Takada Yukinaga

Takada Yukinaga was a swordsmith active in Takada, Bungo Province (present-day Ōita Prefecture) from the end of the Keichō era through the Manji era, placing him in the Kanbun Shintō period. He signed his blades "Hōshū Takada-jū Fujiwara Yukinaga" or "Fujiwara Yukinaga."

Lineage

The Takada school is said to have begun in the Nanbokuchō period with the smith Tomoyuki, said to belong to the lineage of Samonji of the Rai school, and flourished in Takada, Bungo. From the generation of Chōmori, son of Tomoyuki's disciple Shigeyuki, the school dropped the Fujiwara surname in favor of Taira, and works from this period are known as "Hira-Takada" or "Sue-Takada." Yukinaga belongs to the later group that reverted to the Fujiwara-surname signature in the early Edo period.

Style

His blades show a tight ko-mokume grain with a bright suguha hamon that leans slightly toward notare, with ko-ashi and ko-nie giving a tight nioiguchi — a style said to resemble Hizen blades. A characteristic trait is a habuchi that burns in near the machi and appears to reflect like mizukage. In shape, the blades show the typical Kanbun Shintō form: a shallow, rod-like sori with a tight kissaki (bōshi).

Reputation

He is ranked "Shintō Chū-jō-saku" (mid-upper grade among new-sword smiths) in swordsmith rankings, and "Yoki-wazamono" (good cutting sword) in cutting-ability rankings.