* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Daikei Naotane and Suishinshi Masahide—The Twin Peaks of Shinshintos
大慶直胤と水心子正秀——新々刀の双璧
Two master swordsmiths who led the Shinshintos (新々刀) movement of the late Edo period. Suishinshi Masahide established the theory of restoring ancient sword techniques, while his outstanding student Daikei Naotane responded with the finest practical works that transcended theory itself. The heights these two smiths reached continue to be revered as the pinnacle of modern sword history.
Description
The Birth of the Shinshintos Movement—Longing for Ancient Swords
The Shinshintos (新々刀) movement was an important cultural movement in Japanese sword history that unfolded from the late eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century. It was born from critical reflection on the practical and uniform styles that had become prevalent during the Shinto (新刀) period of the middle Edo era. During the Shinto period (roughly Keichō through Genroku), numerous smiths emerged against the backdrop of Edo's economic prosperity, but the majority gravitated toward practical, utilitarian styles that prioritized symmetrical form and consistent quality over the deep jigane and elegant hamon characteristic of kofutsu from the Kamakura and Nanboku-chō periods. The Shinshintos movement was born as a critical response to this trend, and its spirit can be summed up in one phrase: "return to kofutsu"—an intense passion to recreate the techniques and aesthetic sensibilities of the Five Traditions (Gokaiden) of the Kamakura period, particularly the Bizen and Soshu traditions. The theoretical leader of this movement was Suishinshi Masahide, and his most outstanding student who embodied the theory in practice was Daikei Naotane.
Suishinshi Masahide—Theorist of the Shinshintos
Suishinshi Masahide (1750–1825) was a swordsmith from Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata Prefecture), with the birth name Kawabe Gihachirō and childhood name Sanjirou. Masahide moved to Edo and studied numerous kofutsu, producing theoretical analyses of ancient techniques. He authored works such as "Tōken Jitsuyōron" (Practical Theory of Swords) and "Kenkō Hidensshi" (Secret Records of Sword Craft), through which he systematized these analyses. These works became the theoretical foundation of the Shinshintos movement and provided guidance to later smiths in their study of kofutsu. Masahide's swordcraft put his established theory into practice, particularly devoting himself to forging jigane with the Bizen tradition in mind (studying forging techniques to produce a landscape similar to utsuri) and to recreating hamon. However, Masahide's talents as a theorist and educator sometimes exceeded his skill in practical execution, and his works are often said not to match those of his student Daikei Naotane. Nevertheless, Masahide's contributions to Japanese sword history are immeasurable, and without him, an outstanding talent like Daikei Naotane might never have emerged.
Daikei Naotane—The Pinnacle of Shinshintos
Daikei Naotane (1779–1857) was from Yamagata in Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata City), with the name (pseudonym) Shōji Mihyōe and the sobriquet Daikei. Moving to Edo while still young, he became a student of Suishinshi Masahide and practiced his teacher's theories with high sophistication in his actual swordcraft. Naotane's works are largely masterpieces with all three elements—jigane, hamon, and sugata—in harmony. He is highly regarded as one of the few Shinshintos smiths who succeeded in producing copies based on the Bizen tradition that achieved a landscape extremely close to the utsuri of old Bizen. Naotane's jigane is forged with itame mixed with masame, and some examples show a landscape approaching the subtle utsuri characteristic of Bizen work, which is why it is said he surpassed his teacher Masahide in this regard. His hamon, based on the chōji midare of the Bizen tradition he inherited from his teacher, also developed an individual style incorporating nie from the Soshu tradition. In custom-made copies of Soshu tradition work, he demonstrated a fully authentic finish with a robust hamon featuring strong nie alongside kinsuji and sunagarashi.
The Breadth of Naotane's Working Range
Another remarkable aspect of Daikei Naotane is the breadth of his working range. Smiths who possessed the technical breadth to imitate the major traditions of kofutsu—from Bizen and Soshu copies to Yamato and Yamashiro copies—at a high level were extremely rare, even during the Shinshintos period. His Soshu tradition copies in particular display a fully authentic finish with a robust hamon featuring vigorous nie, jikei, and kinsuji, and his works are evaluated as the highest standard among Soshu copies of his era. Moreover, Naotane worked across a wide range of sizes, from ōdachi to tantō, serving a broad clientele from daimyō and hatamoto to commoners. Many of Naotane's extant works bear dates, which is evidence that the practice of having students forge works under the master's name was uncommon, and a relatively large number of authenticated works personally forged by Naotane have survived.
Students and Influence of Both Smiths
Both Suishinshi Masahide and Daikei Naotane trained many excellent students and made major contributions to the development of Shinshintos during the late Edo period. Known students of Masahide include Ikeda Onimaru Kunishige and Hosokawa Masayoshi, while Chōunsai Tsunatoshi and Hosokawa Masayoshi are also counted among his disciples. Koyama Munetsugi studied under Chōunsai Tsunatoshi, and Kurihara Nobuhide studied under Gen Kiyomaro—both noted smiths of the late Edo period. Koyama Munetsugi inherited his teacher's techniques for Bizen tradition copies while developing his own distinctive style. These smiths responded to the increased demand for swords in the late Edo period and served as bridges to modern sword history. Many noted smiths emerged from Naotane's second-generation students, and his influence extended to modern swordcraft from the Meiji period onward.
Collecting Value
Naotane's works command the highest market valuation among Shinshintos, and many fine examples with signatures have been designated as Especially Important Swords by the NBTHK. His finest Bizen tradition copies are said to possess such precision that they sometimes generate debate regarding old Bizen attribution, and this level of technical completion is unparalleled in the Shinshintos period. Masahide's works are also highly regarded as representative Shinshintos pieces, but in comparison with Naotane, they are often said to yield somewhat in the quality of execution. Comparative collecting of works by both smiths is the most effective method for understanding three-dimensionally the relationship between theory and practice in the Shinshintos movement, and it offers the intellectual pleasure of collecting that leads to deeper understanding of Japanese sword history.
Characteristics of This Era
- The pinnacle of Bizen tradition copies—Naotane's achievement in recreating a sugata approaching the utsuri of old Bizen is a technical accomplishment without parallel in the Shinshintos period. He surpassed his teacher Suishinshi Masahide in the precision of jigane forged with itame mixed with masame.
- Broad working range across Soshu, Bizen, and Yamato traditions—the technical breadth to imitate the major traditions of kofutsu at a high level is one of the greatest achievements of the Shinshintos period.
- Separation of theory and practice—the master-student relationship structure, in which Suishinshi Masahide led through theory and education while his students responded through practical execution, brought ideological and technical maturity to the Shinshintos movement.
- Abundance of dated works—many of Daikei Naotane's extant works bear dates, with relatively few substitutes, resulting in a high proportion of authenticated genuine works. This contributes to increased reliability in provenance verification for collectors.