. Therefore, we are offering it at a special bargain price. Please enjoy it.
Certificate reading — 無銘（平戸左）
NihontoWatchmumei · Nanbokucho · nagasa 27.6cm · sori 0.3cm
Soshu-den · Hizen
1 piece on the market now
At Hirado in Hizen Province, a body of smiths carried the Sa (Samonji) line of Chikuzen northward and worked it on their own ground, and these are the makers the records group under the name Hirado Sa. The setsumei place their activity from the late Nanbokuchō into the early Muromachi period, with one tachi dated no earlier than Kenmu (1334) and no later than Meitoku (1394), and a tantō set around the Ōei era. The named hand at the head of the group is Shichirōsaburō Morihiro (盛広), transmitted as belonging to a branch of the Sa lineage and signing Hirado jū Morihiro saku; the meikan note that second and third generations worked under the same name. His son Moriyoshi (盛吉), recorded as the child of Morihiro, signs in two characters. Two further smiths appear in the corpus: Morisada (守貞), whose tachi carries a two-character mei, and Sadakiyo (貞清), whose tantō is signed Hirado Sa Sadakiyo. The shared manner reads as Soshu-den transplanted from the parent school. The kitae is itame, often drifting toward masame near the edge and at times opening into ō-itame with mokume; ji-nie forms throughout, chikei appears, and the ground frequently takes a whitish cast.
The temper rests on nie and ko-nie and runs through a vocabulary of shallow notare and ko-notare mixed with gunome, sometimes in a connected (tsure) manner, with ashi, deep nioi in places, and sunagashi worked vigorously; kinsuji, hotsure, and kuichigai-ba are noted on the more active blades. The bōshi varies but tends to midare-komi with a slightly pointed tip that turns back, and ranges to hakikake, a flame-like (kaen) form, and ko-maru. On the tantō by Moriyoshi the setsumei find aspects that recall Akikuni and Yukikuni of Chōshū, while elsewhere the work is read directly against the Sa line; recognition therefore rests on the Sa-school structure of itame with ji-nie carrying a nie-based notare-gunome. For kantei the standing point is this Sa-derived combination of a whitish ji-nie ground and a nie-laden, notare-tinged midareba with sunagashi, set against the group's Nanbokuchō-to-Muromachi dating; the long-signature tantō of Morihiro is singled out as extremely rare. One ō-suriage, mumei katana attributed den Hirado Sa carries a kinzōgan-mei reading Raikō (雷光) and a dedication of Meiji 14 (1881), recording its presentation by Yamaoka Tetsutarō to Koteda Yasusada, then Governor of Shiga Prefecture. The setsumei repeatedly treat these blades as reference material that fills gaps in the extant meikan record for the group, and the signed tachi and tantō in particular are valued as documentary evidence for a body of work whose signed examples are scarce. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sadahide貞秀 | 1368-1375 | 0 |
| Moriyuki盛行 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Moritsugu守次 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Moriyoshi盛吉 | 1444-1449 | 0 |
| Moriyoshi盛吉 | 1368-1375 | 1 |
Sōshū in the Nanbokuchō period
Kamakura fell in 1333, but the school’s greatest era followed: Sadamune working at his teacher’s standard, Hiromitsu and Akihiro spilling hitatsura over the whole blade, and the Sōshū manner spreading with the armies until it became, for a time, a national style.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
¥680,000
It’s here, it’s here—a famous *tarto* with a connection to the renowned O-Sa has appeared. The smith Sa, whose real name was Saemon Saburo Yasuyoshi, signed his *mei* simply as "Sa." Because of this, he has been called "Samonji" since ancient times. This genius master smith suddenly appeared in Chikuzen (Fukuoka Prefecture) and is famously known as one of the highest-ranking disciples among the *Masamune Jittetsu* (Ten Great Disciples of Masamune). Along with Awataguchi Yoshimitsu, Shintogo Kunimitsu, Norishige, and Osafune Kagemitsu, he left behind masterpieces as a grandmaster of the *tanto*. During the Nanboku-cho period, in the 2nd year of Engen (1336) (688 years ago), Ashikaga Takauji—who had been ordered to be pursued by Kusunoki Masashige and Kitabatake Akiie after defecting from Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration—was defeated in and around Kyoto. He fled by sea to Kyushu. There, over two hundred swordsmiths of the Sa school joined Kikuchi Taketoshi, leader of the Higo Loyalists who sided with Emperor Go-Daigo, to intercept Ashikaga Takauji’s army at Tatarahama (near the Tatara River in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka). However, the Kikuchi army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Samonji school fought bravely alongside them, many dying in battle. The surviving swordsmiths left Hakata and migrated to Hirado in Hizen, Oishi in Chikugo, and Nagato, where they flourished as Hirado Sa, Oishi Sa, and Choshu Sa. In that same year of Engen 2 (1336), the loyal vassal Kusunoki Masashige also died at the Battle of Minatogawa, leading to the establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate by Ashikaga Takauji. This *tanto* is an *ubu mumei* piece appraised as Hirado Sa. Because it follows the lineage of O-Sa, its *sugata* reflects the style of O-Sa; the *mune* is *shin-no-mune*, the *motohaba* is somewhat narrow with *sori*, presenting the excellent *tanto* form characteristic of Sa. The *jigane* is a match for O-Sa, featuring *itame-hada* mixed with *mokume-hada*. The *hamon* is a *notare-midare* mixed with *gunome* with *konie*, showing the characteristic Sa "double-edge" (*nijuba*) near the *boshi*, with *kinsuji* appearing within the blade; it is bright and very clear. The *bonji* engravings on both the *omote* and *ura* of the *jitetsu* are also very pleasing. The representative smith of Hirado Sa, who inherited the lineage of the *tanto* master O-Sa, was Sa Yasuyoshi; this *tanto* could well be appraised as Sa Yasuyoshi. On this occasion, an elderly connoisseur who has thoroughly enjoyed this Sa *tanto* has entrusted it to us, asking that this famous Hirado Sa *tanto* be passed on affordably to a younger generation of Sa enthusiasts. Therefore, we are offering it at a special bargain price. Please enjoy it.
Certificate reading — 無銘（平戸左）
NihontoWatchmumei · Nanbokucho · nagasa 27.6cm · sori 0.3cm
Soshu-den · Hizen
1 piece on the market now
At Hirado in Hizen Province, a body of smiths carried the Sa (Samonji) line of Chikuzen northward and worked it on their own ground, and these are the makers the records group under the name Hirado Sa. The setsumei place their activity from the late Nanbokuchō into the early Muromachi period, with one tachi dated no earlier than Kenmu (1334) and no later than Meitoku (1394), and a tantō set around the Ōei era. The named hand at the head of the group is Shichirōsaburō Morihiro (盛広), transmitted as belonging to a branch of the Sa lineage and signing Hirado jū Morihiro saku; the meikan note that second and third generations worked under the same name. His son Moriyoshi (盛吉), recorded as the child of Morihiro, signs in two characters. Two further smiths appear in the corpus: Morisada (守貞), whose tachi carries a two-character mei, and Sadakiyo (貞清), whose tantō is signed Hirado Sa Sadakiyo. The shared manner reads as Soshu-den transplanted from the parent school. The kitae is itame, often drifting toward masame near the edge and at times opening into ō-itame with mokume; ji-nie forms throughout, chikei appears, and the ground frequently takes a whitish cast.
The temper rests on nie and ko-nie and runs through a vocabulary of shallow notare and ko-notare mixed with gunome, sometimes in a connected (tsure) manner, with ashi, deep nioi in places, and sunagashi worked vigorously; kinsuji, hotsure, and kuichigai-ba are noted on the more active blades. The bōshi varies but tends to midare-komi with a slightly pointed tip that turns back, and ranges to hakikake, a flame-like (kaen) form, and ko-maru. On the tantō by Moriyoshi the setsumei find aspects that recall Akikuni and Yukikuni of Chōshū, while elsewhere the work is read directly against the Sa line; recognition therefore rests on the Sa-school structure of itame with ji-nie carrying a nie-based notare-gunome. For kantei the standing point is this Sa-derived combination of a whitish ji-nie ground and a nie-laden, notare-tinged midareba with sunagashi, set against the group's Nanbokuchō-to-Muromachi dating; the long-signature tantō of Morihiro is singled out as extremely rare. One ō-suriage, mumei katana attributed den Hirado Sa carries a kinzōgan-mei reading Raikō (雷光) and a dedication of Meiji 14 (1881), recording its presentation by Yamaoka Tetsutarō to Koteda Yasusada, then Governor of Shiga Prefecture. The setsumei repeatedly treat these blades as reference material that fills gaps in the extant meikan record for the group, and the signed tachi and tantō in particular are valued as documentary evidence for a body of work whose signed examples are scarce. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Sadahide貞秀 | 1368-1375 | 0 |
| Moriyuki盛行 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Moritsugu守次 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Moriyoshi盛吉 | 1444-1449 | 0 |
| Moriyoshi盛吉 | 1368-1375 | 1 |
Sōshū in the Nanbokuchō period
Kamakura fell in 1333, but the school’s greatest era followed: Sadamune working at his teacher’s standard, Hiromitsu and Akihiro spilling hitatsura over the whole blade, and the Sōshū manner spreading with the armies until it became, for a time, a national style.
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 siteFor returns due to customer circumstances, the cost is the customer's responsibility. For returns due to our mis-shipment or a defective item, we bear the cost.
¥680,000
