Senjuin Nagayoshi

Senjuin Nagayoshi was a swordsmith of the Senjuin school active in Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture) during the Nanbokuchō period. The Senjuin school, one of the "Yamato Gohaon" (five schools of Yamato), traces its origins to monks and warrior-monks affiliated with a sub-temple of Tōdai-ji, and takes its name from the Senjuin valley at the foot of Mount Wakakusa, where the smiths forged their blades.

Representative Work

A dated work by Nagayoshi survives: a large tachi (ōdachi) signed "Jōji 5, hinoe-uma, Senjuin Nagayoshi" (1366). Preserved at Ōyamazumi Shrine in Ehime Prefecture, it measures 135.7 cm in blade length with a 4.8 cm curve, a base width of 4.1 cm, a tip width of 3.0 cm, a 6.8 cm point (kissaki), and a 37.6 cm tang — an imposing scale typical of the great nodachi favored in the Nanbokuchō period. Shrine tradition holds that it was dedicated by Emperor Go-Murakami.

Designation and Current Status

The blade was first designated under the old shrine-and-temple preservation law in 1911, then elevated to National Treasure status in 1953. It remains in the collection of Ōyamazumi Shrine.

Reputation

As a dated benchmark work forged in the grand nodachi style favored during the Nanbokuchō period, it occupies an important place for understanding the range of work produced by the Yamato Senjuin school.