School Infos

[Red]

Hi All,

I am writing this post because I would like to ask if anyone can give me more information and thoughts about the Mino Senjuin school and the Fujishima school. I am asking this because I was looking to buy a nihonto and, at the end of my research, I found two blades that I really like from the mentioned schools but I would like to know a bit more about the schools to have a clearer idea before buying. 

Here some pics, unfortunately are not of the best quality
Mino Senjuin:


Fujishima one:


Thanks in advance for the time and help 
All the best
Michele 

 

[Red]

I just noticed that is probably in the wrong section. Feel free to move in the most appropriate one 

Cheers 
Michele

[Karusk]

Fujishima would be the older school by maybe 100 years or so. Kuninaga Is the founder of mino. Tomoshige is the founder of fujishima school. Pupil of Rai Kunitoshi. Thats about the most i can dig up. You can google either school for previous sales the first few will have as much info as anyone can give you here. 
 

They are both highly desirable schools as their works are all pre 1590(koto) Their schools broke up or moved to other areas and became other schools. 

 

This decision should come down to which blade speaks to you. The fujishima has a more active hamon and would be what i would go after as i have some prime examples of a suguha or straight hamon like the mino. It does have some activity in the top photo but looks more suguha-ba in the bottom. The mino appears to be ubu(uncut) and for something koto that is extremely desirable. Not that the fujishima one is less desirable, its just more common for older blades to be o suriage(cutdown) I think its a rule that its worth more unaltered as well. 
 

Youve picked two fine swords and are going to have to make the decision based on which one speaks louder to you. Do you like the plainer utilitarian hamon of the mino(the first expensive one i bought was suguha) or the more active fujishima. Do you like the unaltered mino, or do you like the history of the fujishima bing cut down due to fighting style changes or the laws of the edo period regarding length. 
This is you right now,  your just gonna have to make a decision. Either one is a fine first blade. Im glad to have been absolutely bo help at all🤣. Welcome to the forum. 

[Jacques D.]

About Mino Senjuin more precisely Akasaka Senjuin from Nihon Koto shi :

 

Quote

Akasaka was inhabited by smiths of the Akasaka-Senjū´in school, of which founder was Kuninaga (国長). There were three generations of Kuninaga from the Ōei Era. Smiths who just sign ‘Senjū´in’ also exist. ‘Kotō-mei-zukushi’ says that there was a school that included Nagahiro (長広), Hironaga (広長) and Shimosaka (下坂) after Kunimitsu (国光) who was a younger brother of Kuninaga. A theory says that they are the founders of the Echizen-Shimosaka school of shintō times. Swordsmith directories say that there are two generations of Yasumichi (康道) from the Meiō Era (明応, 1492-1501) then a smith called Yasutsugu (康継) appears in the school around the Tenbun Era (天文, 1532-1555). There are extant tantō of 2nd Kuninaga with suguha mixed with notare and hitatsura in ko-nie-deki. There are few extant works of the Akasaka-Senjuin school. They tempered midareba in an irregular pattern in nie-deki. It is said that a smith called Jumyō (寿命) and his later generations lived in Nishigōri, located in the north of Akasaka since the Kamakura Period, but there is no extant work of Jumyō before the end of Muromachi Period. The smith name of Jumyō was succeeded through the Edo Period up to the Bakumatsu Period and we can often see their works in shintō and shinshintō times.

 

 

Fujishima (same book) : 

 

Quote

Fujishima is the name of a place in Echizen Province and it is said that the first generation of Tomoshige lived here first then moved to Kaga Province later. There is an extant wakizashi with the mei of ‘Gashū Fujishima Tomoshige’ (賀州藤島友重) and the production date of Ōei 16 (1409). Therefore, it becomes clear that Tomoshige already lived in Kaga Province at the beginning of the Muromachi Period. The smith name of Tomoshige had been succeeded to, up to shintō times. In addition, there is a smith called Yukimitsu (行光) who is believed to have been a younger brother of the 1st Tomoshige and moved from Echizen Province. The smith name of Yukimitsu had been also been inherited for many generations. Swordsmith directories list an oshigata of ‘Kashū Sengo Yukimitsu’ (加州泉五行光) with a production date of the Bunmei era (文明, 1469-1487). The ancestor of Kashū Kiyomitsu (加州清光) of shintō times was a younger brother of Yukimitsu and he had been active since the Meiō Era (明応, 1492-1501). There is an interesting fact that the ‘Kokon-mei-zukushi’ and other meikan records list the smith names of Fujishima Tomoshige and Yukimitsu in the same age in Echizen and Kaga Provinces. I speculate that this description means that some of their descendants stayed in Echizen Province, though, I have never seen their works with their address such as ‘Echizen-jū’. The swordsmith directories also say that Nobunaga who is called ‘Asago-Taima’ exists for a few generations in Echizen and Kaga Provinces. They list oshigata of ‘Esshū-jū Nobunaga’ (越州住信長) with a production date of the Chōroku Era (長禄, 1457-1469) and ‘Kashū-jūnin Nobunaga’. There may have been two families of Nobunaga who lived in each province. Tomoshige, Yukimitsu and Kiyomitsu made a unique nakago with ha-agari-kurijiri or ha-agari-kiri.
Tomoshige and Nobunaga tempered gunome-midare with sunagashi in nie-deki which reminds one of Sue-Bizen smiths and Nobukuni of Yamashiro Province. I have seen suguha of Tomoshige and gentle notare of Nobunaga with hotsure and sunagashi. They normally forged ko-itame-hada or ko-itame-hada combined with masame. I have seen pure masame-hada by Nobunaga. Tomoshige occasionally makes wakizashi and tantō in kanmuri-otoshi-zukuri that was favoured by Yamato smiths. There are some extant works with the mei of ‘Fujishima Yukimitsu’. Yukimitsu tempered notare-midare and Kiyomitsu favour tempering chū-suguha and hiro-suguha, rather than gunome-midare. The production age of the extant works by Kiyomitsu is limited to the Genki (元亀, 1570-1573) and Tenshō Eras (天正, 1573-1592).

 

[Karusk]

^this the guy. Thanks jaques. 

[chrstphr]

I have a mino senjuin sword and have done quite a bit of research on the school over the past decade or so. The one you show i think is later muromachi ( the school was 1390-1550 ish) since it appears to be ubu.  The earlier ones are all cut down from tachi length. I have only found a handful of mino senjuin swords that were for sale online over the past 20 years. I have saved each one on my computer to reference as they are uncommon to find.  Few extant swords survive from the Mino Senjuin school.

 

In the late Nambokucho both schools, Mino Senjuin and Fujishima were the leading swordsmiths.  ( The Connoisseur's book of Japanese Swords, page 60). Also on page 166 the book lists the Akasaka Senjuin school as a Nambokucho school and a Muromachi school. 

 

An interesting note that is rarely mentioned,  Go Yoshihiro ( argueably the best student of Masamune) taught his son Tametsugu until his early death around 1330. Then his son apprenticed under Norishige ( another Masamune student).  Eventually Tametsugu moved to the Mino Senjuin area and made swords there.  He moved to the Akasaka area sometime between 1369 and 1374. He lived 1315 ish to 1380 ish. So there is a Masamune connection for the school. 

 

There is a sword made by Kuninaga who founded the Mino Senjuin school that is dated to around 1350 thought the school is started 1380 ish.  So both schools are close in time for founding. Many people think that the Mino Senjuin school is later but that is due to the few surviving swords left. The school started in the late Nambokucho era, but the founder was making swords in the early to mid Nambokucho. 

 

personally i would go with the one that has more activity. 

 

Chris

 

 

[Red]

Hi guys, sorry for the late reply

I am really greatful for all your answers, you have been very helpful! I agree, its really hard to pick one in particular but after your help I have a clearer idea so, again, thank you very much for your time!

All the best
Michele