Ayanokoji Sadatoshi

綾小路定利

Also known as: Tachi signed Sadatoshi; Ayanokōji Sadatoshi

Smith

Sadatoshi

Era

Kamakura period (13th century)

Type

Tachi

Designation

National Treasure

Location

Tokyo National Museum

Description

Who Was Ayanokōji Sadatoshi

Sadatoshi was a swordsmith of Yamashiro Province in the Kamakura period, called Ayanokōji Sadatoshi because he lived on Ayanokōji street in Kyoto. He is traditionally held to have flourished around the Bun'ei era (1264-1275), yet his workmanship displays features of the earlier Kamakura period, and his dates have long been debated. The Ayanokōji school prospered in Yamashiro from the early to mid-Kamakura period and is distinguished by graceful tachi shapes and finely worked steel.

The National Treasure "Tachi Signed Sadatoshi"

The tachi signed Sadatoshi held by the Tokyo National Museum measures 78.7 cm in blade length with a curvature of 3.0 cm. It was designated a National Treasure on 9 June 1951. It is regarded as Sadatoshi's representative work and as a benchmark piece for understanding the Ayanokōji school.

Workmanship

The blade is of shinogi-zukuri construction with an iori ridge, showing the high waist curvature and strong taper characteristic of an early Kamakura tachi. The ground is a tightly packed ko-itame with fine ji-nie. The temper pattern is a ko-midare of ko-nie deki with a deep nioi mouth, mixed with choji, with ashi entering frequently. Alongside contemporary Yamashiro work by the Awataguchi and Rai schools, it possesses the refinement and dignity particular to Kyoto blades.

Position within the Yamashiro Tradition

Yamashiro was a great centre of swordmaking where the Awataguchi, Rai, Ayanokōji and Sanjo schools competed, and the Ayanokōji school is known for retaining archaic features. Because surviving works by Sadatoshi are few, this National Treasure is also a valuable document for the study of the Yamashiro tradition.

Legends & Stories

The name Ayanokōji derives from the forge Sadatoshi maintained on Ayanokōji street in Kyoto. Although tradition places him in the Bun'ei era, his workmanship shows the shape of a generation earlier, in the early Kamakura period. Connoisseurs have therefore long debated whether Sadatoshi was a single smith or several generations working under the same signature.