Tokugawa Diplomatic Swords for Joseon – Searching for Surviving Tachi and the Smiths Behind the 1711 Mission

[Jan]

Hello everyone,

I am currently doing research on Yamato-no-kami Fujiwara Tadayuki (大和守藤原忠行 / 大和守忠行) of the Bungo Takada school.

There is surprisingly little substantial information about him in English, and I am slowly preparing a more detailed study of his life and family line. There is considerably more to his story than the usually repeated points about his ten-person fuchi stipend under the Hosokawa or the questions surrounding his later Ryō-Wazamono reputation. However, that is another story.

 

One particularly interesting episode led me into a much wider subject.

In 1711, Tadayuki and another smith were each officially commissioned to forge one tachi for bakufu use, as part of the gifts prepared for the Joseon diplomatic mission. The official return-gift list to the Korean king included 20 tachi and 20 naginata/long weapons (well documented).

These were prestigious diplomatic objects. Japanese swords were highly valued in Joseon, and Korean records show that Japanese swords could remain in royal/state storage and later be reused for diplomatic purposes, including as gifts sent onward to Qing China (also documented).

 

I am now trying to reconstruct both how these swords were commissioned and which smiths participated in the 1711 programme.

 

My current working list of involved smiths is:

• Yamato-no-kami Tadayuki (大和守忠行) – Bungo Takada. Confirmed: one tachi
• Yamashiro Daijō Yukitsune (山城大掾行恒) – Bungo Takada. Confirmed: one tachi
• Izumi-no-kami Kinmichi (和泉守金道) – Kyoto, 5th generation. Strong/explicit 1711 connection
• Dewa-no-kami Yukihiro (出羽守行広) – Hizen, 2nd generation. Strong/explicit
• Masahiro (正広) – Hizen, 4th generation. Strong/explicit
• Tadayoshi (忠吉) – Hizen, 4th generation. Strong connection, apparently to the naginata group
• Hachirōzaemon Kunishige (大月八郎左衛門国重) – Bitchū. A local historical source records two long weapons for the mission. Strong lead
• Yasutsugu (康継) – probably 5th generation. Probable
• Teruhiro (輝広) – Aki/Hiroshima, probably 5th generation. Probable

 

I am still trying to separate the makers of the 20 tachi from those responsible for the 20 naginata, so corrections or additional names would be very welcome.

My main question is whether anyone has ever encountered a surviving sword with provenance linking it to a Joseon Tongsinsa mission, particularly a bakufu gift to the Korean king.

I would be very interested in:

• surviving tachi or naginata from the 1711 mission
• oshigata or old Japanese sword books mentioning such provenance
• museum or auction catalogues
• dated 1711 works by any of the smiths above
• inscriptions or records mentioning 朝鮮, 通信使, 進物, 御用, etc.
• information about swords made for other Joseon missions, not only 1711

 

Even a sword from another mission could be extremely useful for understanding the expected sugata, dimensions, koshirae, signatures and level of standardisation of these diplomatic weapons.

 

I am simply trying to reconstruct the group and see whether any physical examples may still survive in Japanese, Korean, Chinese or private collections.

Any information, corrections, old references or even vague leads would be greatly appreciated.

Edited Friday at 04:54 PM by Jan