太刀 因州景長 重要刀剣
SOLD
Tracked across 81 dealers worldwide · price history · sold archive
Kamakura
Specifications
74.8 cm
2.7 cm
2.82 cm
1.72 cm
About the maker
Inaba Kagenaga景長
Kagenaga (景長) of Inshu (Inaba Province) is traditionally said to have been a disciple of Awataguchi Yoshimasa of Yamashiro Province, with some accounts identifying him as Yoshimasa's younger brother. He is commonly known by the appellation "Inaba Kokaji" -- the small smith of Inaba. Beginning with the first generation, smiths signing with the same name continued from around the end of the Kamakura period well into the Muromachi period. However, works that bear dates are extremely few, being limited to only several blades inscribed with an *Oei*-era date, making it exceedingly difficult to determine the period of a given work solely from the manner of the signature. Extant blades actually signed "Inshu-ju Kagenaga" are rare, further underscoring the documentary value of each surviving signed example. The traditional style associated with this lineage is distinguished by skill in the Yamashiro tradition's *suguha*. The forging typically presents a *ko-itame-hada* that is densely worked, at times with a slight tendency toward *nagare*, producing a *jigane* that is extremely well refined and softened in appearance. Fine *ji-nie* forms thickly, and the *shinogi-ji* may become *masame*. The temper line is almost exclusively a narrow *suguha* -- frequently an *ito-suguha* -- in which the *nioiguchi* is tight and *ko-nie* adheres cleanly. The *boshi* is characteristically straight, turning back in a rounded manner. Points of interest may be found in areas where the *jigane* tends to be somewhat soft, a quality that distinguishes Kagenaga's work within the broader Awataguchi idiom. Among the earliest surviving works attributed to Kagenaga, blades from around the very end of the Kamakura period display an especially archaic manner in both *sugata* and the style of *jitetsu* and *hamon*, presenting slender proportions with pronounced *koshizori* and *ko-kissaki* that recall the classical *tachi* form. These early pieces are valuable examples that demonstrate the direct continuation of the Kyoto-school *suguha* aesthetic into the provincial setting of Inaba, and they occupy an important position among works of the Awataguchi lineage.