Sakai Tadatsugu (酒井忠次, 1527-1596), one of the so-called „Four Guardians of the Tokugawa“ (Tokugawa-shitennô, 徳川四天王), was born in Mikawa province and appointed by his lord Tokugawa Ieyasu to castellan of Yoshida (吉田城) in Eiroku eight (永禄, 1565) which was located in the eastern part of Mikawa. The castle town of Yoshida was insofar important as it had via the Toyokawa River access to the sea (Mikawa Bay) and as it was located at the Tôkaidô, the main road which connected Kyôto with the Kantô area. Now whilst ruling Yoshida Castle, Tadatsugu killed – according to transmission – with one of his swords a boar whereupon the katana got the nickname „Inoshishigiri“ (猪切, lit „boar cutter“). The nickname was inlayed via kinzôgan on the tang. The blade came eventually in the possession of Tadatsugu´s fourth son Matsudaira Jinzaburô Hisatsune (松平甚三郎久恒, 1584-1652). When Tadatsugu´s grandson Tadakatsu (酒井忠勝, 1594-1647) became daimyô of the Shônai fief (庄内藩) of Dewa province in Genna eight (元和, 1622), he made his uncle Hisatsune castellan of Kamegasaki (亀ヶ崎城) and later in Kan´ei six (寛永, 1629) his karô elder. The sword remained in Hisatsune´s family, according to transmission until the last karô Matsudaira Jinzaburô Hisaatsu (松平甚三郎久厚, ?-1921).

Picture 1: Inoshishigiri by Masazane

The blade itself is a work of Masazane (正真) on whom I would like to make some observations. It is said that Masazane was a late Tegai smith who lived in the old Fujiwara district (藤原) of Nara in Yamato province. From there he visited Kyôto where he became a student of the Eishô-era (永正, 1504-1521) Heianjô Nagayoshi (平安城長吉) with whom he travelled a lot. Their first destination was Kuwana (桑名) in Ise province where they worked together with Muramasa (村正). Well, it is unknown who actually learned from whom but we can definitely see similarities in the workmanship of Masazane, Nagayoshi and Muramasa. After their stay in Ise they went further eastwards, namely to Mikawa province, and as the Tegai school was also called „Monju school“ (文珠), the lineage of Masazane was later also called „Mikawa-Monju“ (三河文珠). But that was not enough as both travelled along the Tôkaidô up to Odawara (小田原) in Sagami province. This can be confirmed by signatures of Nagayoshi and Masazane which mention „Sôshû-jû“ as place of production.

Picture 2: The travels of Masazane and Nagayoshi. In red the Tôkaidô.

There is some confusion about the Kanabô smith Masazane of the same name. He was active somewhat later, i.e. around Tenbun (天文, 1532-1555), and was according to transmission the son of the Eishô-era late Tegai Masazane. He did not accompany his supposed father on his journeys but moved later from Fujiwara to the Kanabôtsuji (金房辻) district of Nara which earned the Kanabô school its name and which was later adopted as family name. He signed for example with „Kanabô Hayato no Suke Masazane“ (金房隼人佐正真) and his signatures are clearly different from the earlier Masazane. Also from the point of view of workmanship the theory that the Eishô-era Masazane and Kanabô Masazane were the same person can be dismissed. Around Tenshô (天正, 1573-1592) there was a 2^nd generation Kanabô Masazane, presumably the son of the 1^st generation. Well, the 1^st generation Kanabô Masazane had according to transmission a younger brother who also bore the name „Hayato no Suke“ but wrote his name „Masazane“ with the characters (正実), or in the old and unsimplified form (正實). The latter Masazane was active around Eiroku (永禄, 1558-1570) and his successor of the same name around Keichô (慶長, 1596-1615).

Picture 3: Signature comparison. Top row four signatures of the Eishô-era Masazane with the mei of the Inoshishigiri to the left. Bottom row two signatures of Kanabô Masazane.

So when Masazane was active around Eishô (永正, 1504-1521) and Sakai Tadatsugu was born in Daiei seven (大永, 1527), it can be ruled out that the latter ordered the blade from Masazane whilst he stayed in Mikawa. Thus the blade must had been in the possession of the Sakai before the time of Tadatsugu. At the time Tadatsugu was born, his father Tadachika (忠親) ruled Ida Castle (井田城) in Mikawa province which was located about 30 km to the northwest of Yoshida and along the Tôkaidô. From Kuwana to Ida is about 80 km. As it is unlikely that Masazane and Nagayoshi traveled with a bunch of blades we can assume that they might had just some presentation pieces to demonstrate local rulers their skill. So maybe Tadachika was impressed by Masazane and ordered the later Inoshishigiri from him. If this was the case, then the blade was forged at Ida Castle. Incidentally, Tadachika´s father, grandfather and great-grandfather were Yasutada (康忠), Tadakatsu (忠勝) and Ujitada (氏忠, ?-1470) respectively. As the exact dates of Yasutada and Tadakatsu are unknown, it is also possible that the contact to Masazane came about through Tadachika´s father Yasutada or even grandfather Tadakatsu. All of them were castellans of Ida in succession.

But I don´t want to leave out the most famous work of Masazane, the yari Tonbôgiri (蜻蛉切). Honda Tadakatsu (本多忠勝, 1548-1610), another Tokugawa-shitennô, wore this yari at the Battle of Hitokotozaka (一言坂の戦い) in Genki three (元亀, 1572) and forced with it his way through the line between the enemy and the allies by wielding it overhead. It has to be mentioned that the shaft of the spear was 6 m long! (The blade itself has a nagasa of 43,8 cm.) According to transmission, once a dragonfly (Jap. tonbô) tried to land on the yari but was cut in two halves and that is why it got the nickname „Tonbôgiri“ (lit. „dragonfly cutter“).

Picture 4: Tonbôgiri

Had a root canal treatment earlier today so I will be brief as I don´t want my painkillers to gain the upper hand over my writing. In my article on the Musashi-Masamune I presented four different oshigata to the very same blade. As I had to look for something in older Token Bijutsu magazines, I found another oshigata to a blade of Kotetsu I introduced in my recent publication Shinto & Shinshintô-kantei (number 236.665). I was surprised how different the reproduction of the monouchi section is. Well, we can agree that the bôshi and the connected gunome-protrusion right before the yokote match but then it seems that the hamon take way a different course. It seems at a glance that the hamon on the upper oshigata is slightly compressed but after a closer look we learn that also the course after the second connected gunome-protrusion differs. At the upper oshigata, four bumps follow after the protrusion before the hamon lowers a little. At the lower oshigata, there is one large bump and two smaller before the lower section starts. Just on the basis of these oshigata alone I would say we are facing two different blades but I double-checked the descriptions. Both blades have exactly the same measurements and exactly the same tameshi-mei. Please not that at the lowermost oshigata of the tang, the maker saw a kind of yakikomi at the habaki area whereas the hamon continues as suguha and even goes down on the upper oshigata. For your information, the oshigata I used in my Shintô & Shinshintô-kantei was published in issue 665 (June 2012) of the Token Bijutsu. The other one is from issue 581 (June 2005). So I guess the differences can´t be explained by a new polish.

Picture 1: Comparison of two Kotetsu-oshigata. The uppermost monouchi-oshigata belongs to the lowermost nakago-oshigata.

A long time ago, that is to say in 2006, I had to translate the description of a tsuba by the great master Kanô Natsuo (加納夏雄, 1828-1898). It crossed my mind recently when I had to find out something about the construction of Japanese fans. As I was fond of the story behind the motif, I would like to introduce it here. The motif is called „suehirogari“ (末広がり) what means literally „something that opens “, but it is also the title of a short and humorous waki-kyôgen play of an unknown author. The first stage adaption was called „Wakamidori Suehirogari“ (稚美鳥末広) and had its première in Ansei one (安政, 1854) at the kabuki theatre Nakamuraza (中村座) in Edo. The composer was Kineya Rokuzaemon (杵屋六左衛門), the lyricist Sakurada Jisuke (桜田治助) and the choreographer Tôma Kanjûrô (藤間勘十郎).

The play is about an errand who was wrong but manages it to bring it to a happy ending. A certain lord called „Kahômono“ (果報者) is in the middle of preparations for a banquet and needs some presents for his guests. The present for his elder should be a folding fan, a suehiro, whose name goes back to the aforementioned literal meaning „something that opens“. Thus a folding fan is a symbol for the growing and prosperity of a family. So he calls for his errand Tarôkaja (太郎冠者) and tells him to go downtown and buy „a suehiro with a paper of decent quality and a playful painting“. Well, Tarôkaja sets out for the shopping streets but is actually not aware what a suehiro is. Downtown he asks through but comes to the wrong person, a slicker called „Suppa“ (すっぱ) who tells him that the old umbrella he sells is a suehiro. Well, the thing with the „opening“ makes sense for Tarôkaja and the „friendly hawker“ teaches him a song to sing with such an umbrella. And at the persuasion scene of Suppa, a pun on what Kahômono said is made. Kahômono told him „with a playful painting“, in Japanese „zare´e“ (戯れ絵), but when Tarôjaka asks Suppa if the suehiro has a zare´e, the slicker replies „yes, it has“, but refers to a „playful handle“, also pronounced as „zare´e“ (戯れ柄).

Back in the residence of his lord, Tarôkaja proudly hands over the umbrella as he was sure that he got the right thing but Kahômono gets very angry and tells him off. And now Tarôkaja´s talent comes into play. He starts namely to sing the song Suppa taught him before which goes: „Kasa o sasunaru Kasugayama, kore mo kami no chikai tote, hito ga kasa o sasunara, waga mo kasa o sasô yo, geni mo saari, yayo gari mo sô yo no!“ (傘をさすなる春日山、これもかみのちかいとて、人が傘をさすなら、我も傘をさそうよ、げにもさあり、やよがりもそうよの！) „The divine Mt. Kasuga opens like an umbrella, the people open their umbrella all the time, but when I open an umbrella, I get scolded!“ And here we have another pun. Tarôjaka is now aware of the difference between a suehiro folding fan and an umbrella, a kasa (傘), and ostentatiously emphasizes the latter word in this song. By the way, it was said that the Kasuga mountain range in Nara has the shape of an umbrella, that´s why it occurs in that song. Kahômono cheers up and joines his errand singing and dancing. So the moral of this short and humorous play is that it is the thought that counts. Often namely such waki-kyôgen have a lord or master who has to organize stuff and everything ends in a mess. Sometimes the arrogance of the lord is the reason for the mess and sometimes also the incompetence of his servants but there is always a happy end.

Picture 1: „Suehirogari“ ukiyo´e print by Tsukioka Kôgyo (月岡耕漁, 1869-1927) from his series „Nôgaku-zue“ (能楽図絵, „Pictures of Nô Plays“), 1898. We see Tarôkaja with the umbrella, his lord Kahômono already dancing and at the top right symbolically two suehiro folding fans.

The tsuba is of iron, in aori-gata, has an uchikaeshi-mimi and a takabori-zôgan-iroe ornamentation. It was ordered by the Katô family (加藤) and finished and delivered in the first month of Man´en one (万延, 1860). So it is noted by Natsuo´s third son Akio (秋雄, ?-1950) in the hakogaki. It is assumed that the piece was commissioned one year before, i.e. in Ansei six (安政, 1859), the year in which Natsuo married, as many orders by the Katô were placed to support the artist. Often Natsuo had free choice of the motif and interpretation of the tsuba he made for his patron. The entire right side of the omote is occpuied by the joyfully dancing Tarôkaja wearing a loud stage outfit. The ura side is calm and shows a young pine, a New Year´s decoration as the banquet in question was a New Year´s banquet. Fascinating for me is the interplay of so many facets just on such a small but fine tsuba. We learn about the life circumstances of the artist by the mention of the name of the client, we have the hakogaki by the master´s son which confirms the date the piece was completed, than we have a peephole through which we can see the late 19^th century world of waki-kyôgen, and we learn something about the then humour and the plenty use of puns. That means tsuba can be so much more than simple hand guards.

Picture 2: tsuba by Kantô Natsuo with the mei „Katô-shi no motome ni kotae – Natsuo“ (応加藤氏需・夏雄, „made by Natsuo according to an order of the Katô family“)

A few weeks ago I posted an article on the Musashi-Masamune and I now would like to share some thoughts on the Ôgaki-Masamune. First of all about the blade itself. It has a rather wide mihaba, a thin kasane, a shallow sori and the tip might be classified as a just slightly elongated chû-kissaki. Of particular note is the very low suguha-chô with one major protrusion on the same area of each side and otherwise only small ups and downs. This is not the most representative style of Masamune and rather calm for him but we can see the typical sunagashi and yubashiri and the plentiful of nie which spill into the ji, especially towards the base of the blade. And in the bôshi, we can see a similar approach of the smith as at the Musashi-Masamune, i.e. it is rather wide and shows some isolated unhardened areas. So far so god. The blade was shortened to a nagasa of 63,9 cm and has today tokubetsu-jûyô papers.

Picture 1: Ôgaki-Masamune, mumei, nagasa 63,9 cm, sori 0,8 cm

In the „Kyôhô-meibutsu-chô“, it is listed with the nickname „Ôgaki-Masamune“ (大垣正宗), and the entry says that the sword was at the time of the compilation of the meibutsu-chô in the possesion of Uesugi Yoshinori (上杉吉憲, 1684-1722), the then fourth Uesugi-daimyô of the Yonezawa fief of Dewa province. It is also mentioned that apart from the present owner, the provenance of the piece is unknown. Well, so far it was assumed that the nickname goes back to Ôgaki in Mino province where the castle of the same name of the Toda family (戸田) was located. Toda Ujitetsu (戸田氏鉄, 1576-1655) presented the sword to shôgun Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川秀忠, 1579-1623) who in turn presented it to Uesugi Kagekatsu´s (上杉景勝, 1556-1623) son Sadakatsu (定勝, 1604-1625) on the occasion of the genpuku ceremony of the latter. These were the research results of Tsujimoto Tadao (辻本直男) published in his 1970-work „Zusetsu tôken-meibutsu-chô“ (図説刀剣名物帳). But in 1973 Satô Toyozô (佐藤豊三) from the Tokugawa Museum Nagoya found the Ôgaki-Masamune listed in the „Sunpu o-wakemono tôken-motochô“ (駿府御分物刀剣元帳), the protocol of the estate of Ieyasu´s swords. That means the sword must already had been in the possession of the Tokugawa in 1616, i.e. the year Ieyasu died. Apart from that, Toda Ujitetsu did not enter Ôgaki Castle before Kan´ei twelve (寛永, 1635). In 1635 in turn, Hidetada was already dead and so the assumption that the blade got its nickname on the occasion of the presentation to Hidetada can be dismissed. In short, the Ôgaki-Masamune must had got its name before the death of Ieyasu.

But when? As explained in my first volume Legends and Stories around the Japanese Sword, Ishida Mitsunari (石田三成, 1560-1600) lost two Masamune in the course of the turmoils before and during the battle of Sekigahara. One of them was the meibutsu „Hyûga-Masamune“ (日向正宗) (see picture 2). Interestingly, this blade is sometimes also referred to as „Ôgaki-Masamune“. I think that the naming of the Ôgaki-Masamune katana introduced here is directly connected to the Hyûga-Masamune but let me explain why I think so. The tantô Hyûga-Masamune was once a present of Mitsunari to  Fukuhara Naotaka (福原直高・長堯, ?-1600), the husband of his younger sister. Naotaka was a vassal of Hideyoshi and ruled a fief in Bungo province and fought of course on the side of the Western Army at Sekigahara. Together Kakemi Iezumi (垣見家純, ?-1600) and Kumagai Naomori (熊谷直盛, ?-1600) – both long-standing vassals of Hideyoshi too – he was detached to support the strategically important and aforementioned Ôgaki Castle which was then held by Itô Morimasa (伊藤盛正, ?-1623). Ôgaki was attacked by an alliance of several daimyô and Naotaka and Morimasa had to give up and surrendered the castle. Naotaka asked if he is permitted to enter priesthood but because he was via his wife a relative of Mitsunari this was not granted and he had to commit seppuku. One of the attacking generals of the Eastern Army was Mizuno Katsunari (水野勝成, 1564-1651), who made sure that he got hold of Naotaka´s Masamune-tantô at this occasion. I think it is quite possible that after the fightings, both blades – i.e. the katana and the tantô – were named for the time being after the surrendered castle. When the katana was presented to Ieyasu, it kept its nickname but the tantô was later renamed when Mizuno Katsunari, since 1601 holder of the title „Hyûga no Kami“, presented it to the Kii-Tokugawa family.

Picture 2: kokuhô Hyûga-Masamune, mumei, nagasa 24,8 cm

Picture 3: Ôgaki Castle before the main tower burned down after an air raid in 1945.

And here a link to a blade of Horikawa Kunihiro which is thought to be inspired by the Ôgaki-Masamune. We can see the narrow suguha-based hamon but the protrusions occur on other areas and the hi are different (although the hi on the Masamune might be atobori) and so it is not a 1:1 utsushimono but a faithful hommage.

I want to continue my last entry with some thoughts on the workmanship of the later Bizen tradition. But first some supplements to the genealogy. „Our“ survivor, i.e. Tôshirô Sukesada, was the successor of Shichirô´emon Sukesada (七郎右衛門祐定) who also beared the first name „Tôshirô“ in early years. This Shichirô´emon Sukesada in turn was the fourth son of the 2^nd generation Genbei Sukesada (源兵衛祐定) but was later adopted by his own older brother, the Tenshô-era (天正, 1573-1592) Shichirō´emon Sukesada (七郎右衛門祐定) who worked for Kobayakawa Hideaki. It was this adoption by which Tôshirô´s father changed his name from „Tôshirô“ to „Shichirô´emon“. Incidentally, Genbei Sukesada was after the 1^st generation Yosôzaemon (与三左衛門祐定) and the 1^st generation Hikobei Sukesada (彦兵衛祐定) the most talented Sukesada smiths of the late Muromachi period.

The first Bizen Sukesada mentioned in the genealogy belonged to the Kozori group whereas the term „Kozori“ itself was and is not exactly defined. It is, grossly simplified, applied more or less to late Nanbokuchô-era Osafune smiths whose affiliation is unknown. The Kozori smiths adopted about the style of the dominating Osafune main line, which was then represented by master Kanemitsu (兼光), but gave it a trend towards the so-called „koshi-no-hiraita gunome-midare“, i.e. a gunome-midare whose bases (koshi, 腰) are noticeably wider (hiraita, 開いた) as the tips (yakigashira, 焼頭). This trend can be seen for example at Kozori Moromitsu (師光, picture 1).

Picture 1: tachi of Kozori Moromitsu dated Eiwa two (永和, 1376)

When the turmoils of the Nanbokuchô era were over, the bushi with their new base in Kyôto again started to focus on the more elegant sword interpretations of the Kamakura period. That means slender and elegant blades came into fashion and this trend was grasped by the young Ôei-Bizen school (応永備前), named after the Ôei era (応永, 1394-1428) it emerged. The Ôei-Bizen smiths oriented themselves towards the glorious Ichimonji style or the style of the Osafune school at its height. But the trend to wider koshi started by the Kozori smiths just before was adopted and refined. We also see a trend towards yô, that means nioi formations within the ha detached from the habuchi. This feature can be seen on a blade of Ôei-Bizen Morimitsu (盛光, picture 2) for example.

Picture 2: tachi of Ôei-Bizen Morimitsu dated Ôei twelve (1405)

With the Eikyô era (永享, 1429-1441), the individual gunome-midare elements get gradually smaller and more narrow and the valleys go more down towards the ha. As the change in style is quite noticeable, the term „Eikyô-Bizen“ was introduced. Eikyô-Bizen marks about an intermediate step from Ôei-Bizen to Sue-Bizen. Picture 3 shows a blade of Iesuke (家助) dated Eikyô nine (1437). The continuous trend to yô is apparent.

Picture 3: tachi of Osafune Iesuke dated Eikyô nine (1437)

The Osafune smiths of the early 16^th century kept all these stylistic elements but started to combine the koshi-no-hiraita gunome-midare to characteristic groups of two or three. Representative for that trend were apart from Sukesada also Katsumitsu (勝光), Munemitsu (宗光) and Harumitsu (治光, picture 4).

Picture 4: gassaku-katana of Katsumitsu and Munemitsu dated Bunmei 19 (1487)

Towards the end of the Muromachi period, the trend of a more complex gunome was still forwarded what resulted in the case of the Sukesada line in the so-called „kani no tsume“ (蟹の爪), the famous „crab claws“, where individual koshi-no-hiraita gunome-midare elements open towards the top and end in chôji-yakigashira which remind as the name suggests of crab claws (see picture 6).

Picture 5: katana of Gorôzaemon Kiyomitsu (五郎左衛門清光) dated Tenbun 24 (1555)

Picture 6: Schematic representation of a Sue-Bizen-hamon with kani-no-tsume. We can easily see how the isolated yô of the Ôei-Bizen smiths become again dividing elements on nioi basis (i.e. ashi) and give so a further complexity to the koshi-no-hiraita gunome-midare.

With the mass-production of the Sengoku era and the accompanying changes in steel and blade production the jigane of the Sue-Bizen smiths looses its original „oily“ appearance what was so typical for earlier Bizen blades. Utsuri is rare too and appears mostly in a faint manner. The hamon shows more and more nie and numerous Sue-Bizen smiths also started to temper in hitatsura. The styistic changes of the shintô era go back to those Bizen smiths who had moved long before the flood of the Yoshii River to Ishidô in Ômi province. With the urbanization of the Edo period, the Ishidô school split up to quite successful branches like the Ôsaka-Ishidô, Edo-Ishidô and Fukuoka-Ishidô lines. They oriented towards the famous Ichimonji style with which the Bizen tradition became famous. But some few outstanding Ishidô masters like Tatara Nagayuki (多々良長幸) did also continue the koshi-no-hiraita gunome-midare of the Sue-Bizen and Sukesada smiths. The Ishidô masters also understood to reproduce utsuri but the most noticable changes in the shintô-Bizen style are – apart from the steel – a yakidashi, a sugu-bôshi in the case of a midareba and a rather „stiff“ looking hamon with lesser hataraki within the ha. As mentioned, this was a rather brief outline of the changes in later Bizen style from the Muromachi to the early Edo period and more details on the Ishidô school can be found in my book „Nihon-shintô-shi“ which will be finished soon.

Most sword collectors know that the Bizen tradition was wiped out by a single large calamity towards the end of the Muromachi period. This calamity was the great flood of the Yoshii River (吉井川) which hit Bizen province on the 15^th day of the eighth month Tenshô 18 (天正, 1590), at least this is what the topography „Tôbi-gunson-shi“ (東備郡村志) from Tenpô eight (天保, 1837) says which bases largely on oral transmissions from the region. Other sources mention the 19^th year of Tenshô (1591) as year of the flood and the topography „Biyô-kokushi“ (備陽国志) published in the fourth year of Genbun (元文, 1739) quotes the Daiei era (大永, 1521-1528). Well, the Yoshii did burst its banks in the Daiei era but the village of Osafune was not destroyed and the then flood „just“ caused a modification in the river course. We also can say for sure that Osafune was still the sword centre of Bizen province after Daiei as numerous dated blates from later eras are extant. In short, we can narrow down the calamity to the years 1590~91. However, it is interesting that the historic sources disagree on such a major incident which happened not that long ago.

Picture 1: The left circle along the Yoshii River marks the dikes at Tennôbara. The old village of Osafune was located to the right (highlighted by the right circle). And the white dot to the north is Mt. Kumayama (508 m high).

Well, the old Osafune was actually located on a somewhat elevated place to the east of the Yoshii River. That means the village usually survived the regular floodings with only minor damages. And also a simulation with a sea level raised by 9 m (see picture 2) shows that Osafune would not have been affected that much. The reason namely for the destruction of the village was a massive landslide of Mt. Kumayama (熊山) located about 2 km to the north of Osafune. The resulting mudslide in turn broke the dikes at Tennôbara (天王原) and forced its way unstoppably towards the east destroying the villages of Osafune, Hatakeda (畠田) and Fukuoka (福岡). Since the pictures of the 2011 Tsunami we all know how devastating such a mudslide or mud-filled river can be.

Picture 2: Simulation of the sea level raised by 9 m. To the left again the dikes at Tennôbara and somewhat to the right the theoretically spared Osafune.

Let us continue with the historical records. The „Biyô-kokushi“ and the „Tôbi-gunson-shi“ say that in Osafune just one swordsmith family had survived, namely those of Yokoyama Tôshirô Sukesada (横山藤四郎祐定). But the sword publication „Kibi-tôken-kô“ (黄微刀剣考) states that there were two surviving families of smiths in Osafune and one in Hatakeda. As the mudslide took so many lives it is assumed that the landslide on Mt. Kumayama happened in the middle of the night. But we know that also the swordsmiths Jûrôzaemon Harumitsu (十郎左衛門春光) and Saemonshichirô Harumitsu (左衛門七郎春光) must had survived as there are dated blades extant from after Tenshô 19. And the meikan records also say that Tôshirô Sukesada´s younger brother Yosabei Sukesada (与三兵衛祐定) was still active after the flood. The „Biyô-kokushi“ and „Tôbi-gunson-shi“ elaborate on the incident. The former says that Tôshirô Sukesada was washed up 4 km away at the Kakiyama (蠣山) whereas the latter says that he only reached the safe shore at Nishikôzaki (西幸崎). Well, this seems rather unlikely because Nishikôzaki was located at the river mouth of the Yoshii and that means about 15 km to the south of Osafune. Local historians now assume that the last description must not be taken literally and speculate that he was washed up at the Kakiyama but found shelter at relatives in Nishikôzaki.

Again, the „Biyô-kokushi“ says that Tôshirô Sukesada, his oldest – at that time 15-years-old – son Shichibei (七兵衛), and the third and fourth son Genzaemon (源左衛門) and Sôzaemon (惣左衛門・宗左衛門) respetively had survived. According to the topography, Sukesada´s second son Gorô (五郎) drowned in the masses of water and mud. Interestingly, the meikan records do list Gorô Sukesada, namely as being active around Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644) and even with a 2^nd generation. That means he probably had survived too. The transmissions also say that Tôshirô Sukesada took on the task of reviving the old-established Bizen forging tradition in Osafune. But we can imagine that this was not easy with just a handful of surviving families of swordsmiths. He erected his first new forge at an elevated spot about 200 to 300 m to the south of the old centre of Osafune and the next nine or ten years the smiths just tried to survive. At the time of the calamity, the lands were ruled by Ukita Hideie (宇喜多秀家, 1572-1655) who was the castellan of Okayama (岡山城). After Sekigahara all the lands of the Hideyoshi-ally were confiscated and the newly established Okayama fief (岡山藩) with the high income of 510.000 koku was entrusted to Kobayakawa Hideaki (小早川秀秋, 1582-1602). Hideaki hired Tôshirô Sukesada for a salary of 200 koku but died two years later without heir. Thereupon the Tokugawa government decided that the fief should be given nominally to the then underage Tadatsugu (池田忠継, 1599-1615), the second son of the loyal Ikeda Terumasa (池田輝政, 1565-1613). In this course, the income of the fief was newly evaluated to 280.000 koku. Terumasa was a sword lover and kept Sukesada as smith as he was one of the last who knew first-hand about the old Bizen tradition. But his son Tadatsugu died young and so the bakufu decided that Ikeda Tadakatsu (池田忠雄, 1602-1632), the then daimyô of the Sumoto fief (洲本藩) of Awaji province should be his successor. When Tadakatsu died in turn in Kan´ei nine (寛永, 1632), his oldest son and heir Mitsunaka (池田光仲, 1630-1693) was a small child and the bakufu again had to intervene in the fates of the Okayama fief. Mitsunaka had to change fiefs with his cousin Ikeda Mitsumasa (池田光政, 1609-1682), i.e. the underage Mitsunaka was now the nominal daimyô of the Tottori fief (鳥取藩) of Inaba province and Mitsumasa the new lord of Okayama. From that time onwards, the Ikeda branch of Mitsumasa ruled the Bizen-Okayama fief with an income of 315.000 koku continuously until the end of the Edo period.

In the course of these turmoils, the family of Shichibei Sukesada, Tôshirô´s son, followed the Ikeda branch which moved to Tottori in 1632. But the new daimyô Mitsumasa was also a sword lover and managed it that Sukesada was able to come back from Tottori to Osafune. Well, at that time, i.e. around Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Bizen had been outdated by the new sword centres of Ôsaka and Edo and this can be seen by the fact that Mitsumasa employed Sukesada for the peanuts of just a stipend for five persons. This was certainly not beneficial for the constant output of high-quality blades. That the situation remained bad can also be learned from extant requests of Nizaemon (仁左衛門祐定) and Shichirô´emon Sukesada (七郎右衛門祐定), the son and grandson of Tôshirô´s fourth son Sôzaemon, in which they asked for the permission to work for the Tokushima fief (徳島藩) of Awa province as they were awaiting better working conditions there. And from the rejection of the bakufu we also learn that not much was cared about the last Osafune smiths at that time. Incidentally, Nizaemon and Shichirô´emon Sukesada were active around Genroku (元禄, 1688-1704) and Genbun (元文, 1736-1741) respectively. However, Shichirô´emon´s second request from the fifth month of Shôtoku two (正徳, 1712) to become a sickle smith (kama-kaji, 鎌鍛冶) in the village of Nishikatayama (西片山) in Bizen´s Wake district (和気郡) was eventually granted.

Other smiths of the Sukesada line changed their profession and became gunsmiths or blacksmiths for farming tools, and others in turn focused on a mass-production of blades, the so-called „kazuuchi-mono“ (数打ち物), as did their Sengoku-era predecessors. That means they tried to survive by a maximum output. For example the physician and scholar Tachibana Nankei (橘南谿, 1753-1805) who was famous for his travelogues wrote later romantically about how busy Osafune was and that blades were forged in each and every corner. This picture of the somewhat later Edo period Osafune and the mass-production can be confirmed by contemporary records of the wholesaler Okamoto (岡本). Okamoto came on a regular basis from Nara to Osafune where he bought bare blades in masses and transported them home on three horses. Back in Nara he had them signed by local craftsmen according to their appearance, that means gimei of more or less famous masters were added to the tangs which matched more or less with the characteristics of the blade. These fakes were sold all over the country and soon they were pejoratively called „Nara-mono“ (奈良物).

The only Sukesada lines which were able to stand their grounds in Osafune and made it into the shinshintô era were those of Tôshirô and of his third son Genzaemon. As mentioned, the lineage of his fourth son Sôzaemon ended when the grandson of the latter became a sickle smith in 1712. Shichirô´emon Sukesada, the son of the same name of the sickle smith was merely on the paper the 4^th generation of that line but his younger brother Gengorô Sukesada (源五郎祐定) had a talented son. So the later Shichirô´emon adopted his nephew as successor. This 5^th generation Sukesada from the lineage of Sôzaemon entered later in Tenmei eight (天明, 1788) an apprenticeship under the Satsuma-master Yamato no Kami Motohira (大和守元平). Motohira bestowed him the character for „hira“ and he changed his name thereupon from „Sukesada“ to „Sukehira“ (祐平). Sukehira, who died in Bunsei twelve (文政, 1829) at the age of 75, is regarded with his second son Sukenaga (祐永, 1795-1851) as the driving force behind the success of the shinshintô Bizen-Yokoyama smiths. Sukehira´s first son Shichibei Sukemori (七兵衛祐盛) by the way took over the Sukesada main line of Tôshirô as 11^th generation. The very last Sukesada smith was Yokoyama Gennoshin (横山元之進) who was the 8^th generation of the line of Genzaemon. He died in 1930 at the age of 75.

For a better overview, I have compiled the relevant genealogies of the Sukesada lineage(s) here:

SukesadaGenealogy

A few days ago I had to do some research on iron mining and the production of ferric oxide in relation to ancient Japanese place names of Mino province. In the course of this research I stumbled upon Edo-period copper production and as I am of course also interested in the old kinkô craft, I was curious about how the old kinkô artists got their raw materials. Well, as I am quite busy at the time I focused just on copper and more details on other metals might follow in the future.

Picture 1: Casting of the saodô

One of the largest copper mines was in Besshi (別子) in Iyo province on Shikoku. The mine was discovered in the third year of Genroku (元禄, 1690) and opened one year later by the Sumitomo family (住友), yes the Sumitomo family which was one of the most significant zaibatsu in the early decades of the 20^th century. From the mine the raw copper (sodô, 粗銅) was shipped along the Seto Inland Sea to the Ôsaka Bay and via the Nagahorigawa (長堀川), a river which became a road in 1964, up to the Unagidani district (鰻谷) of Ôsaka. There the raw copper was processed to refined copper (seidô, 精銅) and casted according to the intended use. The Besshi copper mine was very lucrative for the bakufu as it exported thousands of tons to China and Holland via Nagasaki. Accordingly, a distinction was made in Ôsaka between the bakufu export copper (goyô-dô, 御用銅) and the copper distributed and sold on the domestic market. In concrete terms, the casters of Unagidani (see picture 1) casted basically three forms of refined copper: The saodô (棹銅, lit. „pole copper), teidô (丁銅, lit. „block copper“) and marudô (丸銅, lit. „round copper“). The saodô poles (see picture 2) were the form for the export and it was strictly forbidden to sell them at the domestic market. They measured about 23 cm, had a diameter of about 1,5 cm  and weighed about 250 ~ 300 g. For the export, 200 of them were put into special boxes of 100 kin (斤, ~ 60 kg) (see picture 3). These boxes were shipped from Unagidani to Nagasaki. The teidô plates (see picture 4) were used for the production of tiles or tools like pick hammers. The marudô (see picture 5) in turn was the form which was used by the kinkô artists, kettle makers and the like.

Well, that´s enough on that subject for the moment and more articles will follow next week when I have more time.

Picture 2: saodô pole

Picture 3: Storage box for 60 kg of saodô copper poles

Picture 4: teidô plate

Picture 5: Two marudô of different size

In my recent article on Kamakura-sugata I have referred to the retired Emperor Gotoba (後鳥羽天皇, 1180-1239, r. 1184-1198) and his so-called „goban-kaji“ (御番鍛冶) project. The list of all the different goban-kaji is otherwise available and I do not want to quote it here again. This time I would like to take a look at the circumstances under which the goban-kaji worked. First to the old sword script „Kanchi´in-bon mei-zukushi“ (観智院本銘尽) of which the oldest extant copy dates to the 30^th year of Ôei (応永, 1431). Therein we find a list of magistrates (bugyônin, 奉行人) and twelve swordsmiths which has the long title „Gotoba´in-miu ni meshinukaseru kaji jûnika-getsu ketsuban-shidai“ (後鳥羽院御宇被召抜鍛冶十二月結番次第). The title translates as: „Fixed sequence of certain swordsmiths for twelve months which were invited to the residence of the retired Gotoba.“ Most of the listed magistrates were historically documented figures and confidants of Gotoba. Before we continue it has to be mentioned that the goban-kaji and magistrate list differs from historical sword publication to historical sword publication. It is assumed that the magistrates had a kind of executive or supervising function because at that time it was very common for the Japanese court bureaucracy to assign posts for each and everything. This would also explain why there was a magistrate for every month. That means it was rather a honorary thing than an actual executive post as it would have surely been no problem if one or two court aristicrats were in charge of the smiths over the whole year. Incidentally, Sai´on-ji Kitsune (西園寺公経, 1171-1244), the first magistrate on the list, raised an objection to Gotoba when he learned that the retired emperor planned to recruit an army. He was thereupon arrested but later released when the Jôkyû Disturbance was over. And Asukai Masatsune (飛鳥井雅経, 1170-1221), the magistrate for the ninth month, was by the way an ancestor of the poet Asukai Masaaki (飛鳥井雅章, 1611-1679) which I have mentioned in the next to last article on Hosokawa Yûsai and the kokin-denju.

Picture 1: Emperor Gotoba.

Well, the place where all the forging took place was called „onba-dokoro“ (乳母所, lit. „place of the nurses“). Two sword polishers were employed there for the whole year. Places like the onba-dokoro and for example the so-called „waka-dokoro“ (和歌所, lit. „place for waka poetry“) were officially subordinate to the facilities of an abdicated emperor, the so-called „in“ (院). Each smith who was invited received a set of white and plain ritual clothing (jô´e, 浄衣), a short-sleeved kimono (kosode, 小袖) and a light summer kimono (katabira, 帷子) when he arrived at the in. When he had to leave the palace area he was ordered to wear a formal hitatare (直垂) and matching kobakama (小袴). Apart from that he was provided with the charcoal and all the tools he needed to do his job. When the goban-kaji project started, Gotoba was not even 30 years old. We know from contemporal historical records like the „Gukan-shô“ (愚管抄) and the later early Muromachi-period „Masu-kagami“ (増鏡) that Gotoba was not happy that at certain times, like for example at a Buddhist requiem mass in 1207, so many bushi gathered at the in practicing archery just to kill time. Also the aristocrats complained that the bushi were of no use there as all they did was devoting themselves day and night to their arms and martial arts. It is also mentioned that they showed their swords to one another and some of them even made primitive and basic appraisals. We can assume that this was not what Gotoba wanted, as he had a more noble approach to swords. In short, the in was a busy place with all the annual events but the goban-kaji had their sacred onba-dokoro where they were able to retreat and work with the young and ambitious ex-emperor. Well, there is also the known list of his goban-kaji during his exile on the island of Oki called „Oki ni oite teichi bankaji no shidai“ (於隠岐定置番鍛冶之次第). This list is found in the volume „Keizu-hidan-shô“ (系図秘談抄) of the seven-volume sword publication „Kokon-mei-zukushi“ (古今銘尽) and does not appear in documents from before the Muromachi period. So most historians agree that the list must be fictitious as Gotoba was strictly watched and guarded by the bakufu in his exile and was surely not allowed to have several swordsmiths working there for him.

Finally I want to clarify some terms concerning the swords made in the process of the goban-kaji project. First the well-known term „Kiku-Ichimonji“ (菊一文字). It is just used for blades which actually bear a kebori carving of a chrysanthemum on their tangs and which were made by the Ichimonji smiths on the goban-kaji list. Kiku-Ichimonji are often mixed-up with the so-called „kiku-gyosaku“, „kiku-gosaku“ or „kiku-onsaku“ (菊御作, see picture 2). The latter term refers namely to blades which were actually tempered by Gotoba and which might also bear a chrysathemum on the tang. Synonymously also the terms „gosho-yaki“ (御所焼) and „gyo-seisaku“ (御製作) were in use for such blades whereas „gosho“ (御所) means „imperial palace“. But some historical documents also quote occasionally the terms „gyosaku“ (御作) and „gosho-kitae“ (御所鍛). It is important to bear in mind the context. Very similar terms like „kiku-zukuri“ or „kiku-saku“ (菊作 or 菊造) refer namely in most cases to sword mountings which show fittings with a chrysanthemum motif. So one has to be careful when translating old entries on swords.

Picture 2: jûyô-bunkazai, tachi, nagasa 78,1 cm. Detailed picture here.

Picture 3: Tang of the blade from picture 2.

Picture 4: Tang of another kiku-gyosaku.

I want to stay with the Hosokawa family a little longer. The aesthetical aspects of Higo-koshirae are discussed quite often and I also dedicated them a chapter in my recent publication Koshirae – Japanese Sword Mountings. In this article, I want to deal with the rather brutal context of some of the well-known Higo mountings. But first some words on Tadaoki´s childhood. He was born on the 13^th day of the eleventh month Eiroku six (永禄, 1563) as oldest son of Fujitaka and Jakô (麝香, 1544-1618), the daughter of Numata Mitsukane (沼田光兼) who was the castellan of Kumakawa (熊川城) in Wakasa province. His youth names were „Kumachiyo“ (熊千代) and later „Yoichirô“ (与一郎). Two years after his birth his father Fujitaka was involved in continuous fightings on behalf of the Ashikaga-shôgun and Tadaoki was put in the care of the Hosokawa-retainer Nakamura Shinsuke (中村新助) who lived in a small and inconspicious house outside of Kyôto. It was a life of hiding and when Fujitaka returned from the fightings, Tadaoki was already five years old. Regarding his hot temper there exists an anecdote for the third year of Genki (元亀, 1572) when a dispute arouse between Hosokawa-retainers from the Ueno (上野) and the Arakawa family (荒川). It is said that Tadaoki, nine years old at that time, sided with the Arakawa and drove out the Ueno. Fujitaka was quite angry about that and one year later Tadaoki was put in the care of his uncle Gyokuhô (玉峯) who was a priest at Kyôto´s Eigen´an (永源庵). However, it is unknown if this has something to do with the Ueno-Arakawa dispute but we do know that his temper must had been that hot even as a young boy that the chronists found it necessary to record it.

His first battle took place in Tenshô five (天正, 1577) when he was fifteen years old. It was in the course of Oda Nobunaga´s subjugation of Kii province. Tadaoki, back then still under the name „Yoichirô“, accompanied the campaign against Kaizuka (貝塚) in Izumi province where they were fighting against troops of the Saiga-ikki and followers of the Negoroji. Shortly later he and his younger brother Okimoto (興元, 1566-1919) were the first to arrive at the rebelling Kataoka Castle (片岡城) in Yamato province. For his achievements during the severe fightings for the castle the young Yoichirô received a letter of acknowledgement from Nobunaga. Well, to go into battle at the age of fifteen was not uncommon for his time but he did especially well and Nobunaga confirmed his vassal-status by granting him the character for „Tada“ from his son Nobutada (織田信忠, 1557-1582). Well, already three years before these fightings Nobunaga suggested that Tadaoki should be married with Akechi Mitsuhide´s (明智光秀, 1528-1582) daughter Tama (玉, 1563-1600) but his father Fujitaka refused because – according to the Hosokawa chronicles – of his son´s „too strong character“ (gôkyô ni suguru, 剛強に過ぐる). However, we all know that the wedding took place, just somewhat later, namely in Tenshô seven (1579), and we also know that Tama was the famous Gracia. By the way, at the time of the marriage Tadaoki received from Nobunaga the kuyô family crest. There exists the anecdote that this was because some years before, Tadaoki or rather Yoichirô had seen this crest on a kozuka of Nobunaga and told him that he liked it a lot.

Picture 1: Portrait of Hosokawa Tadaoki by Ôbuchi Genkô (大渕玄弘) made five years after his death.

So far the early years of Tadaoki until his marriage. That his hot temper did not stop even in his later years and after being a renowned tea master and student of Sen no Rikyû (千利休, 1522-1591) can be learned from the nicknames of some of his sword mountings. First the famous so-called „Kasen-koshirae“ (歌仙拵, see picture 2). Tadaoki had retired in Genna six (元和, 1620) and handed-over the leadership of the Hosokawa family to his son Tadatoshi (細川忠利, 1586-1641). Twelve years later he moved to Yatsushiro Castle (八代城) where he wanted to spend his last years with tea and the arts. But he was somehow worried about that the politic of his son did not make progress. So he made an example, called for Tadatoshi, and executed 36 criminals with his own sword, a number which reminded him of the so-called „Thirty-six Immortal Poets“ (sanjū-rokkasen, 三十六歌仙), a group of poets from the Nara and Heian periods. So the mounting got the nickname „Kasen-koshirae“. The blade itself is a work of Kanesada (兼定, No-Sada), who was famous for making blades with superior sharpness (see picture 3). Picture 4 shows the so-called „Nobunaga-koshirae“ (信長拵). Well, this one got its name from the blade it mounts and has nothing to do with Tadaoki´s hot temper. But I want to present it here for the sake of completeness as it is very similar in interpretation to the Kasen-koshirae. Nobunaga, the maker of the blade, was active around Ôei (応永, 1394-1428) in Kaga province. Family records of the Hosokawa say that Tadaoki defended his life with this blade during the battles of the Genki (元亀, 1570-1573) and Tenshô eras (天正, 1573-1592). However, as his first battle was as mentioned in Tenshô five (1577), the former can be dismissed but if the transmission is nevertheless true, than he used that blade in his first actions on the battlefield. By the way, it is said that Tadaoki had these subtle and tasteful koshirae made on the basis of instructions of his tea master Rikyû.

Picture 2: Kasen-koshirae, overall length 88,0 cm

Picture 3: katana, mei „Nôshû Seki-jû Kanesada saku“ (濃州関住兼定作), nagasa 61,0 cm

Picture 4: Nobunaga-koshirae, overall length 91,8 cm

Picture 5: wakizashi, mei „Nobunaga“ (信長), nagasa 48,3 cm

Picture 6: Kishuso-koshirae

The so-called „Kishuso-koshirae“ (希首坐拵, see picture 6) has its name from the fact that Tadaoki killed with the sword an impolite and disrespectful Daitokuji-monk (大徳寺) called „Kishuso“. The blade itself is a work of the local Higo smith Fujiwara Nobusada (藤原宣貞) and has a nagasa of 56,5 cm, that means it is an ô-wakizashi. And last but not least there is the nagamaki-naoshi wakizashi by the 2^nd generation Samonji (左文字). It is called „Shisô-ken“ (晴思剣) and has its name from killing a spy disguised as tea servant (chabôzu, 茶坊主), on which Tadaoki held a grudge for several years. The legend says that Tadaoki´s mind (sô, 思) brightened (shi, 晴) when he slayed this person. Therefore the name „Shisô-ken“.

Often a sword got its nickname from killing this or that warrior in a battle or cutting through helmets, armors, horses or whatever. And koshirae were often named according to their famous wearer, to their magnificent interpretation or fittings they were equipped with. But Tadaoki did not pick the swords with the Kasen-koshirae or Kishuso-koshirae in the morning with killing someone later that day in mind or going into a battle. These were his everyday swords and accordingly mounted in a tasteful and expensive manner. And this demonstrates us on the one hand how hot his temper was and on the other hand that he was truly a warlord born and raised in the turmoils of the Sengoku period.

In my first volume „Legends and Stories around the Japanese Sword“ I have elaborated on the famous sword „Kokindenju-Yukihira“ (古今伝授行平). To recapitulate: Shortly before the Battle of Sekigahara, Hosokawa Yûsai Fujitaka (細川幽斎藤孝, 1534-1610) held with about 500 men Tanabe Castle (田辺) in Tango province for the Tokugawa. When Ishida Mitsunari (石田三成, 1560-1600) deployed for the final move against Ieyasu, he layed siege to Tanabe with 15.000 men. Now Yûsai was less frightened of losing the castle or his live than the transmission of the anthology „Kokin-waka-shû“ (古今和歌集). It was tried two times to talk Yûsai into surrendering because everybody realized that resistace was useless and a peaceful surrending of the castle the best way. But Yūsai was stubborn. The court definitely expected the death of Yûsai and because they did not want the loss of his „kokin-denju“ (古今伝授, more on that later), they officially issued an imperial order to hand out all the documents. Thus an envoy was sent to Tanabe which consisted of the aristocrats Sanjônishi  Saneeda (三条西実条, 1575-1640), Nakanoin Michikatsu (中院通勝, 1556-1610), and Karasumaru Mitsuhiro (烏丸光広, 1579-1638), who were famous poets themselves. Yûsai obeyed and surrended the castle two days before the Battle of Sekigahara after being besieged for two months. In the end Yûsai was relieved too that his kokin-denju kowledge of the „Kokin-waka-shû“ was in safe hands and presented for good measure Mitsuhiro with his beloved tachi of Yukihira which got thereupon the nickname „Kokindenju-Yukihira“.

Picture 1: kokuhô „Kokindenju-Yukihira“, mei: „Bungo no Kuni Yukihira saku“ (豊後国行平作), nagasa 79,9 cm, sori 2,9 cm; below the koshirae to the blade which is said to go back to the time of Hosokawa Yûsai.

So far the circumstances about the surrender of Tanabe Castle and the origins of the nickname of the sword. In this article I want to explain why Yûsai was so anxious about knowing the kokin-denju in safe and first and foremost in the right hands. To understand his concerns we have to go back in time. The „Kokin-waka-shû“, or short „Kokin-shû“, is an imperial anthology of Japanese waka poetry from the Heian period, or to be more precise from the early 10^th century. The important thing was that it was compiled at imperial request and that it contains Japanese poetry. With this, the court started to move away from the then prevailing Chinese culture. The anthology contains  more than 1.000 poems, depending on the textual transmission. Already towards the end of the Heian period it became custom to discuss on readings and hidden meanings of the poems whereas interpretations were also often kept secret by a certain school of poetry. With the Kamakura period the court entrusted the conservative aristocratic Nijô family (二条) of poetry with the transmission of the „Kokin-waka-shû“. However, the Nijô family itself split up into the Kyôgoku (京極) and Reizei (冷泉) branches which became the strongest rivals of the Nijô main line teachings of poetry. Simplifying, the transmission, the denju (伝授) of the „Kokin-waka-shû“, became a major issue of all these branches stressing their exegesis being the only one which understands all the deep meanings and nuances of the poems.

Sometime in the early Nanbokuchô era, the then Nijô head transmitted the „Kokin-waka-shû“ secrets to the poet Nikaidô Sadamune (二階堂貞宗, 1289-1372), better known under his monk name „Ton´a“ (頓阿). Ton´a in turn was a descendant of the Fujiwara-regent Morozane (藤原師実, 1042-1101). Via Ton´a and his students, the Nijô-transmission reached eventually the military leader and passionate poet Tô Tsuneyori (東常縁, 1401~1484). Tsuneyori was namely a distant descendant of the famous poet Fujiwara no Teika (藤原定家, 1162-1241) and transmitted the „Kokin-waka-shû“ to important figures of his time like shôgun Ashikaga Yoshihisa (足利義尚, 1465-1489). It has to be mentioned that the „Kokin-waka-shû“ and its secret comments transmitted orally and written via the denju ceremony was still deeply interwoven with aristocracy. But the transmission to a military leader like Tsuneyori shows the changes of times, namely the rise of the buke warrior aristocracy into the highest circles of culture. Another person Tsuneyori honoured with the transmission of the „Kokin-waka-shû“ was the monk and poet Sôgi (宗祇, 1421-1502). This denju took place in the year 1471. But with Sôgi, the secret teachings again split up. He initiated namely the aristocrat Sanjônishi Sanetaka (三条西実隆, 1455-1537) and the poet Shôhaku (肖柏, 1443-1527). Well, Shôhaku in turn initiated later when he had moved to Sakai the wealthy merchant Hayashi Sôji (林宗二, 1498-1581). This was contrary to the attitude of the aristocrats and terms like „palace transmission“ (gosho-denju, 御所伝授) and „Sakai transmission“ (Sakai-denju, 堺伝授) were introduced.

Now we come back to Yûsai. The then holder of the secret denju of the Sanjônishi family was Saneeda (三条西実枝, 1511-1579), the grandfather of the aforementioned Saneeda (三条西実条). When it was time for the former Saneeda to initiate his heir, his oldest son Kinkuni (三条西公国, 1556-1588), the latter was too young and so he transmitted the teachings to his waka student Hosokawa Yûsai. But on the very day of the initiation, the course for Yûsai´s later reaction when Tanabe was besieged was set. Yûsai swore namely: „I will not pass on these denju secrets to any other person and I take the full personal responsibility for preserving the teachings of the Sanjônishi family!“ However, he eventually broke the first promise when he later initiated the poet Matsunaga Teitoku (松永貞徳, 1571-1654). It was a great honor for the bushi Yûsai to receive a „palace transmission“ from Sanjônichi Saneeda and with this he was able to trace back his line of poetry to the Nijô family, namely in an official sense, which made him a great authority in poetry of his time. Well, we know the outcome of the siege and Yûsai initiated apart from Kinkuni´s son Saneeda also prince Hachijōnomiya Toshihito (八条宮智仁, 1579-1629), the younger brother of the then emperor Go-Yôsei (後陽成, 1571-1617). And when Toshihito later initiated emperor Go-Mizunoo (後水尾天皇, 1596-1680) in the year 1625, the latter decided that the aristocratic „palace transmission“ of the Sanjônishi family should henceforth only be transmitted from emperor to emperor.

Picture 2: Letter of Hosokawa Yûsai confirming his transmission of the Sanjônishi line of the kokin-denju to prince Toshihito on the 29^th day of the seventh month Keichô five (慶長, 1600).

Well, Go-Mizunoo made some exceptions. For example he initiated the poet Asukai Massaki (飛鳥井雅章, 1611-1679) and this initiation is of special interest as the aristocrat Takatsukasa Kanehiro (鷹司兼煕, 1660-1725) made later a drawing of it, that means the altar erected for the ceremony (see picture 3). On top we see a portrait of the famous poet and aristocrat Kakinomoto Hitomaro (柿本人麻呂, 662-710) as object of veneration who is mentioned in the preface of the „Kokin-waka-shû“ as „divine poet“. We see salt, a mirror, a sword and other things which show us that the kokin-denju had become a kind of religious ceremony placing emphasis on the mystical and secret nature of the teachings. So Yûsai was not only trying to preserve just a collection of old poems but a system of aristocratic transmission which when being lost meant the loss of centuries of forming and growing of Japanese poetry and culture. And he was well aware of his role…

Picture 3: Drawing of Takatsukasa Kanehiro of the altar used during the kokin-denju ceremony.

For more details on the „Kokin-waka-shû“ see also Anne Commons, Hitomaro: Poet as God, Brill Academic Pub 2009