* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Mino Senjuin (Akasaka Senjuin)
美濃千手院（赤坂千手院）
Description
Lineage
Mino Senjuin traces its origins to the Senjuin school, one of the five schools of the Yamato tradition. The Senjuin smiths were priest-artisans affiliated with Tōdai-ji in Nara; they resided in the Senjudani valley at the foot of Mt. Wakakusa, and the school's name derives from the Senjuin hall there, whose principal image was Senju Kannon. Senjuin is regarded as the oldest of the Yamato Five Schools, traditionally founded by Yukinobu and Shigeyoshi, though no securely attributed work by either survives. During the Nanbokuchō period, a branch of this Yamato Senjuin lineage migrated to Akasaka in Fuwa District, Mino Province (present-day Akasaka, Ōgaki City, Gifu Prefecture), giving rise to the school known as Mino Senjuin, or Akasaka Senjuin. It flourished in Mino through the late Muromachi period.
Style
The jigane tends toward a well-forged itame grain that is comparatively refined; on finer examples it tightens into ko-itame, with masame prominent along the shinogi-ji. The hamon varies considerably from piece to piece, ranging from suguha-based patterns to nie-laden gunome-midare with active sunagashi and kinsuji within the blade. Unlike typical Mino work, Mino Senjuin blades retain a markedly strong Yamato Senjuin character.
Notable Work
Blades traditionally attributed to the school, such as one certified as "mumei, attributed to Mino Senjuin Nagahiro," survive with hozon (preservation) certification and remain in circulation among dealers.
Assessment
Mino Senjuin is positioned as a school that carried Yamato-tradition technique into Mino Province, forming a bridge between the Yamato and Mino traditions. Within the broader group of Mino smiths, it stands apart for retaining a strong imprint of its Yamato Senjuin origins.
Famous Works
- 刀 無銘（美濃千手院長広極め）