It's bound to happen: First Juyo Gendaito Smith?

[Stephen]

wow that takes me back, thats what the bar girls would teach us slang...funny

[seattle1]

Hello:

Just looking through my Juyo Index (NBTHK, Heisei 11 (1999)), which I should have done sooner, shows on p.78 of the post-koto volume that Gassan Sadakazu had a wakizashi, 45.6 cm, dated Meiji 41 (1908), 3rd. month, a day, awarded Juyo Token status. That was two years after he and Suguwara Kanenori were designated Teisitsu Gigei-In status by Emperor Meiji. That is generally acknowledged as equivalent to the post-war so-called Living National Treasure status. The Sadakazu was designated Showa 46 (1971), 6,1. I do not have a copy of the Juyo volume for that year, and I haven't found the blade in any taikan I have. Could it have come from overseas? There might be other gendai awarded blades since 1999.

Arnold F.

[w.y.chan]

Hi Arnold,

Gassan Sadakazu 1st is regarded as a shinshinto smith even though the sword may have been made in the gendai era.

[seattle1]

Hello:

With all due respect to Mr. Chan, I find it strange that Gassan Sadakazu is dismissed as not being the first gendai Juyo recipient, and referred to as shinshinto. It is certainly true that he lived in that era, having been born in 1836; however he lived until 1918, that being during the Taisho era. Some people would call any smith working during the Meiji era a gendai smith, that era beginning in 1868. A stricter starting point might be the date of the sword wearing prohibition, the Haitorei of 1876. For the former, Sadakazu was 32, for the latter he was 40. He was designated Teishitsu Gigei-In in 1906, that award being for the continuation of the sword making tradition after 1876 and for his superb workmanship. The Juyo I mentioned above was made in 1908, 30 years after the Haitorei. The majority of his life 50 years, was lived after Meiji became Emperor. It might also be relevant that the Juyo made blade was a blade made rather late in his life. If those numbers make him a shinshinto and not a gendaito smith, so be it.

Arnold F.

[cabowen]

While I agree with everything Arnold has written, the Japanese convention seems to be to categorize a smith as to period based on when he started working. Thus, in both Sadakazu and Kanenori's cases, the Japanese literature has them pegged as shinshinto smiths. There are others that worked into the Meiji and even Taisho periods and they too are usually referred to as shinshinto smiths. Just convention I suppose as it could go the other way as easily....

[w.y.chan]

A WW2 Sadaichi got TH quite a while back

http://yushindou.com/%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93 ... %E5%88%80/

 

I would not rule out shinsakuto. A high possibility a postwar masterpiece by a Ningen Kokuho will one day become Juyo before WW2 era gendaitos.

A sword made in 1972 by Miyairi Akihira recieved TH just 27yrs after it was made

http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/a00150.html