Mito Tôkô
Mito Tôkô
Mito Swordsmiths
Mito;
Swords of justice, Men of steel
It snowed the morning of the 3rd day of the third month 1860, it snowed and snowed and snowed. Thick fluffy blankets of snow covered everything on a day that by European calendars would have been nearly in April. The crowded bustling city of Edo was hushed by it, few were in a hurry to enter the streets and slog thru the white drifts.
In spite of this a group of a dozen or so men moved toward the Sakurada-gate of Edo castle, one dressed in formal attire, the others according to their taste it seems, some with rain-coats and rain hats, others in thick quilted cotton jackets, tight fitting work pants and fresh waraji, straw sandals.
Stopping at a tea shop they asked the waiter to fetch sake from up the street, they wished to watch the snowfall and tea was hardly the drink to accompany such a rare and beautiful sight. A couple of fellows from the country come to see the snow and the procession of great lords into Edo castle or so they appeared. None who saw them would have suspected that just the day before these men had all submitted letters of resignation to their lord, the lord of Mito and were gathered today on a deadly mission.
As one or two of them took up positions on the opposite side of the great avenue, one straggler joined the group. He asked the other waiter to run to a nearby temple where he may have left a personal article and so they sat in the teahouse unattended as yet another joined the group. This man carrying a large bundle of swords wrapped in a furoshiki, all freshly forged and polished by Mito craftsmen and none shorter than 2 shaku 8 sun.
The swords were quietly distributed as still others arrived and their quarry first came into sight. In contrast to the haphazard movements and ragtag appearance of the first group there now appeared 50 or 60 men treading in unison through the deepening snow, “zu-shi, zu-shi, zu-shi.” On they came at a slow steady pace like some great heavy beast with a hundred powerful legs crunching the snow beneath it, “zu-shi.” Unmistakable they were, not just for the Tsubaki mon emblazoned in gold on the roof of the Kago, the palanquin, no, no one in Edo could miss the train of the lord of Ii on this day, with the streets bathed in white and his men resplendent in their bright red oil-paper raincoats, their Aka-gappa.
To anyone watching, these “red-devils” would have appeared as a great red serpent emerging from the snow, unrelenting in their progress, but these men of Mito who sat in wait, were unmoved, they had set their minds to their purpose and they were not to be deterred. They were on their feet and moving toward the procession almost as soon as it had come into sight, one group on the right, one on the left and the leader, Seki Testsunosuke, almost by himself in the middle of the way and out ahead of all the rest so anxious was he for the prize.
Some say a shot rang out, others that one of the men lying in wait at the side of the road jumped the cue and attacked. Whatever the signal, a great battle soon exploded in the streets, red raincoats caught by complete surprise, scattered in every direction, swords flashed, flesh danced, and red blood stained the pure white snow. Save the personal guard of the lord, the kago sat unattended in the street. Seeing their prize so close and unguarded drove the attackers into delirious fury as the Ii men did their best to drive them back with their useless scabbards; their swords being wrapped in oil-paper and leather as protection against the elements.
The attack was too sudden and too fierce. The guards recovered somewhat but could not rescue the kago from the danger it was now in. The Ii men gave good account of themselves but the tide was with the rebels. First two on the right, then a third on the left, then a fourth on the right drove his sword full length into the glistening lacquered box and the living cargo inside. Ripping off the doors with his left hand and yanking the wounded lord out Tetsunosuke struck at the head with his right. He struck with such a fury that his sword lodged into the wood frame of the palinquin, his lust for revenge so hot that he could wait for no other and he pulled the mans head up and back across the sword where it lay stuck, until he the head was removed. The head of Ii Kamon No Kami Naosuke, lord of Hikone, the man who had disgraced their lord of Mito and denied his son the chance to be Shogun, head of the board of regents, advisor to the shogun, the one man who was the defacto power in all of Tokugawa Japan.
Thus came the beginning of the end, the end of the Shogunate, the end of Japanese feudalism, the end of the samurai and the end of the age of swordsmen. Other names and other Han would play a bigger role it seems in the coming years, but who were these men of Mito who with this one act had set if all off? And what of the swords on which they staked their lives?
Mito, now the seat of Ibaragi-ken, in earlier times a fortress of the Daijo family. Taken in the 1400s by Edo Michifusa whose descendants held it until it was again taken by Satake Yoshishige (1547-1612) during his battles with Date Masamune. Yoshishige installed his son Yoshinobu at Mito taking the castle of Ota for himself. He was confirmed in his holdings by Ieyasu in 1600 but was soon transferred to Dewa. Ieyasu instead installed his own 5th son, Nobuyoshi, then in 1603 his 8th son, Yorinobu, who was then moved to Kii in 1609 and his place was taken by his 9th son, Yorifusa. Who was invested with 350,000 koku and became captain of this Tokugawa stronghold at the center of the rich Kanto plain.
Yorifusa’s 3rd son was Mitsukuni who was known as a very down to earth prince. Unafraid to visit mid-level retainers in their homes and comfortable in conversation with people of all walks of life. On the death of his father he forbade retainers from taking their lives and influenced the promulgation of a similar policy within the Shogunate. This openness inspired the image of a lord who cared for his fellow man and who travelled freely among the masses and so became the basis for the character Mito Komon. Whom we are sure you all know from television, books and movies.
His contributions to Japanese culture go way beyond this though. He studied the history of the Nanboku-cho and argued successfully for the recognition of the legitimacy of the southern court. He praised the loyalty of Kusunoki Masashige, researched the location of his death and established a monument there, now the site of the Minatogawa-jinja.
He seems to have had a scholarly bent from an early age, surrounding himself with erudite friends and advisors. He pushed for the prevalence of Shinto over Buddhism which he considered foreign, and of Japanese literature over Chinese classics.
His greatest achievement was perhaps the Dai Nihon Shi, a history of Japan from the age of the gods. A work which is today is being re-examined by scholars who now see more history than mythology in it’s pages than was previously believed. This great work, completed in 1715, in it’s final form had 243 volumes the bulk of which were published 3 years before Mitsukuni’s death in 1700.
His researches made the case for a strengthened position of the emperor over and above that of the Shogun. Thus establishing a school of learning that preached loyalty to the Shogun and reverence for the Emperor who was above all others. The Mito school would become one of the major intellectual movements of the Tokugawa period, in the end influencing many of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration.
Mitsukuni, whose go was Giko 義公, retired early in favor of his nephew in order to better pursue his studies, one of which may have been the forging of swords. The Mito school of Kinko was founded in his reign, and for his Okakai-kaji, his house swordsmith, he chose a man who was thought by many to be his equal in intellect and singularity; Omura Kaboku.
大村加卜
Omura Kaboku. Born in Suruga Uegahara the 2nd son of Mori Sukeemon officially he was Shintaro then Jirozaemon then Goroemon and finally Jibuzaemon. Early signatures include 義博Yoshihiro, 義秀Yoshihide and 康英Yasuhide. He studied medicine under Tsunoda Kyuho, and he seems to have started forging swords at an early age. According to legend because he had taken up the study of western medicine and he was not satisfied with the scalpels that were available, so endeavoured to make his own.
He was employed as the On-Geka, Lords Surgeon, for the Echigo Takata Matsudaira family serving Mitsunaga, here forged many swords and seems to have had access to the familys’ swords. There was a dispute over the succession of this household that finally reached the ears of the Shogun. All were punished according to rank, several of the lords counsellors were ordered to commit seppuku and this branch of the Matsudaira family was abolished.
When the time came he walked with his lords procession, as it headed back to Echigo, to the outskirts of Edo, where he knelt beside the kago and asked to be relieved of duty. With his princes’ blessing he now stood beside the roadway, the procession disappearing in the distance, a ronin.
At this same time in Edo, Zhu Shunsui a minister of the Ming government was living in exile, working to restore his own government and return to China. He was known as a great scholar and this attracted many learned men to his door. Kaboku is known to have visited him, perhaps he was researching a question of medicine or of ancient literature or perhaps he himself sought to restore his own lord and found in him a kindred spirit.
Whatever the circumstance both men soon found themselves in the employ of Mito Komon Mitsukuni. Zhu Shunsui as a scholar working on the Dai Nihon Shi and Kaboku as physician, companion and swordsmith.
Now we mentioned that Kaboku was a singular individual, Fukunaga Suiken calls him a first rate eccentric, the tops among swordsmiths. He was an adept at Jujutsu, he studied western medicine, Chinese medicine, as well as the forging techniques of many of the great koto swordsmiths. He must have been very well educated to appeal to Mitsukuni and to be included in his rare group of scholarly friends and advisors. He was a fanatic believer in Shingon sect Buddhism and was by many accounts very much convinced of his own superiority.
Add to this the tale that he was enamoured of sleeping in the nude and was known to relieve himself in public in this state. It has been said that he protested the noisy passers-by in his neighbourhood of an early morning, by defecating in the street, in full view. Of course if anyone complained they found he was personal physician to the lord of Mito and the complaints stopped there.
It is not clear where he learned swordmaking, though some sources suggest it was with Hojoji Saburodayu Masahiro. He made katana and wakizashi in Bizen or Soshu style, itame hada tachi with masame in the shinogi ji. He liked to copy the Dojigiri Yasutsuna a blade which he said he saw often, perhaps during his time in Echigo. The Kantei Dokuhon describes the works as rustic but I personally found the Kaboku blade at the 1997 national Museum exhibit to be one of the more interesting pieces. It had outstanding hada, visible utsuri and a finely cut hi. You’ll find it is item number 283 in the Nihon no Katana catalog but the photos do not do it justice.
His earliest dated work is from Shoho 3 nen, when he was still employed in Echigo. He signatures include;
越後幕下士大村加卜作
Echigo Bakkashi Omura Kaboku tsukuru
作武士大森治部左衛門号大村加卜慰作
saku Bushi Omori Jibuzaemon go Omura Kaboku isaku
越後幕下士大村加卜慰作之 真十五枚甲伏造
Echigo Bakkashi Omura Kaboku isaku kore
Shin-jugomai kobuse tsukuru
越後幕下士大村加卜慰作慰作真十五枚甲伏安綱伝
Echigo Bakkashi Omura Kaboku isaku Shin-jugomai Kobuse Yasutsuna den
越後幕下士大村加卜慰指図鍛冶欲聞
九百年来の物語子非鍛冶
Echigo Bakkashi Omura Kaboku i sashizu Tanya yoku hosuru ki kyuhaku-nen kitasu no monogatari ko hi Kaji
常陸国水戸住真珠五枚甲伏鍛大村加卜作
Hitachi (no) Kuni Mito ju Shin-jugomai Kobuse kitau Omura Kaboku saku.
Other works date from Kanbun 11 and Empo 4 and 5 this is a rather long span giving rise to the theory that there may have been a nidai though this remains unproven.
If he was twenty years of age say when he debuted as a full fledged swordsmith in Shoho 3 he would have been over 80 when he finally met his end in Genroku 17.
As you can see from his mei he seems to have done most of his forging while a young man in Echigo, though he is thought of as a Mito smith (Tsunaishi says Edo). He seemed to stress that he was no swordsmith at all but a samurai making swords for pleasure including the term “isaku” in many of his signatures. This is supported by the fact that Mito employed his students and his job seemed to be Physician or companion to Giko.
We can surmise that he was in Edo most of his time while in the employ of Mitsukuni attending upon the lord where he in fact had to spend most of his time. We do know that he forged swords in Mito at the Kyotofuji Temple a rather out of the way spot in relation to the castle town but a Shingon temple with a large following in his time. We know that he forged here because beside the records that tell of his work there, there exits a kusari-gama that he forged for the village headman at whose home he stayed while working at the temple.
He was known to be deeply devoted to his Shingon practice, one can imagine him feverishly reciting sutras as the monks burned piles of fuda, chanting along with him and his assistants Boku-O (卜翁) and Boku-yu (卜宥) as they hammered steel into blade. These two were actually the Edo Akasaka smith Shimosaka Kunihiro and the Hachioji Shitahara smith Yamamoto Fujio Yasukuni. Another of Kaboku’s students would style himself as Bando-Taro Boku-Den (卜伝). It is testament to Kaboku’s faith and personality that these men took Buddhist vows to become to his co-workers and officially took the names he bestowed upon them. Incidentally one of Tokugawa Mitsukuni’s reforms was to abolish the practice of laymen shaving their heads when they took Buddhist vows in retirement. One wonders if that policy was influenced by Kaboku in anyway.
Kaboku’s works were thought of as wazamono or excellent cutting blades. As a young man it is said he himself cut off the head of an oxen with one of his own blades. This earned him the nickname of Ushikirimaru. On another occasion one of his swords is said to have split a Saotome helmet, and as testament to the fame of this event there is a gimei Kaboku blade with the name “Kabuto-wari” engraved right on the tang. Miura Okiemon Yoshimasa a master of Shin Tamiya Ryu Iaijutsu tested some of Kaboku’s blades on the executed at Mito Akanuma prison. One of his works carries the go of Gyotoku-ken or “sword of meritorious action.”
There was also a ho-no-tachi or offertory sword that Kaboku dedicated to the Suwa jinja but sadly this was looted by the occupation army. This author at least is one man who would love to see it if it made it’s way to America.
Since his works are rather scarce Kaboku’s greatest contribution might be considered his book Kento Hiho (劍刀秘宝) ; Secret Treasures of The Sword. There were many impressions of this book printed and it is also known as Token Kaji Hiden (刀剣鍛冶秘伝) or Secrets of the Swordsmith. He opens his work with the statement that only four swordsmiths understood the true secret of making a masterpiece; Hoki Yasutsuna, Kamakura Ichimonji Sukezane, O-Sa and himself! He came to this realization “thanks to heaven and the light of the tachi which I myself have forged!” There are some writers who say that Kaboku was not mentally disturbed at all but that pronouncements like the above were not at all welcomed by his contemporaries and that is when people started saying he was crazy.
His book is a fascinating treatise on the construction and workmanship found in the great swords of old. He looks at Yasutsuna who was a favorite of his, Masamune, Sadamune, Ichimonji, Nagamitsu, Sukezane, Hosho, Hisakuni, Yoshimitsu, Yoshihiro, Norishige, Gassan, Sa, The Aoe and Mizuta schools as well as others. He focuses on the jigane and construction methods from which he “rediscovered” the secret of Shin Jugo-mai Kobuse construction. A fact he notes on his nakago and his students used the method and also note this on their nakago but just what the details are of this remain unknown.
The superiority of his method is widely touted throughout his book by him of course. It is not clear what exactly his New fifteen fold method of kobuse was However his writing drew many to take a second look at the old masterpieces. Suishinshi Masahide was inspired by Kaboku’s book to do his own research and reexamine the methods of the old swordsmiths.
Kaboku left the employ of the Mito family in January of 1699, Genroku 12. Some say because he did not get along with his immediate superior the Karo, Nakayama Bizen no Kami, others that his peculiar behavior and egotistical manner was offending too many people and this reached the ears of the lord. House records from 1698, record that his health was failing and it was decided that he be “retired” to Mito. Perhaps he did not wish to leave Edo and be confined to Mito. Whatever the reason the house record notes that he officially asked to resign and left to devote himself to his religious studies on that date.
Five years later found him in the far north living in Oshu Nihonmatsu where one night he stood naked in his garden where he was confronted by an assassin. To this day no one knows who the man was nor why he might have been sent to kill Kaboku but his intent was clear enough. Without hesitation Kaboku, who held a mokuroku in Shibukawa-ryu Jujutsu, charged as his attacker charged him. He grabbed his left wrist with his right hand and used his own left arm to block the cut that was descending toward his head. Still clutching his severed left hand in his right he closed with his attacker and thrust the jagged bone into the mans mouth, here he fell upon him and smothered him with the bloody relic.
Kaboku then went back into his home, perhaps something the assassin had said struck him, perhaps he understood from his own wounds that he would not survive, it is not clear why but using only the right hand he drew out a tanto and took his own life. A strange end for one of the sword worlds strangest characters.
There is no mention of a wife or daughter in the histories but at least one says that Musashi no Kami Yoshikado became his son-in-law and took the name Bokuden.
版東太郎卜伝
Bando Taro Bokuden. Born Kawamura Kineimon he came from Mino, was a smith in the lineage of Zenjo Kaneyoshi albeit in the 14th generation. He appears in Mito with his brother Echizen no kami Yoshikado in Kanbun 11, perhaps to join Kaboku at his forge in Kyotofuji or in answer to a call from the lord, Mitsukuni. There is a sword signed;
善定兼吉十四代曾孫前武蔵守藤原吉門坂東太郎金莫正入道作之
Zenjo Kaneyoshi Juyondai Hiimago zen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara Yoshikado Bando Taro Bakusho Nyudo Bokuden saku kore
Here he clearly records his connection to the Zenjo Kaneyoshi line, to Kaboku in his statement of faith (nyudo) and in his go “Bokuden.” It is said that he got the name of Bando Taro from Mito Mitsukuni himself. Other signatures include;
常州水戸住坂東太郎金莫正入道卜伝
Hishu Mito ju Bando Taro Bakusho Nyudo Bokuden
越前守吉門
Echizen (no) Kami Yoshikado. Kawamura Ichirosaemon moved to Edo in the third year of Sho’O (承応), in Kanbun 12 he was employed as a smith by Mito han along with his brother Bokuden. He made nioi deki choji midare works with Kanbun sugata in the style of the Edo Ishido-ha, his later works with omidare and notare midare hamon in nie deki with sunagashi and ji-nie reflect the work of Kaboku but perhaps do not equal the work of the master.
He styled himself the 13th generation descendant of Zenjo Kaneyoshi perhaps to distinguish himself from his brother who also signed Yoshikado, he used the characters 善良 (Zenjo) in his signature as opposed to the 善定 (Zenjo) found in the mei of Musashi no kami Yoshikado. He received his Echizen no Kami title in the Kan’ei period and his mei include the following;
濃州関住善良家越前守吉門
Noshu Seki Ju Zenjo-ke Echizen no Kami Yoshikado
濃州関善良家越前守吉門
Noshu Seki Zenjo-ke Echizen no Kami Yoshikado*
修行十九年以後於武州作之
Shugyo Jukyu-nen Iko Oite Bushu saku kore
(Made this in Edo after 19 years of hard study)
His working years span the years Joo to Kanbun, note that while he drops the “Ju” from Seki-ju after leaving Mino he steadfastly continues to include this and the Zenjo-ke info in all of his mei. Thus showing the importance he placed on his heritage and the pride which he took in it.
直江助政
Naoe Sukemasa. Naoe Sukemasa appears in Mito close to one hundred years later, originally a student of Ozaki Gouemon Suketaka he left Osaka to study with Suishishi Masahide in Bunka 5,1808, and in the following year was employed as a han smith by Mito. He settled in the same town north of Mito-jo, Shirahatayama, where Bokuden and Yoshikado had forged swords a century before. He was known as Shinpachi 新八 and Shinzo 新蔵, he signed nijimei Sukemasa 助政, Naoe Sukemasa tsukuru 直江助政造, Naoe Taira Sukemasa 直江平助政, Suifu ju Sukemasa 水府住助政, Mito Ju Sukemasa 水戸住助政, and Mito ju Naoe Sukemasa 水戸住直江助政.
Dated works exist from Bunka 6,7,8,9,10,11,12, and 14 along with Bunsei 8 and Tempo 3. He died in the second month of the 5th year of Tempo.
He tempered notare, sugu, and toran hamon on works with strong koitame hada sprinkled with jinie. It is said that he tempered swords with Mito Rekko and may in fact have been one of his teachers at the forge.
直江助共
Naoe Suketomo. Naoe Suketomo, signatures include;
直江助共
Naoe Suketomo
常陸国水戸住直江助共造
Hitachi (no) Kuni Mito ju Naoe Suketomo tsukuru
常陸国水戸臣直江助共作
Hitachi (no) Kuni Mito ason Naoe Suketomo saku
水府住直江助共
Suifu ju Naoe Suketomo
常陸国水戸直江助共作之
Hitachi (no) Kuni Mito Naoe Suketomo
水戸住直江助共作之
Mito ju Naoe Suketomo saku kore
Studied under Suishinshi Masahide, considered the second generation Sukemasa. He was also aite, assistant, for Mito Rekko when he forged, in fact they may have learned smithing together under his father, Suketomo died in Bunkyu 2 nen.
直江助俊
Naoe Suketoshi. Naoe Suketoshi, eldest son of Suketomo he was known as Seitaro. His sugata were manly befitting the times and the spirit of the Bakumatsu samurai. Works date from Ansei and Bunkyu, his signatures include;
直江助俊
Naoe Suketoshi
常州水戸住直江助俊謹造
Joshu Mito ju Naoe Suketoshi kin tsukuru
常陸住平助俊謹作
Hitachi ju Taira Suketoshi kin saku
関口徳宗
Sekiguchi Norimune. Born Sekiguchi Kosaemon in Bunsei 7, son of Mito han retainer Sekiguchi Norimasa he studied under Shodai Norichika 徳鄰. In Tempo 12 nen, 1841 he was retained by Mito han and forged swords at the Mito armoury. He fostered many students including shodai Norikatsu 徳勝. His other students included Norikane徳兼, Norikane徳カネ, Norisada徳貞, Norihiro徳寛 Tsugukatsu継勝, Toshitsugu利次, and Muneshige宗重.
He made Shinshinto works of average quality with sugu-ha and choji-midare-ha in nioi deki. Signatures include;
水戸住徳宗作
Mito ju Norimune saku
常陸国水戸住徳宗作
Hitachi (no) Kuni Mito ju Norimune saku
Sekiyama says he died in Meiji 6 nen, 1873, while the Meikan gives Meiji 33 at the age of 72.
関口徳兼
Sekiguchi Norikane. Eldest son of Norimune he was known as Hikoshiro, he studied Bizen-den under Koyama Munetsugu as well as studying with his father, he later was employed by Mito han and died in Meiji 36 nen, 1903, at the age of 75. His works resembled his fathers but were rather rough and aggressive in appearance and not equal to his fathers workmanship.
市毛徳鄰
Ichige Norichika or Tokurin. Born the Son of Mito han kerai Ichige Bunzaemon his name was Genzaemon. Born in Ansei 6, 1777, he took up swordsmithing with another Mito man, Kume Naganori inBunsei 6 when he was 18 years of age. At age 33 he along with Naoe Suketomo became an official smith of the Mito han.
At some point in the Bunsei era (1818-29) he went down to Osaka and there studied with Ozaki Suketaka. In the first year of Tempo he went up to Kyoto and there received the title Omi no Suke. He fostered several students including his own son and the son of Naganori, Kume Nagakazu.
Following the trend of the times his sugata were stalwart and like Suketaka he tempered toran-midare in nie deki, ara-nie will be seen along with an abundance of nie ashi, quite a bit more than in the works of his teacher. He also tempered sugu-ha and sugu-ha mixed with gunome.
His tanto were strong, thick, sunnobi blades with straight hamon being in the majority. His jihada was tight and clear with not a trace of the masame seen in the works of Norikatsu. He was and is one of the famed smiths of his era.
Signed works include;
水戸住市毛徳鄰
Mito ju Ichige Norichika
水府住藤原徳鄰
Suifu ju Fujiwara Norichika
常陸国市毛近江介藤原徳鄰
Hitachi (no) Kuni Ichige Omi (no) Suke Fujiwara Norichika
水府住市毛徳鄰謹鍛之
Suifu ju Ichige Norichika kin kitau kore
水戸八幡住市毛近江介徳鄰
Mito Hachiman ju Ichige Omi (no) Suke Norichika
Dates include;
文化 Bunka 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14.
文政 Bunsei 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13.
天保 Tempo 3, 4, and 5.
He lived at Hakkizan, where many other smiths seem to have made their homes before and after, he died at the age of 59 in Tempo 6.
勝村徳勝
Katsumura Norikatsu. Born in Mito in the 6th year of Bunka to a Mito retainer he was known as Hikoroku. He originally studied with Norimune forging swords at the Mito armoury as a hobby. At this time he signed Norikazu 徳一, what started as a hobby though quickly became his profession.
In Ansei 4 nen, 1857, he went to live in Edo at the Mito han mansion in Koishikawa, which is now the famed Korakuen. Here he was tutored by both Hosokawa Masayoshi and Ishido Korekazu, it can be seen that he became an important member of Masayoshi’s school as there are blades signed Hosokawa Masanori 細川正徳 and for a time he was tsukagashira there.
His works are said to reek of Sono-joi (Loyalty for the Emperor) with valiant sugata, wide mihaba, and thick kasane. However his hamon were nie deki sugu-ha or sugu-ha with gentle notare, there were long sunagashi and niju-ba seen. His masame-hada was strongly stated, so when one is confronted with a Shinshinto Yamato-den work you should think of only three smiths; Later generation Nanki Shigekuni, late Sendai Kunikane or Norikatsu. Occasionally one sees tama-yaki, mune-yaki, and the sunagashi appear in lines, and on such large inelegant blades, workmanship that could hardly be mistaken for koto Yamato-den.
Signatures include;
常陸国水戸住徳勝
Hitachi (no) Kuni Mito ju Norikatsu
水府住勝村徳勝作之
Suifu ju Katsumura Norikatsu saku kore
水府臣徳勝
Suifu Kerai Norikatsu
水府住人源徳勝作之
Suifu junin Minamoto Norikatsu saku kore
於江府水城士勝村彦六徳勝鍛之
oite Gofu Mi-joshi Katsumura Hikoroku Tokukatsu kitau kore
於小石川館勝村徳勝以水国砂鉄作之
oite Koishikawa kan Katsumura Tokukatsu motte Mi (no) Kuni satetsu saku kore
於東都水府海以砂鉄勝村徳勝作之講武所剣術師範駅榊原健吉源友善用之
oite Toto Suifu (no) umi motte satetsu Katsumura Tokukatsu saku kore Kobukan Kenjutsu Shihan Sakakibara Kenkichi Minamoto Tomoyoshi Yo(zuru) kore
This last was made for the head of the Kobukan dojo and one of the fathers of modern Kendo, Sakakibara Kenkichi. There are a half dozen other signatures that are at least this long, as you might imagine the nakago on his blades are very long.
Dates include;
嘉永 Kaei 3 and 7.
安政 Ansei 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
蔓延 Manen 1 and 2.
文久 Manen 1, 2, 3, and 4.
元和 Genna 1 and 2.
慶応 Keio 1, 2, 3, and 4.
明治 Meiji 1, 2, 3, and 4.
He died in Meiji 5 ,1872, aged 64
Tokugawa Nariaki, lord of Mito forged swords together with Norikatsu who is considered his teacher. Norikatsu, commonly referred to as Tokukatsu, an alternate reading of his name, was the favored smith of the Mito ronin who formed the Tengu-to an anti-foreign, anti-bakufu group that rebelled against more conservative factions within the han and later bakufu forces themselves. Those freshly made swords bundled up and brought to the Sakurada gate that fateful morning were likely the work of Norikatsu and his student Norimasa. One story has it that shortly before leaving for Edo, Seki Tesunosuke visited the shop of Norikatsu where he spied a new work awaiting pick up by another customer. Praising its grand size and skillful tempering he tucked it under his arm saying, “Please apologize to your customer, I absolutely must have this sword, unfortunately I have no money to pay you now but you have my word I will pay you when I return.” And with that he left, we know of course what became of the man, one cannot help but wonder what has become of the sword.
There was a nidai Norikatsu, his own son who was his devoted student. The second generation’s works are rare indeed as his career was cut short by the Meiji Restoration, brought about in part by the blades he forged at his fathers side.
水戸列公
Mito Rekko. Mito Tokugawa Nariaki born the third son of the seventh lord of Mito in the Kansei era, he was to become an exceptional man for exceptional times. Learned in the arts of statecraft and literature, a fine hand at calligraphy and a noted martial artist. He was every thing a samurai lord should be at a time when most were mere puppets filling the seats at the head of their governments. His energy, passion and innovation inspired many, like no other of his generation.
In Bunsei 12 he became Lord of Mito, not long after raised to the rank of Sangi (Counsellor) and was wed to an imperial princess. Thus strengthening the ties between Mito and the court, fitting for the han where the Emperors penultimate position had been “rediscovered”, and for a man that spread the restoration spirit wherever he went.
He called together masters of swordsmanship from all over his han and all over Japan. Taking the best techniques from the most prominent styles he developed Suifu Kendo.
Jozan-ryu naginata was developed from the naginata he designed. One with a short moro-ha blade of shallow sori that could easily cut and thrust, moving forward or backward or to any side with deadly results just as the serpent of Jozan mountain was said to do. Sekiyama says it was “the scientific weapon of his time period.”
Rekko also took an interest in the development of modern arms, fostering the han armoury. Suggesting his own improvements to the matchlocks then in use and opening a foundry where cannon were cast and rifles manufactured. Shinpatsu ryu hojutsu, a school of artillery still holds that their tradition was founded by Rekko himself.
It is little wonder then that such an active mind would turn it’s attention to the sword, as it did in Tempo 4 or 5. Originally he worked with Katsumura Norikatsu as his teacher, later he studied with Naoe Sukemasa and then his son Naoe Suketomo. Fujishiro says that he only did the yakiire but you have to wonder would a man so physically and mentally active have been content to stand by and watch only to have the near finished blade handed to him to be fired?
Additionally how would you explain the appearance of signature kitae the Yakumo-kitae that sets his work apart from that of either of his teachers? If they were doing the forging wouldn’t this feature show up in their work?
As to workmanship he made blades that were not quite on the grand scale of Norikatsu’s but with high shinogi and wide shinogi-ji with a flowing itame hada that becomes quite large and distinct, looking for all the world like two different metals mixed together and it is that layered look that gives his particular grain its name Yakumo or cirrus cloud grain.
Rekko’s hamon are nie deki sugu-ha perhaps reflecting Norikatsu and gunome midare are occasionally seen. His nakago were slender in comparison to the blade and thinned down quite a bit having much less “niku”, he cut straight yasuri sometimes finished with kessho yasuri and rather than a signature he carved a Tokei-mon.
Now the tokei mon looks like a clock as the name implies but in Mito it is known as Aoi kuzushi, simplified Aoi. It is just that a simple sketch of an Aoi mon, symbol of the powerful family to which he belonged. Interestingly Tsunaishi calls it Kiku kuzushi, perhaps he believes this is Rekko’s tip of the hat to the emperor and the Kiku saku works of his illustrious ancestor Gotoba.
He seems to have worked mostly within Mito at Hakkizan 白旗山 where there was a workshop for the han smiths. Many blades were produced here and these were signed with a kind trademark Mito mei and referred to by the locals as “Yagura-to”, storehouse swords. Sekiyama cautions us though that these should not be dismissed as kazu-uchi works in spite of what people say they are of better quality than one might think and are hard to find nowadays.
As to the works of Rekko his were certainly superior and though not as rare as the swords made by other han lords they are still hard to find. Several were lost in the war years and now most are only found in museums. Several years ago at the NBTHK convention in Kobe this author had the rare pleasure of seeing one of his blades up close and personal. An exceptionally strong work it came, interestingly, at the end of a hands on display of more than 80 Tokuju, Jubi and Kokuho blades which we had spent hours poring over, but Rekko we found was strictly hands off!
He never signed his swords so you should remember that any blade signed Nariaki, or Rekko is undoubtedly gimei. Nearly all extant are like the sword he forged as a gift for the Kashima-jingu, and now in the Mito Toshogu, carefully preserved in paulownia shirasaya with sayagaki in Rekko’s own skillful hand.
Ostensibly Nariaki built his foundry and strengthened his army to protect the country against the growing threat of foreign invasion, however he was viewed upon with suspicion by the government and was sentenced to domicilliary confinement in 1844. It is likely that he forged most of his blades during this period. With the coming of Perry in 1853 he was proved right and was released and placed in charge of national defense. He soon ran afoul of the bakufu once again when he pushed for his own son Hitotsubashi Keiki, to be made the next shogun. He was opposed by Ii Naosuke who sought to mollify the foreigners and strengthen the shogunate. Nariaki’s backroom lobbying got him into trouble and he was again confined, while others who had aided him in his cause were banished or put to death in Ii’s Ansei housecleaning.
It was for this reason that the Mito men harboured such a serious grudge against the Tairo. Though they were ronin everyone knew they carried out his assassination to uphold the honor of Mito and their lord Rekko. Rekko himself did not live long enough to enjoy the new Japan which his men had given life to, he died later in the same year that his nemesis was killed, 1860.
徳川順公
Mito Junko. Tenth lord of Mito and brother to Keiki, Tokugawa Yoshishige, 慶篤, like his father before him learned to forge swords from Katsumura Norikatsu. He invited Bizen Yokoyama Sukemitsu to come and work for him in Mito and together they also forged swords. His go was Junko, 順公, his works show the influence of Sukemitsu being nioi deki works with kochoji-midare hamon. Swords by him are exceedingly rare.
At the end of the Edo period in Mito just as in the rest of Japan, the influence of Suishinshi Masahide was apparent as was the mood of the times as seen in the number of swordsmiths that became active. There was Takagi Masayuki, Zenjo Norichika descendant of Bokuden, Yokoyama Sukemitsu who came at the request of Mito Junko and Yokoyama Sukeharu his student. Also the aforementioned Kume Nagakazu, Kawatani Noritoshi and Ebisawa Norihiro among others.
Though no major schools of sword making flourished here there were a number of singular smiths who made Mito there home as we have seen. In addition as this was the seat of one of the houses of Tokugawa many important smiths are known to have made swords in or for Mito. Hojoji Masahiro made swords for Mito han kerai both in Edo and in Mito. Noda Hankei and Nagasone Kotetsu forged swords for Mito hanshi in Edo and Yamato no Kami Yoshimichi is said to have forged swords in Mito for Mitsukuni. Taikei Naotane visited Sukegawa castle in Mito several times to forge swords and Naoe Suketoshi and others mentioned above may have studied with him for a time.
Being a collateral house of the shogun they naturally had an impressive collection of swords on hand as well. Tadamitsu, Nagamitsu, Rai Kunimistu, Ryokai, Nobukuni, Bizen Tomonari, Kagemitsu, Chikakage, Sukezane, several Ichimonji and many more among their koto works. Kinmichi Yoshimichi, Masatoshi, Tsunahiro, Yasutsugu, Hankei, Ishido Mistuhira, Tadahiro, Tadayoshi, Tadakuni, Masahiro, Yoshihiro, Yukihiro, all from Hizen and of course there were Kaboku, Bokuden and Yoshikado pieces well represented. So while the Mito kinko are better known as a established school we should not forget that Mito was also a center of some fine swordmaking.
On the morning of March 3rd 1860 the Tokugawa were still at the top of the food chain, Tokugawa Nariaki’s dream of seeing his son become shogun was still just that a dream but big changes were in store for the shogunate and the old Japan, and it was men of Mito carrying swords from their homeland who would strike the first blow…
Tom Helm
@ San Francisco in California
References;
Mito no Toko by Sekiyama Toyomasa - Showa 35
Bakumatsu Shishi Aito Monogatari by Nagano Ogaku – Showa 46
Nihonto no Kansho to Kantei by Tsuneishi Hideaki – Showa 61
Nihonto Meikan by Homma and Ishii – Showa 50 edition
Nihonto Daihyakka Jiten by Fukunaga Suiken –
Tenno, Shogun-ke, Daimyo-ke token mokuroku by Fukunaga Suiken – Heisei 9
Nihonto no Katana – Tokyo National Museum catalogue – Heisei 9
Kanzan Token Koza by Sato – Showa 56
Sunday, October 31, 2010