* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Mikami Sadanao
三上貞直
Description
Career
Mikami Sadanao was born in 1955 in Mizuho, Ōchi District, Shimane Prefecture (now Ōnan). In 1974 he became a pupil of Gassan Sadakazu II, the Living National Treasure swordsmith then working in Nara Prefecture. He received forging certification from the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1980 and established the Mikami Sadanao Japanese Sword Forge in Kitahiroshima, Yamagata District, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Awards
After being selected at the 18th New Sword Masterpiece Exhibition in 1982, he took a succession of top prizes including the Kunzan Prize and the Takamatsu-no-miya Prize between 1988 and 1991. In 1994 he received the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, and in 1995 he was certified mukansa at the New Sword Masterpiece Exhibition. In 2006 he was designated a holder of the Hiroshima Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property for Japanese sword making.
Style
Under the tutelage of Gassan Sadakazu, he has devoted himself to recreating sōden-Bizen, a mode combining the Bizen and Sōshū traditions. Sōden-Bizen arose when Bizen smiths of the Nanboku-chō period absorbed Sōshū techniques, and Mikami's blades are distinguished by a shaping and stance that evokes the tachi of that era despite being contemporary work.
Notable Work
A tachi signed "Aki no Kuni Mikami Sadanao kore o tsukuru, Heisei 9, auspicious day of winter" (1997) is known and is held by the Touken World Foundation.
Assessment
Since attaining mukansa status he has served as chairman of the All Japan Swordsmith Association, placing him among the central figures of the contemporary sword world.
Famous Works
- 太刀 銘「安芸国三上貞直作之 平成九年寒吉祥日」