Tokubetsu Jūyō Ikeda Yukimitsu Katana

Number

S-ML-020

Smith Name

Yukimitsu

Active Period

Kagen (嘉元, 1303-1306)

School

Sōshū

Province

Sagami

Mei

mumei

Rating

Tokubetsu Jūyō Tōken

Nagasa

70.2 cm

Yukimitsu (行光), Kagen (嘉元, 1303-1306), Sagami, his first name was Tōzaburō (藤三郎), according to transmission the son and/or student of Shintōgo Kunimitsu, traditionally his activity period is dated between Kagen (嘉元, 1303-1306) and Kenmu (建武, 1334-1338). Yukimitsu displayed the most Sōshū typical workmanship of all early Sōshū smiths and so he is named as founder of the Sōshū tradition by some who want to nail the founding down to an individual smith, in general we can say that he was quasi the link from the Awataguchi school over Shintōgo Kunimitsu to the fully developed Sōshū style at Masamune and Sadamune, it is also said that he was the younger brother of Daishinbō (大進房), publications like the Kōsei-kotō-meikan (校正古刀銘鑑) and the Nōami-bon mei-zukushi (能阿弥本銘尽) say that there were two generations Yukimitsu active, but this is dismissed in the meanwhile. Tokaido (東海道), saijō-saku.

Tokubetsu Jūyō Tōken Ikeda Yukimitsu Katana: nagasa: 70.2 сm; sori: 1.8 сm; motohaba: 3.0 сm; sakihaba: 2.4 сm; nakago nagasa: 18.7 сm; kissaki nagasa: 4.6 cm. This sword attributed to Yukimitsu (Den); origami Hon’ami Shōbei (本阿弥庄兵衛), in 1736, estimated at 1,000 kan (50 mai); origami Hon’ami Kōson (本阿弥光遜), in 1954; the license for possession of sword issued by the U.S. Occupation Troops Headquarters, dated October 14, 1946; sayagaki on the old shirasaya (see translation at the Japanese Swords: Sōshū-den Masterpieces book), the family legacy of the Ikeda (池田) clan since the Edo period (it is mentioned in NBTHK records); the sword has been exhibited in the Tōkyō National Museum (東京国立博物館) since 1946; the sword was examined by Emperor Meiji during his visit to the residence of daimyō Ikeda (in 1876, the relevant record was made on shirasaya); the documents of the Ikeda clan’s sword keepers are dated the years 1736 and 1875; tōrokushō No. 18, dated January 30, 1951. Provenance: Ikeda Nobumasa (池田宣政), Hashimoto Takeshi (橋本猛, Prefecture Hiyōgo – 兵庫県), Nakagawa Kazushige (中川一重, Ōsaka), and Darcy Brockbank, Montreal, Canada. The sword is presented together with a koshirae made for the sword in modern times.

Designated as Tokubetsu Jūyō Tōken at the 17th tokubetsu-jūyō-shinsa held on the 24th of April 2002.

Publications: NBTHK, Jūyō Tōken Nado Zufu, Volume 6; NBTHK, Tokubetsu Jūyō Tōken Nado Zufu, Volume 17; Kōshitsu, Shōgun-ke, Daimyō-ke Tōken Mokuroku (皇室・将軍家 ・大名家刀剣目録), 1997, No. 456, p. 283.

Figure 1: Kōshitsu, Shōgun-ke, Daimyō-ke Tōken Mokuroku.

The full translation of the summary from the NBTHK expert’s opinion (Tokubetsu Jūyō):

"This katana is ō-suriage and mumei but was handed down as Yukimitsu in the Edo period. It has a wide mihaba, no noticeable taper, a shallow sori and an elongated chū-kissaki. The kitae is an itame mixed with nagare, which shows plentiful ji-nie and much fine chikei. The hamon is a gunome mixed with ko-notare, a bit chōji, and conspicuous kinsuji and sunagashi, and has a wide and quite nie-laden nioiguchi. The jiba is bright and clear and so we have here clearly a work of one of the top Sōshū masters. Also, the narrow shinogi-ji speaks for Sōshū and so we can agree to the handed-down information that this is a work of Yukimitsu. An outstanding masterwork among all blades attributed to this smith with a superior jigane which was in Edo times an heirloom of the Bizen-Ikeda family.

Ikeda Tsuneoki (池田恒興, 1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru (池田信輝), one of the Ikeda clan founders.

In addition, we can say that only sixteen swords, besides this one, have documented confirmation of their provenance from Bizen Ikeda’s clan family legacy. One of these sixteen swords is a Hiromitsu wakizashi, which is presented herein (see the chapter “Hiromitsu” at the Japanese Swords: Sōshū-den Masterpieces book). The sword “Ikeda Yukimitsu” gives us a very rare opportunity to trace the history of ownership of this wonderful piece of art from the early Edo period up to the present day. This case is unique, in that we can trace back its history without gaps, based on documents that have survived together with the sword.

April 10, 1735. A servant responsible for safekeeping the clan’s swords made the following record: 無銘御刀享保廿年卯四月本阿弥庄兵衛ニ研被仰付。御傳刀同名共吟味仕候添書同月十日以来。 This record can be read and translated as follows: “Hon’ami Shōbei was ordered to polish this unsigned sword in the fourth month of the 20th year of Kyōhō (1735), Year of the Rabbit. The Hon’ami family since appraised the blade and this accompanying note was written on the tenth day of the same month [i.e., the fourth month of Kyōhō 20].”

<.....>1875–1876. Presumably, in 1875 or 1876, Emperor Meiji (明治天皇) paid a visit to the head of the clan, Ikeda Akimasa (池田章政), at his estate. The sword by Yukimitsu was presented to the emperor for inspection and examination. This event was documented in the form of a record— 天覧品 (“inspected by the emperor”)—made by the clan’s responsible servant on the extant old shirasaya of the sword.

Ikeda Akimasa (1836-1903)

<.....> October 14, 1946. During the occupation of Japan, all weapons, including swords, had to be transferred to the occupation authorities. Initially, this process was sweeping, in the form of the authorities indiscriminately seizing all swords from their owners. This disastrous policy was halted when Kanzan Satō and Honma Junji personally got involved. In a private meeting between Dr. Honma and General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964), Honma played a special role in presenting swords of various periods of Japanese history to MacArthur. The general could see the difference between a sword that was a piece of art, stored as a family heirloom, and all the rest, used only as weapons. A few days later, the occupation authorities changed their initial order and made an exception for swords with cultural and artistic value: they were subject to registration and remained with their owners. The license for possessing this sword made by Yukimitsu was issued by the Main Headquarters of the Occupation Troops on October 14, 1946, for Ikeda Nobumasa (born on July 1, 1904). (See the high resolution photo of this unique document on p.82 of the Japanese Swords: Sōshū-den Masterpieces book.) This data is documented confirmation of the fact that this sword by Yukimitsu was possessed by the head of the Ikeda Nobumasa clan in postwar years. The document also provides data on the location where the sword was stored: the Imperial House Museum, the oldest Japanese national museum, in Ueno-Park, established in 1872. Later, it became known as the Tōkyō National Museum (東京国立博物館). This is also documented confirmation that this sword was exhibited in this famous Japanese museum.

Figure 2: Tōrokushō dated 1951.

<.....> January 30, 1951. There is an old tōrokushō (登録証) dated 1951 and issued in the Prefecture of Chiba (千葉) under number 18. It is known that beginning in approximately 1950, Japan started a registration procedure for antiquarian Japanese swords, which eventually took the form of the modern law known to us in 1958. The first to be registered were swords from well-known collections of daimyō. This tōrokushō is one of the first registration certificates issued (January, 1951, No. 18; written by hand, not stamped, as was done later). It confirms that at that time, this sword made by Yukimitsu was still stored in the collection of the Ikeda clan and passed early registration as an item of this collection.


(excerpt from Chapter 4, pp. 60-105, of the Japanese Swords: Sōshū-den Masterpieces )

Original content Copyright © 2019 Dmitry Pechalov