Sugawara Tametō

Sugawara Tametō was a swordsmith of the Kamakura period who worked in Karakawa, Bizen Province (in present-day Okayama Prefecture), traditionally regarded as belonging to a later generation of the Fukuoka Ichimonji lineage.

Lineage

Tametō is placed within the lineage of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school and was based in Karakawa in Bizen Province. His signatures are recorded in several forms, including "Bizen no Kuni Karakawa jū Sahyōe-no-jō Sugawara Tametō," "Ichi Tametō," and "Bizen no Kuni jū Tametō."

Style

His hamon is predominantly suguha, occasionally mixed with chōji. A characteristic feature is the presence of small ashi within the temper line, with nie and nioi extending from the edge toward the point.

Representative Work

A tachi dated the third month of 1317 and signed "Bizen no Kuni Karakawa jū Sahyōe-no-jō Sugawara Tametō" is designated an Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin). The blade, 79.5 cm in length, is held in the collection of the Touken World Foundation.

Reputation

As a smith of Karakawa working within the orbit of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school, Tametō is documented through a surviving signed and dated work that records his place of residence and title, providing concrete evidence for the lineage of Kamakura-period Bizen swordsmiths.