Shigetaka

[Clive Sinclaire]

Gentlemen

I am researching Harima Daijo Shigetaka (Echizen-nidai specifically) and wondered if anyone could assist. Particularly, I am interested to know by whom they might have been retained. I am assuming they were retained as there were eleven generations right up to the end of the Edo period. Also, as they seem to have been reasonably close to the Yasatsugu, and the shodai also worked in Edo, I wonder if they may have been retained by a branch of the Tokugawa family? Any inside info on this would be very much appreciated.

Regards

Clive Sinclaire.

[leo]

Dear Clive!

 

A while ago I also checked into the matter because I purchased a pretty Katana blade (70cm nagasa, o-suriage, mumei), which was supposed to be a shodai Shigetaka blade. I enclosed the paper. Maybe someone can translate the attribution?

 

 

Like myself you have probably found hundreds of links which produced little information except this:

 

The shodai is said to have been a student of Kanenori with whom he moved from Mino to Echizen. There is rumour that he also studied under Yasutsugu. The blades of the nidai resemble rather Yasutsugu´s works.

Some say that many swordsmiths, among them Shigetaka, moved to Echizen in the 1600s, because Tokugawa Ieyasu´s son Hideyasu was exiled to Echizen by his father around that time and some of the better smiths were retained by him. But there is no prove of this.

Another smith of the Echizen den, Harima Daijo Shigetada, moved from Echizen to Owari and served the Owari Tokugawa clan.

 

Very little information so far. If you find out more, please let me know!

 

Regards, Martin