* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Shimada Sukemune
島田助宗
Description
Overview
Shimada Sukemune was a swordsmith based in Shimada, Suruga Province (present-day Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture). Beginning around the Meiō era, the name Sukemune was passed down through three generations. The first-generation Sukemune, whose personal name was Gojō Kyūzaemon, is said to have been the younger brother of Yoshisuke I, the founder of the Shimada school.
The Shimada Smiths and the Sengoku Daimyo
Shimada prospered as a post town on the Tōkaidō, and its community of swordsmiths, the Shimada school, was among the leading smith groups of the Tōkai region, supplying blades to the Imagawa clan that ruled Suruga as well as to the neighboring Takeda and Hōjō clans. Sukemune, together with Yoshisuke, formed the core of this Shimada lineage and produced large numbers of blades for actual combat use.
Style and Notable Work
Sukemune is said to have been active from the Eishō through the Tenshō eras, though most of his surviving works bear dates from the Tenmon era. He is especially known for tantō carved with the characters "osoraku" on the blade — the so-called osoraku-zukuri style — one example of which is said to have been owned by Takeda Shingen. He is said to have enjoyed particular trust from the Takeda clan and to have also worked in Kōshū (present-day Yamanashi Prefecture).
Assessment
Alongside the great spear Otegine, one of the Three Great Spears of Japan, made by Shimada Yoshisuke, Sukemune's osoraku-zukuri tantō stands as a representative testament to the skill of the Shimada smiths. That the school both mass-produced combat blades and, on request from daimyo, produced work of highly distinctive design reflects the breadth of the Shimada smiths' craft.
Famous Works
- 短刀「おそらく造」（武田信玄所用と伝わる）