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tanto by Gassan Sadakazu (1834-1918)

Meiji 1 – Winter 1868

w/Dragon fittings and kozuka by main-line 13 ^{th gen.} Goto master

Swordsmith:Gassan Sadakazu (1834-1918)

Period:Meiji 1, 1868 (Winter)

Location:Settsu

Approx measurements:Nagasa (cutting edge length): 21.5 cm

Kitae:ko-itame

Hamon:suguha

Boshi:ko-maru

Horimono (engraving): Omote-Koshi-bi (a short type of groove
carved into the blade close to the tang), Ura-gomabashi (chopstick
grooves with claw underneath)

Nakago:two mekugi-ana

Yasurime:sujikai (slanted filing pattern) with distinctive start of filling marks on tanto

Signature:Gassan Sadakazu saku

Dated:Meiji gannen fuyu / Winter of Meiji 1 [1868]

Certificates: (3)

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon(a sword Extraordinarily Worthy of Conservation by the Society for the Preservation of the Japan Art Sword)

NTHK:Blade, NTHK-NPO: Koshirae Kanteisho( a sword/koshirae designated as Important by the Non-Profit Japanese Sword Appraisal Association )

Ratings:

Fujishiro’s reference:Jo Jo Saku (Above Superior made)

Koshirae:Older mounts with; Hilt covered with white same and wrapped hishimaki-style with black cords; fuchigashira of shibuichi, with gold iroe, depicting a cloud dragon; menukiof shakud?, in katachibori, with gold iroe, depicting Fudo-My??; hamidashi-tsuba of shakud? with a nanako ground depicting a creeping dragon; kozuka of shakud? with a nanako ground, with gold iroe, depicting waves and a cloud dragon, signed: “Mon Eij? Mitsutaka + ka?” (??? ??????). Fittings were likely repurposed by Enjo Mitsutaka.

The kozuka is signed by the Goto mainline master, Enjo Mitsutaka. Mitsutaka was the 13th master of the prestigious Goto School and was also considered one of the best among all 17 mainline masters. He was also considered the best at attributing past works that were unsigned, and or repairing / remounting works of the older masters.

*2.13 Got? Enj? (????), 13th gen. information & chart: Courtesy – Markus Sesko (Author),E-Nihon-shinshint?-shi (page 63 & 68), Click to purchase

“Enj?, born in the sixth year of Ky?h? (1721), was the second son of Juj? but succeeded as the 13th head of the Got? family because his older brother Kanj? (??)– called „Mitsusuke“ (??), who died on the seventh day of the second month of Kansei ten (1798) – had to retire for health reasons. Before adopting the name „Shir?bei“ he was called „Gennoj?“ ( ???) and his civilian name was „Mitsunari“ (??). Later, as head of the family, he changed this name to „Mitsutaka“ (??). Enj? died on the 18th day of the ninth month of Tenmei four (1784), at the age of 68. Around Enj? ?s time, the Got? artists „broke with tradition“ and also made fuchigashira, other sword fittings, and an increasing number of tsuba, for example the shakud?-tsuba with nanako ground which had to be worn by bushi on certain occasions (banzashi-daish?).” See GOTO chart next pg.

Included:Koshirae, Shirasaya, carry bags

Note:In 1906 he was nominated as Teishitsu Gigei In ( ? ? ? ? ? ) (Craftsman authorized by the Imperial court). This was a title equivalent to todays Living National Treasure.

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate

TRANSLATION:

KANTEI-SHO (???) – APPRAISAL

No 147372

tant?, signed: Gassan Sadakazu (????)

Meiji gannen fuyu (?????, “winter of Meiji one [1868]”)nagasa ~ 21.5 cm

According to the result of the shinsa committee of our society, we judge
this work as authentic and rank it as tokubetsu-hozon-t?ken.
June 10, 2002
[Foundation] Nihon Bijutsu T?ken Hozon Ky?kai, NBTHK (????????
??)

NTHK certificate

TRANSLATION:Gassan Sadakazu (????)

sh?shin (??) – Authenticnagasa 7sun 1 bu han kore ari (?????????) – Blade length ~ 21.5 cm

Heisei 1 nen 10 gatsu 15 nichi (?????????) – October 15, 1989

Nihon T?ken Hozon Kai (???????) – NTHK

No 10761meibun (??) – Signature: Gassan Sadakazu saku (?????)

Meiji gannen fuyu (?????, “winter of Meiji one [1868]”)

kitae ( ? ) – Forging: ko-itame hamon

(??) – Hardening: suguha

bôshi (??) – Hardening in tip: ko-maru

chôkoku (??) – Engravings: on the omote side a koshibi, on the ura sidegomabashi

nakago (??) – Tang: mekugi-ana (???) 2, yasurime (?): sujikai withdistinctive start of file marks

bikô (??) – Remarks: Settsu Province

shinsa’in natsu’in (?????) – Seals of Judges: 2 seals

NTHK NPO KOSHIRAE CERTIFICATE

TRANSLATION:

Certificate # 275

koshirae

chiisagatana-koshirae with black glossy-lacquer saya and en suite fittings

Overall length 42.5 cm

Hilt covered with white same and wrapped hishimaki-style with black
cords; fuchigashira of shibuichi, with gold iroe, depicting a cloud dragon;
menuki of shakud?, in katachibori, with gold iroe, depicting Fudo- My??;
hamidashi-tsuba of shakud? with a nanako ground depicting a creeping
dragon; kozuka of shakud? with a nanako ground, with gold iroe,
depicting waves and a cloud dragon, signed: “Mon Eij? Mitsutaka + ka?”
( ??? ??????)

Kantei remarks:

Late Edo period

77/100 points

NTHK-NPO shinsa work sheet

Page from John Scott Sloughs book –
“An Oshigata book of MODERN JAPANESE SWORDSMITHS 1868-1945”

meibun (??) – Signature: Gassan Sadakazu saku (?? ???) Meiji gannen fuyu (?????, “winter of Meiji one [1868]”)

The Gassan school (??)

The time-honoured kot? Gassan school was taken-up again in the shinshint? times by Sadachika (??). Sadachika, his civilian name was „kuyama Yasabur? (?????), was born in Meiwa eight (??, 1771) in Sasagawa (??) in the Nishimurayama district ( ? ? ? ? ) of Dewa province. It is said that he was a descendant of the Gassan lineage and he died on the 19th day of the fifth month of Kaei four (??, 1851) at the age of 81. But the actual revival of the school has to be attributed to Sadachika´s son Gassan Yahachir?(?????) who adopted the name „Gassan” as his family name and who signed „ Sada-yoshi” ( ??). Some old transmissions say that Sadayoshi was born in the first year of Tenmei ( ? ? , 1781) and died on the 19th day of the second month of Meiji three (1870) at the age of 90. But in Tenmei one his father Sadachika was only ten years old and so another transmission is much more likely, namely that he died in 1870, not at the age of 90 but 71. This, in turn, calculates his year of birth as Kansei two ( ??, 1800). However, Sadayoshi left Dewa in the early years of the Bunsei era ( ? ? , 1818-1830) and went to Edo to study under Suishinshi Masahide. After that, i.e. in Tenp?four (??, 1833), he moved to ?saka where he laid the foundation for the more recent success story of the Gassan school. We know blades from Sadayoshi from the Bunsei to the end of the Kei?era ( ? ? , 1865-1868). His jihada is the typical Gassan ayasugi, a masame in the Yamato tradition, or a dense mokume. The hamon is either a suguha in nie-deki, a small-dimensioned ch?ji-midare, or a koshi-no-hiraita midare. It is said that his adopted son Sadakazu made several daisaku-daimei works for him in his later years.

Sadakazu (??), who bore the civilian name „Gassan Yagor? (?????), was born in the second month of Tenp? seven ( ? ? , 1836) in the village of Sugoshi ( ??) in the Inugami district (??) of ?mi province. He was adopted by Sadayoshi at the age of seven. In Meiji 39 (??, 1906) he was appointed teishitsu-gigei´in (?????, lit. „ember of the Imperial Arts and Crafts”), the equivalent to the later title of Living National Treasure. He and Miyamoto Kanenori (????) were the only swordsmiths awarded with this honour. The teishitsu-gigei´in program was founded by the Meiji government in 1890 to preserve the traditional arts and crafts. – 125 –

Sadakazu´s g? were K?kensai” (???), „nry?hi” (???) and „uiy?hi” (?? ? ). He died on July 11th 1918 at the age of 84 and we know from him dated blades from the third year of Kaei (??, 1850) – he was only 15 years old at that time – to his year of death in 1918. That means he was active as swordsmith for about 70 years. He mastered all traditions and is regarded, besides Honj? Yoshitane (??? ?) and Kurihara Nobuhide (????), as the greatest horimono engraver of the shinshint? times. Some suggest Suishinshi Masahide as the founder and Gassan Sadakazu as the last great master of the shinshint?. Sadakazu also played an important role in passing-on the craft to the subsequent gendait? swordsmiths. His blades have a rather long nagasa, a shallow sori, a widemihaba, and a ch?or an ?-kissaki, i.e. altogether a magnificent and grand shape, but he also made some blades with a sugata in the style of the early Muromachi period. Incidentally, blades made in the Kei?era ( ? ? , 1865- 1868) are especially impressive. He also made many copies of kot? works and worked for the military after the sword ban where more slender and shorter blades were needed. He forged the traditional ayasugi-hada of the Gassan school, a masame in the Yamato tradition, a mokume, a kokume and also an itame. According to the tradition he worked in, he tempered an elaborate ch?jimidare in nioi-deki with a narrow yakihaba and long ashi in the style of the ?ei- Bizen school (????), a ko-ch?ji-midare in ko-nie-deki, a ch?-suguhahotsure in the style of the Yamashiro tradition, or a gunome-midare with thick nie and nioi and plenty of hataraki in the style of the S?sh? tradition. The b?shi shows a roundish kaeri or runs out as yakitsume. He applied many different horimono like dragons, dragon and plum branches, kenmaki-ry?, waterfalls, Fud?-My??, bonji and the like. All of them are finely engraved and some remind us of carvings by Ikkanshi Tadatsuna (?????). Sadakazu´s blades show a long and carefully finished tang with a kurijiri and sujikai- yasurime with kesh?whereas each file stroke is exactly applied. During the Kei?and Meiji era he added a characteristic koku´in (see picture 90), and in the fifth year of Taish? (1916) he forged a tachi on the occasion of the enthronement of emperor Yoshihito (??, 1879-1926).

*Gassan School information: Courtesy – Markus Sesko (Author), ENihon-shinshint?-shi (pages 124-125), Click to purchase

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