* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Mikami Sadanao
三上貞直
Description
Career
Mikami Sadanao was born in 1955 in Mizuho Town, Ōchi District, Shimane Prefecture (now Ōnan Town). In 1974 he became a pupil of Gassan Sadakazu II, a Living National Treasure swordsmith then active in Nara Prefecture, and studied sword making under him. In 1980 he received approval for sword making from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and established the Mikami Sadanao Japanese Sword Forging Dōjō in Kitahiroshima Town, Yamagata District, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Awards
From 1981 onward he repeatedly won prizes at the New Sword Masterpiece Exhibition, including the Takamatsu-no-miya Prize, the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, and the Kunzan Prize, two times each, and he was certified as mukansa in 1995. In 2006 he was recognized as a holder of the Hiroshima Prefecture Intangible Cultural Property "Japanese Sword Manufacturing Technique."
Style
Under the guidance of his teacher Gassan Sadakazu, he has consistently worked to recreate sōden-Bizen, a style that fuses the Bizen and Sōshū traditions. Sōden-Bizen arose when Bizen smiths of the Nanboku-chō period adopted Sōshū techniques. Mikami's works, though contemporary, are distinguished by a way of shaping their form that evokes the atmosphere of Nanboku-chō tachi.
Notable Work
A tachi bearing the inscription "Aki no Kuni Mikami Sadanao kore o tsukuru, Heisei 9 (1997), auspicious day of winter" is well known and is held by the Touken World Foundation.
Assessment
After being certified as mukansa, he served as chairman of the All Japan Swordsmiths Association, among other roles, and he is regarded as a swordsmith occupying a central position in 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」