Swordsmiths should not take easy options by making the excuse that we are only making art swords and not weapons. […] Shibata Ka of Akita prefecture researched jigane thoroughly and succeeded in forging a jigane that was mistaken for that of the Kamakura period and emulated by no other smiths of the Showa era. When we have a look at his extant works today, they remind us of the great resolution he had in sword forging.

– Amada Akitsugu, Ningen Kokuho (Living National Treasure Swordsmith)

[Ka] has had an interest in swordsmiths since childhood, and has grasped it by studying alone. His works are o-midare, o-itame, and he has made many blades which closely resemble those of Hankei.

– Fujishiro Yoshio, Nihon Token Jiten

Shibata Ka was born with the name Shibata Masataro, and comes from Nishimonai, Ugo-machi in Akita prefecture. He began his study of sword forging in an unusual way: he was self taught, and received some assistance in this first from Sato Shigenori and then later on by Miyaguchi Toshihiro.

Ka was what we would refer to as a renaissance man. He was born into wealth, was a martial artist and swordsman, schooled at university, was a sculptor and painter, and took elected office as well. Though he was a man of means, he also took up commission in the Army repairing swords on the front lines during the China campaign.

Fascinated with swords since his childhood, Ka became a diligent researcher and complimented his swordsmith training by establishing an excellent collection of swords that he used as a study library. In order to increase his knowledge he also took up the study of kantei under the famous polisher and sword scholar Honami Koson. This multifaceted approach of studying kantei, collecting and studying swords, and the pursuit of excellence in the skill of forging combined with his drive to duplicate masterpieces of the koto period to produce works that simply stood apart from the crowd. Even the great smiths of the era did not produce work that was anything like what came from the hammer of Shibata Ka: in his pursuit of the old koto swords, he was peerless.

The following story from Kokan Nagayama further illuminates the subject. Kokan Nagayama was a polishing student of Honami Koson and would go on to become a Ningen Kokuho himself (and currently the only Living National Treasure polisher). The anecdote follows:

Shibata Ka, who was also a famous sword collector and was learning kantei from Koson, made two tanto for him in commemoration of the 2,600th Imperial Year (1940). A flaw came out on one of the tanto during its groundwork so Koson gave it to me. I did the groundwork of the tanto at night and was able to eventually remove the flaw, and the blade showed beautiful workmanship after I had finished it.

No one attributes this tanto to gendaito whenever it is used for kantei at a sword meeting. Many people mistake it for a classic tanto of the Kamakura period such as a Shintogo Kunimitsu. Shibata diligently undertook unique research into sword forging and was one of the few swordsmiths who came to grips with the jigane of fine old swords. It might have been possible for him to carry out research that was different from other swordsmiths as his collection included many classic swords. Some people said that he altered old swords and put his signature on the tangs but this is not true. I can recognize his characteristic habits of forging in the jigane of his blades.

Shinsakuto of that time were generally very difficult to polish with the exception of those of Shibata Ka.

– Kokan Nagayama (Living Nationa Treasure Polisher)

Fujishiro’s Nihon Toko Jiten is the sword bible that is indispensable to collectors all over the world. It was written by the great expert Fujishiro Yoshio in the Showa period, and has been updated several times since. No sword I list goes onto my site without first consulting what Fujishiro Yoshio has had to say about the smith, and it is rare that he chooses to list a contemporary smith to mention. A quick check shows only 11 that he considered worthy of mention: Watanabe Kanenaga, Miyaguchi Yasuhiro, Sakurai Masatsugu, Miyairi Akihira, Hikosaburo Akihide, Gassan Sadakatsu, Takahashi Sadatsugu, Gassan Sadamitsu (Nidai Gassan Sadaichi*), Kasama Shigetsugu, Horii Toshihide, and Shibata Ka.

As Miyairi Akihira, Takahashi Sadatsugu and Gassan Sadaichi would go on to become the first three of the six total Ningen Kokuho (Living National Treasure) swordsmiths, it is clear that Fujishiro chose to list only those swordsmiths that were in his opinion of considerable skill… an opinion that seems to have born out rather prophetically.

What is also interesting to note is that one of the examples that Fujishiro placed in his book carries the inscription: Tame Fujishiro Yoshio Kun Mane Soden Yuki… a custom work of the Soshu Den made to order for Mr. Fujishiro Yoshio, indicating that his appreciation for the work of Shibata Ka was more than scholarly but he was enthusiastic for the smith’s work.

It should be very clear from the level of these commentators and the comments themselves that the advanced work of this swordsmith at the height of his learning is extraordinary in all senses of the word. I do wish to draw attention to the fact that Nagayama sensei stated above that that particular tanto was mistaken for the work of Shintogo Kunimitsu. Shintogo is the founder of the Soshu tradition and the teacher of Masamune. He is often considered to be the foremost maker of tanto to have lived, if second to anyone, only Yoshimitsu. For someone who has spent their career trying to emulate old works, in particular those of the Soshu tradition, there can be no higher praise than to have a tanto be judged as a Shintogo Kunimitsu.

Shibata Ka passed out of this world in March of 1953. He was a true original and a fascinating man; a unique player in the world of Nihonto. It’s not clear how much longer he continued to forge swords past the US occupation of Japan.