Jūyō-Tōken at the 36th Jūyō Shinsa held on May 25, 1990 Katana, mumei: Sue-Sa (末左) Kanagawa Prefecture, Shibuya Kazuo (渋⾕⼀雄)

Nagasa 69.1 cm
Sori 1.2 cm
Motohaba 3.15 cm
Sakihaba 2.45 cm
Kissaki-nagasa 7.4 cm
Nakago nagasa 17.75 cm

Explanation The smith Ō-Sa (⼤左) had emerged in Chikuzen province by the Nanbokuchō period and had trained many students, e.g., Yasuyoshi (安吉), Yukihiro (⾏弘), Kunihiro (国弘), Yoshisada (吉貞), Hiroyuki (弘⾏), and Hiroyasu (弘安). These students and their works are referred to as Sue-Sa (末左), and they all date to the Nanbokuchō period. Said Sue-Sa smiths quite faithfully continued the stye of their master, and all of them were highly skilled, although not many produced unique features, which would allow us to tell their works apart with certainty. Thus, in case of unsigned Sue-Sa works, it is often difficult to narrow them down to an individual maker. This blade is ō-suriage and reflects with its relatively wide mihaba and ō-kissaki the typical shape of the Nanbokuchō period, and on the basis of the interpretation of the jiba, it can be attributed to Sue-Sa in the above mentioned general manner.

More details…

SKU: KATANA0089-1-1-2-2-1-1-1-4-1-1-1 Category:

Description

第三⼗六回重要⼑剣
筑州住末左
⼤磨上無銘也末左トハ⼤左⼀⾨ノ技倆秀抜ナル鍛冶達ヲ汎称スル⾔葉也幅廣・⼤鋒ノ豪快雄渾 フル形態ナリテ地刃厚ク沸付キテ砂流・⾦筋・地景ヲ織成シ相州傳ヲ強調シタル出来⼝ヲ⽰シ 帽⼦ガ突上気味トナルナド⼀類ノ特⾊ガ把握サレル優品⽽穏ヤカナ刃取カラ貞吉ニ擬セラレル者有之
刃⻑弐尺⼆⼨⼋分弱
歳甲⾠如⽉探⼭識「花押」

Dai sanjūrokkai Jūyō-Tōken
Chikush-jū Sue-Sa
Ō-suriage mumei nari. Sue-Sa to wa Ō-Sa ichimon no giryō shūbatsu naru kaji-dachi o hanshō-suru kotoba nari. Haba hiro, ō-kissaki no gōkai-yūkon-furu keitai narite jiba atsuku nie tsukite sunagashi, kinsuji, chikei o orinashi Sōshū-den o kyōchō-shitaru dekiguchi o shimeshi bōshi tsukiage kimi to naru nado ichirui no tokushoku ga ha’aku-sareru yūhin. Shikamo odayaka na hadori kara Sadayoshi to gi-serareru mono kore ari.
Hachō ni-shaku ni-sun hachi-bu jaku
Toki ni kinoe-tatsu kisarari Tanzan shirusu + kaō

Jūyō-Tōken at 36th Jūyō Shinsa
Sue-Sa from Chikuzen Province
This blade is ō-suriage mumei. “Sue-Sa” is an umbrella term for the group of outstanding smiths that belonged to the school of Ō-Sa. With its wide mihaba and ō-kissaki, the blade is of a magnificent and powerful shape. The jiba displays much nie, and the interpretation with sunagashi, kinsuji, and chikei being interwoven with the forging structure reflects a strong emphasis of the Sōshū tradition. This combined with the bōshi with its late  starting kaeri, we recognize in this masterwork the typical characteristics of said group, and because of the calm course of the ha, it may be narrowed down to Sadayoshi as its maker.
Blade length ~ 69.0 cm (27 3/16 in.)
Written by [Tanobe Michihiro] in February in the year of the dragon of this era (2024) + monogram.