Edo Shintō

Establishment of the Edo Bakufu

Since Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed seii taishōgun and established the bakufu in Edo in Keichō 8 (1603), Edo rapidly developed as Japan's political center. With the sankin-kōtai system (institutionalized in the Kan'ei era), under which approximately 270 daimyō houses across the country came to attend court in Edo every other year, an unprecedented, enormous buke toshi emerged, in which hundreds of thousands of bushi and their families lived in Edo at all times. No other city in world history concentrated such a massive number of bushi, and demand for swords naturally became enormous.

Diversification of Swords

The style of Edo Shintō strongly reflects the spirit of this buke society. Whereas Ōsaka Shintō embodies the brilliance of merchant culture, many Edo Shintō works are powerful pieces that infuse the blade with the bushi spirit of shitsujitsu gōken and bunbu ryōdō. The jigane has densely packed itame, showing a heavy, tough kitaehada. The hamon is primarily nie-deki, with powerful nie action added in gunome-midare and suguha. Overall, it gives a steady and dignified impression and, in contrast to the bright splendor of Ōsaka Shintō, holds a calm dignity.

Establishment of a School

At the summit of this was Nagasone Kotetsu Okisato. Kotetsu has the highly unusual background of being a kattūshi descended from the tradition of the Nagasone smiths, based in Nagasone village in Ōmi Province (present-day Hikone, Shiga Prefecture). (Some theories hold that the origin was Echizen.) Building on advanced metalworking skill and a deep understanding of iron developed through armor production, Kotetsu moved to Edo around the age of fifty and transitioned to become a tōkō. Whereas becoming a fully qualified tōkō normally takes decades of training, Kotetsu drew on experience from the kattūshi years to reach outstanding skill in a short period.

Achievements of a Master Smith

The greatest feature of Kotetsu's works lies in their tough jigane and powerful hamon with deep nie. Known for a distinctive style that combines juzuba (rosary-bead hamon, a rounded, bead-like hamon) with gunome-midare, Kotetsu also produced calmer hamon close to suguha. The jigane shows densely packed itame-hada with thick ji-nie, presenting a heavy texture. Kotetsu's swords always received the highest evaluations in test cutting, and several works exist with gold-inlaid saidan-mei (cutting-test inscriptions) recording futatsu-dō (cutting two bodies, meaning a human body cut in two) and mitsu-dō (three bodies cut) by Yamano Kaemon Nagahisa. This record of test cutting scientifically proves the practical value of Kotetsu's swords and established an unshakable position in the sword world as a rare existence that combines artistic quality and practicality at a high level.

Characteristics of the Style

Kotetsu is widely known as the favorite sword of Kondō Isami, kyokuchō of the Shinsengumi, but whether the "Kotetsu" that Kondō possessed was an authentic work or a fake remains one of the mysteries of sword history, still debated today. Kotetsu was highly valued even during his lifetime, and it is known that many forged inscriptions (gimei) circulated from the same era, to the point that the saying "If you see a Kotetsu, think it is a fake" arose.

Cultural Development

Izumi no Kami Kaneshige was a renowned Edo Shintō smith who served Tōdō Takatora. The view that he was Kotetsu's teacher has become the accepted theory. His hamon is primarily hiro-suguha with shallow notare mixed in, in nie-deki. Yamato no Kami Yasusada's swords often bear saidan-mei on the nakago (tang), and there are also swords said to have cut through itsutsu-dō (five bodies) by Yamano Kaemon Nagahisa, who was renowned as a master of suemono-giri. Their style resembles Kotetsu's.

The Hōjōji group was a smith group that forged many practical swords in Edo. Noda Hankei, who had originally been a teppō kaji, forged excellent swords despite that unusual background. As the pinnacle of buke bunka, Edo Shintō was a special presence among sword enthusiasts, and works by master smiths including Kotetsu were beloved even by the shishi of the bakumatsu period, giving rise to many historical anecdotes. The dignified character residing within shitsujitsu gōken is like a mirror reflecting the soul of the bushi.