Bunmei-Meiō Bizen Revival

Political Vacuum After the Ōnin War and Demand for Swords

The Ōnin War, fought from Ōnin 1 (1467) to Bunmei 9 (1477), decisively undermined the authority of the Ashikaga shogunal house and opened the age of gekokujō (“the low overthrowing the high”). As the Sengoku period began, with shugo daimyō and kokujin lords competing for power across the country, demand for swords surged. It was the beginning of an age in which production regions capable of supplying large quantities of practical swords for masses of soldiers, including ashigaru, were required, rather than swords for individual warriors.

The Bizen smiths centered on Osafune in Bizen Province (present-day Okayama Prefecture) were the ones who responded most effectively to this new demand. Earlier Bizen smiths had taken an artisanal approach in which individual master smiths put their skill and aesthetic sense into each blade one at a time, but the Bizen smiths of the Bunmei and Meiō periods changed this approach substantially. Many smiths made swords in family or workshop units and built a production system that supplied mass-produced blades called tabagatana in large quantities.

The Three Houses of Sue-Bizen

The three smith families representative of Bunmei- and Meiō-period Bizen are Osafune Katsumitsu, Osafune Munemitsu, and Osafune Sukesada. Bizen blades from the late Muromachi period onward, when these three houses were active, are collectively called Sue-Bizen and are discussed separately from Ko-Bizen of the late Heian to early Kamakura periods.

Katsumitsu rose to prominence during the Bunmei era, and records remain of blades he produced jointly with Munemitsu that bear a date. Katsumitsu's works are characterized by showy hamon of gunome-midare mixed with chōji. Among his custom-ordered (chūmon-uchi) works of superior quality (jōsaku), there remain dignified works that faithfully inherit the Bizen tradition from Ko-Bizen onward. Munemitsu was also a renowned smith active at roughly the same time. Apart from his joint works with Katsumitsu, excellent individual works by him are known.

Sukesada formed the largest smith family of Sue-Bizen. Smiths bearing the Sukesada name are said to have been active in the same era in the dozens, because “Sukesada” was passed down hereditarily as a family or workshop name. Sukesada's works range widely in quality, from mass-produced tabagatana to carefully made custom-ordered blades commissioned by particular warlords. Among the carefully made superior custom-ordered works, the fineness of the jigane and the brilliance of the hamon approach the workmanship of Ko-Bizen. Smiths who used common names such as Yosozaemon-no-jō Sukesada and Hikobei-no-jō Sukesada are particularly highly regarded, even within Sue-Bizen.

Rise of the Uchigatana

The Bunmei and Meiō periods also saw an important change in sword form. Replacing the tachi (worn slung from the waist) of the Kamakura and Nanbokuchō periods, the uchigatana (worn thrust through the waist belt) began to emerge as the main weapon in actual combat. The uchigatana was shorter than the tachi and was worn in the waist belt with the cutting edge facing upward, a form suited to foot ashigaru fighting in groups. Sue-Bizen smiths responded nimbly to this new demand and played a leading role in the mass production of uchigatana.

Tadamitsu and the Bridge to the Eiroku Period and Later

The Sue-Bizen of the Bunmei and Meiō periods produced many smiths, including Tadamitsu, Kiyomitsu, and Sukemitsu, forming a rich base of talent that led into the following Eishō and Tenbun eras (1504–1555). Tadamitsu is an important smith of Sue-Bizen alongside Katsumitsu, Munemitsu, and Sukesada, and his signed and dated works are valuable material for the chronological study of Sue-Bizen.

Bizen blades of the Bunmei and Meiō periods have a distinctive appeal, standing at the intersection of the Ko-Bizen tradition and Sengoku-period practicality. In appraisal, the dignity of Ko-Bizen has been lost, but the discerning eye to identify “superior works of Sue-Bizen,” in which sincerity toward the making is still perceptible, is required. The two-pronged system of mass production and custom-ordered work established by the smiths of this era holds important historical significance as the forerunner of sword production in the later Edo period.