Sagami no Kami Fujiwara Masatsune

Sagami no Kami Fujiwara Masatsune was one of the Owari Sansaku (Three Masters of Owari), active in Owari Province (Nagoya) from the late Sengoku period into the early Edo period. He is known for high-quality swordmaking grounded in the powerful style of the Keichō Shintō. Masatsune was originally the fifth-generation Kanetsune of Mino. Invited by Fukushima Masanori, he moved to Owari, received the title Sagami no Kami, and became one of the representative smiths of the Owari domain.

Masatsune's blades are characterized by the imposing form and powerful jigane and hamon of the Keichō Shintō. The jigane is based on ko-itame, with masame moderately mixed in, and ji-nie fine and dense across the whole surface, giving it a distinctive appearance. The style shows the shallow curvature and broad blade width of Keichō Shintō forms, and reveals a body of work that inherits the traditions of the Seki tradition. The hamon is built mainly on notare with ara-nie as its central feature, along with gunome-midare and ō-midare. Ashi and yō enter vigorously, and nie tightly lines the habuchi, giving a bright and clear impression.

Masatsune is listed in the Kaihō Kenshaku's wazamono ranking as a mixture of ō-wazamono, yoki-wazamono, and wazamono, and is known as a smith of high practical utility in cutting performance. His range is broad: in addition to katana, wakizashi, and tanto, he also made yari and naginata. His signed works are known by the long signature “Sagami no Kami Fujiwara Masatsune”, and examples include tanto and naginata in the collection of the Touken World Foundation.