NihontoWatchModern Nara Mukansa tosho With handwritten hakogaki Hira-zukuri, low mitsu-mune. The omote has a sanko-tsuka-tsuki-ken, the ura has a shobu-style hi and soe-hi with maru-dome above the habaki. Kitae is o-itame and o-mokume undulating in waves to become ayasugi-style, with thick ji-nie, thick chikei entwined in the hadame, and the jitetsu is refined. Hamon is suguha-cho mixed with ko-gunome, the habuchi has ko-nie and is somewhat shizumi-gachi and tight, with kinsuji and sunagashi appearing within the ha. Boshi is suguha-cho with nie, the saki has slight hakikake and returns in o-maru-fu. Nakago is ubu, saki is kurijiri, yasurime is kesho o-sujikai. Silver kin-kise niju habaki. Period polishi. In shirasaya. With handwritten hakogaki. Sadatoshi, called Gassan Kiyoshi, was born in Osaka in Showa 21 as the third son of the Living National Treasure Gassan Sadaichi. Learning from his father, since receiving the Takamatsunomiya Prize at the Shinsakuto-ten in Showa 50, he has multiple times received the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, the Mainichi Shimbun Award, the Honorary Chairman Award, the Kanzan Award, and others; he was designated Mukansa in Showa 57, became the head of the Gassan family after his father Sadaichi passed away in Heisei 7, and was designated a Nara Prefecture Intangible Cultural Property Holder in Heisei 15. From the hontodachi for the Ise Jingu Shikinen Sengu to numerous other votive swords, sword exhibitions at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the USA, the opening of the Gassan Memorial Museum, and so on, he is a master smith who continues to strive for the prosperity of his school and the development of the sword world as the head of a prestigious lineage lasting 800 years. This work is a carefully made chuumon-uchi tanto from Showa 59 (1984) when the smith was 38 years old, with a nagasa of just under 9 sun 7 bu; as the handwritten hakogaki states, "Forged with the secret technique of the ancestral ayasugi tradition," it is a superior work of beautiful ayasugi-kitae, the true essence of the Gassan school, and furthermore, the horimono is dosaku. The ayasugi-kitae, where o-itame and o-mokume undulate in waves, is refined and tight with delicate chikei entwined in the hadame, and the ayasugi patterns of the ji entwine into the ha to form kinsuji and sunagashi; the variations of nie in the ji and ha are diverse and provide much to see. On the omote and ura, there are a sanko-tsuka-tsuki-ken, a shobu-style hi and soe-hi; while not a heavy design, it is magnificent Gassan-bori expressed with exquisite and precise carving techniques down to the fine details. The seat of Living National Treasure has been vacant for nearly 30 years; this is a full-effort work by Gassan Sadatoshi, who is considered the leading candidate for it.
Offered by Samurai Nippon
2 on the market
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Yamato · around 1926-1989
2 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.
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
For one-of-a-kind items such as swords, sword fittings and antiques, other customers may be waiting for the item, so please contact us about a return within 3 days of its arrival and ship it back within 8 days. Refunds are made on the day the returned item arrives.
¥950,000