Dōyo Ichimonji

道誉一文字

Also known as: Dōyo Ichimonji; the Ichimonji tachi owned by Sasaki Dōyo

Smith: Fukuoka Ichimonji school
Era: Mid-Kamakura period (13th century)
Type: Tachi
Designation: Gyobutsu (Imperial Collection)
Location: Imperial Household Agency (Imperial Collection)

Description

Overview

Dōyo Ichimonji is a tachi attributed to the Fukuoka Ichimonji school of Bizen Province. It bears a single-character signature, "Ichi", near the habaki. It measures 80 cm in blade length with 3.8 cm of curvature (recorded as 2 shaku 6 sun 4 bu in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō), a dignified and imposing sugata.

The Origin of the Name

The name derives from ownership by Sasaki Dōyo (Kyōgoku Dōyo, born 1296, died 1373), a great-great-grandson of Sasaki Nobutsuna. Dōyo served the first Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, and was known as a flamboyant "basara daimyo." He was also accomplished in renga poetry and the tea ceremony.

Provenance

It is believed that during the Tenbun era (1532–1555) the blade was held by the Kutsuki family of Kutsuki Valley in Ōmi Province. It was later passed to the Echizen Matsudaira family, where it was held successively by Matsudaira Tadanao and his son Mitsunaga. In 1684 it was submitted to the Hon'ami family, which issued an origami valuation certificate of one hundred mai. After passing through the Owari Tokugawa family, it was given in the 12th month of Genroku 10 (early 1698) by Tokugawa Tsunanari, Chūnagon of Owari, to Nanbu Yukinobu, and it entered the Nanbu family. It is recorded at the head of the Nanbu domain's "Goshimono Goyōmono Oaratame" register of 1728. In October 1928, Nanbu Toshiatsu presented it to the Imperial Household. On the obverse side of the blade, a stain about 4 sun long appears at the middle of the blade, and a stain of about 1 sun appears near the habaki.

Designation and Present Location

It is held as Gyobutsu, the private property of the Imperial Household, and is managed by the Imperial Household Agency. Because it is Gyobutsu, it has not received designation as a cultural property.