NihontoWatchNihontoWatchEchizen Sadayoshi (越前定吉) was a smith of the Chiyozuru school, active during the Nanbokuchô period in the mid-fourteenth century. He is a rare and somewhat elusive figure – his name does not appear in the standard Meikan sword reference books, and signed works attributed to him are unusual, some bearing simply the character “一” (Ichi) on the tang. What can be said is that the character of his work aligns with a northern tradition, and the Chiyozuru school connection places him within a lineage that produced bold, robustly constructed blades. The NBTHK’s attribution to Sadayoshi, confirmed at the 19th Jûyô session in June 1970 – one of the earlier sessions in the programme’s history – carries particular weight given how early such recognition was extended to a smith this lightly documented. This blade is a naginata-naoshi – a polearm blade reforged and remounted as a sword, a conversion that was common during and after the Nanbokuchô period as battlefield naginata were repurposed for personal wear. The naginata heritage is immediately apparent in the proportions: a wide mihaba with very little taper (3.1 cm at the base, 2.75 cm at the tip), and an ô-kissaki of extraordinary length at 10.25 cm – a figure that speaks directly to the sweeping, lethal geometry of the original polearm tip. The kitae is an ô-itame with nagare, hada-tachi throughout, and a shirake utsuri moving through the ji. The hamon is a ko-notare gunome midare with a relatively narrow yakihaba, hotsure along the habuchi, ko-ashi, sunagashi, kinsuji, deep nioi, and thick ko-nie. The bôshi is midare-komi with hakikake at the tip and yakizume – tight and decisive. Both sides of the blade retain traces of the original kanmuri-otoshi grooves from its naginata life, visible on the nakago. At the 19th Jûyô session, held in 1970, this was among a relatively small and selective body of blades to receive the designation in what remains one of the programme’s earlier and more tightly curated sessions. For a blade by a smith absent from the standard reference literature, Jûyô certification at this stage is a statement of exceptional quality. The combination of its unusual attribution, the dramatic naginata-naoshi sugata, and that commanding ô-kissaki make this a blade that is both historically significant and visually striking.
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Yamashiro-den · Echizen
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The Chiyozuru lineage took root in Echizen Province during the Nanbokuchō period, and the setsumei consistently trace its origin to Rai Kuniyasu (来国安). He is said to have been born in Yamashiro Province, with one tradition holding him a grandson of Rai Kunisue; he later moved to Echizen, where the meikan place him around the Jōji and Sadaji eras (ca. 1362 to 1368). A parallel tradition, recorded on the signed tachi attributed to Morihiro, names Chiyozuru Kuniyasu[[c:1]] as a disciple of Rai Kuniyasu and the founder of the line. From this root descend the smiths the blades document: Morihiro (守弘), placed in the Kuniyasu line across two generations, the first set in the Ōei era (1394 to 1428) and the second in the Kakitsu (1441 to 1444) and Bun'an (1444 to 1449) eras; and Mitsuyuki of Tsuruga[[c:2]], recorded as a student of Echizen Kuniyuki and known from a rare Kakei-dated tantō. The Yamashiro inheritance runs through the whole group, even as the workmanship moves away from the Kyoto homeland into a provincial Hokuriku register. Two stylistic strands run through the corpus, and recognizing the hand means reading where a given blade falls between them. The Rai-derived work, seen in the katana attributed to Rai Kuniyasu, shows itame mixed with mokume and nagare-hada, the grain tending to stand (hada-dachi) with thick ji-nie and frequent chikei; the steel carries a whitish or, in places, slightly blackish cast that the setsumei read as a provincial inflection of Yamashiro.
The hamon on these is a chū-suguha mixed with ko-gunome, the edge breaking into hotsure, kuichigai-ba, and nijūba, with ashi, yō, kinsuji, and sunagashi running through and a bright nioiguchi; the bōshi enters midare-komi or shallow notare-komi, turning in ko-maru with hakikake, at times vigorous enough to give a flame-like (kaen) impression. The Morihiro strand turns toward a gunome-based midareba with a chōji tendency, tobiyaki, and muneyaki, the forging moving toward masame near the edge; the setsumei mark this gunome-toned, nie-laden manner as differing in character from the Rai style and proper to the later line. For kantei, the setsumei set the diagnostic problem plainly: a Chiyozuru blade can at first glance resemble the orthodox Yamashiro Rai work, particularly around Rai Kunimitsu, yet careful reading of the standing grain, the whitish or blackish jigane, and the rustic activity in the bōshi beyond what the Kyoto homeland shows directs the attribution to Echizen. The boldest Nanbokuchō pieces, wide in mihaba with ō-kissaki and muneyaki, invite comparison with Hokuriku contemporaries such as Etchū Tametsugu (越中為継), but the character of ji and ha keeps them within the Chiyozuru fold. Signed examples anchor the line: Morihiro tachi and a Kakitsu 1 (1441) dated wakizashi carrying his Tōzaemon no Jō name, and the Mitsuyuki tantō whose Kakei date makes it documentary material of high value, dated works of the group being extremely scarce. The Morihiro tachi of Jūyō-Bijutsuhin standing is recorded in the Kōzan Oshigata, Kokon Kajibikō, and Kantō Zuiroku. Across the corpus the line holds a distinct place among Nanbokuchō and early Muromachi Hokuriku smiths, carrying a Yamashiro pedigree into a workmanship the appraisers read as its own. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kuniyasu國安 | 1345-1350 | 4 |
| Ieyoshi家善 | 1487-1489 | 0 |
| Kagemori景守 | 1394-1428 | 0 |
| Munemitsu宗光 | 1441-1444 | 0 |
| Iemasa家正 | 1492-1501 | 0 |
A blade of top-grade workmanship and condition, formally judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin). Awarded only at the NBTHK’s competitive annual examination.
Of Japan’s roughly 2.5 million registered swords, only 12,348 (about 1 in 202) have ever attained Jūyō.
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 siteAll swords come with a three-day inspection period beginning from the date of delivery. If not satisfied, the sword may be returned within this period for a full refund of the purchase price. Outside of this period, all sales are final. Swords purchased on a layaway payment plan are not eligible for the three-day inspection period.