First Kanesada

First Kanesada (birth and death dates unknown) was a Seki swordsmith (Seki kaji) active during the mid-Muromachi period in Seki, Mino Province, present-day Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. Commonly known as Oya Kanesada.

Lineage and Career

The works of First Kanesada were not clearly identified for a long time, and Nosada, the second generation, had effectively been regarded as the first. However, a tachi inscribed 'Nōshū Seki-jūnin Kanesada' and dated the second month of Kyōtoku 4 (1455) was discovered, and it is now considered a work of First Kanesada.

Prosperity of the Kanesada Line

The Kanesada name continued at Seki through the second-generation Nosada and the third-generation Hikisada. The line that continued in Aizu, known as Aizu Kanesada, continued until the 11th Izumi no Kami Kanesada of the late Edo and early Meiji periods. In particular, Nosada, the second-generation Kanesada, was ranked as a Saijō Ōwazamono, and in the Edo period was so popular that the blades were called 'Senryō Kanesada'.

Historical Evaluation

First Kanesada is positioned as the progenitor of the Kanesada name, which continued through Nosada and Hikisada.