Ichimonji Yoshifusa

Yoshifusa was a swordsmith of Bizen Province who was active in the mid-Kamakura period, and he is one of the master smiths who represent the peak of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school. The school traces its origin to Norimune, who served as goban-kaji for the retired emperor Go-Toba, and it takes its name from its base at Fukuoka on the lower reaches of the Yoshii River (present-day Fukuoka, Osafune-chō, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture). Because it is characterized by cutting the character meaning "one" on the tang, it is also called the Ichimonji school. Yoshifusa is traditionally said to have been a son of Sukefusa, a member of that lineage, and together with Sukezane and Norifusa he is counted among the master smiths who represent the Fukuoka Ichimonji.

His style is known as the one that displays the splendid chōji-midare of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school at its highest level of refinement. The hamon is mainly chōji-midare in nioi-deki, with jūka-chōji, in which the heads of the chōji overlap to suggest double-petaled cherry blossoms (yaezakura), kawazuko-chōji, which is rounded and grandly flamboyant, and ōbusa-chōji mixed in abundantly, making it varied and magnificent. The nioiguchi is tight, bright and clear, the jigane is itame-hada that is well forged, and midare-utsuri stands out vividly on the ground. In shape, the blades show a tachi form with a broad mihaba, high koshi-zori, and a sturdy, firm stance that is both grand and elegant; many have a somewhat compact ikubi-kissaki. Both the jigane and the hamon are sound and bright, and they are highly valued as one archetype reached by Bizen blades of the ranjuku period.

Among the extant signed examples there are many masterpieces, and several tachi inscribed with the two characters "Yoshifusa" have been designated National Treasures. The most famous of these is the tachi Okada-giri, held by the Tokyo National Museum. It takes its name from the anecdote that during the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in Tenshō 12 (1584), Oda Nobukatsu cut down his retainer Okada Sukesaburō Shigetaka with this tachi; it is regarded as a representative work showing the most splendid style among Yoshifusa's works. After being passed down to Oda Nobukatsu, this tachi was later presented to the Imperial Household in the modern era. Beyond these, several signed tachi designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties survive, all of which convey Yoshifusa's high skill to the present day.

As a swordsmith, his standing is placed in the saijō-saku rank, and he is esteemed as a master who embodies the ranjuku phase of mid-Kamakura Bizen. Among the Fukuoka Ichimonji school's chōji-midare, which reached the height of splendor, his works are described as showing its peak, and in later appreciation they have been prized as exemplary masterpieces representative of Bizen works. Furthermore, because a range is recognized in his meifuri and style, some hold that several smiths of the same name existed, while others see one smith changing his style with the years; no settled view has emerged.