Hōshō Sadayoshi

Hōshō Sadayoshi was a swordsmith who was active in the Hōshō school of Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture) from the late Kamakura period through the Nanboku-chō period. The Hōshō school has been renowned since ancient times as one of the Five Yamato Schools (Senjuin, Taima, Tegai, Shikkake, and Hōshō), and Sadayoshi was a master who faithfully inherited the traditional techniques of the Hōshō school. The basic character of his work is a forging texture (hada) mainly of masame, a hallmark of the Yamato tradition, together with suguha-type hamon that has fine nie. Within the blade, abundant internal workings such as tobiyaki, nijūba, kinsuji, and inazuma are seen. Among his signed works are a tantō inscribed 'Takechi □ jū Kingo Fuji Sadayoshi' and dated Genkō 4 (1324), a National Treasure (meibutsu 'Kuwayama Hōshō'), and a tantō dated Bunpō 1 (1317), an Important Cultural Property (named 'Ō-Hōshō', held by the Tokyo National Museum).