* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Ko-Aoe Suketsugu
古青江助次
Description
A Master of Ko-Aoe — Suketsugu
Ko-Aoe Suketsugu was a swordsmith of the Ko-Aoe school who was active in Aoe in Bitchū Province (present-day Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture) during the Kamakura period. The Aoe school was a group of swordsmiths that arose along the banks of the Takahashi River, which flows through Bitchū Province. Works from the late Heian period to the mid-Kamakura period are called Ko-Aoe, and those after that are distinguished as Chū-Aoe and Sue-Aoe. Suketsugu was one of the leading smiths of Ko-Aoe, and the shared character 'tsugu' that he used is common to the Aoe lineage. No dated works are known among Ko-Aoe blades; the tachi signed "Bitchū no kuni Koi Higashi-no-shō Aoe Suketsugu saku" and dated Shōwa 1 (1312) is the work of a later smith of the same name belonging to the Chū-Aoe of the late Kamakura period, when dated works first appear.
Style
Suketsugu's works display a distinctive ground steel called sumi-hada, which is characteristic of Ko-Aoe. Within the clear, bluish ground steel, patches called jifu appear that look black and different in tone, producing an antique and deeply appealing appearance. The hamon is mainly suguha-based or ko-midare, mixed with ko-chōji, and the saka-ashi (slanting ashi), a hallmark of Aoe work, often appears within the blade. The range of his work is calm yet rich in points of interest.
Reputation and Surviving Works
Among Suketsugu's signed works is a kodachi (inscribed Suketsugu) designated as an Important Art Object, which conveys the solid skill of Ko-Aoe to the present day. It is a valuable relic showing that it was favored by Kamakura-period warrior households and that the Aoe school was esteemed as a sword-producing center on a par with Bizen and Yamashiro.
The Aoe School and Bitchū Swords
The Aoe school of Bitchū Province is not counted among the Gokaden (Five Traditions: Bizen, Yamashiro, Yamato, Sōshū, Mino), yet it was a group of smiths that established an era with its own distinctive style. Ko-Aoe blades were valued by the imperial court and powerful warrior houses as well. It is said that smiths of the Aoe school were among those listed as goban-kaji (court rotation smiths) summoned by Retired Emperor Go-Toba for sword-making. Suketsugu, too, was one of the smiths who refined his craft amid the flourishing of the Aoe school.
Famous Works
- kodachi, signed Suketsugu (Important Art Object)