Kantei
Tang of a katana with a long engraved signature and, on the blade, a dragon in relief inside a groove.

Osaka · from late Edo to Taishō

Gassan Sadakazu (月山貞一)

The first Sadakazu of the Gassan of Osaka, engraver of dragons and artist of the imperial household

Gassan Sadakazu (月山貞一) was born in Ōmi in 1836 and, according to the biographical dictionaries, was adopted as a child by the Osaka swordsmith Gassan Sadayoshi (月山貞吉). He revived the ayasugi-hada of the old Gassan of Dewa, was an exceptional engraver and on 4 April 1906 was appointed artist of the imperial household, on the same day as Miyamoto Kanenori: they were the only two swordsmiths with that title. He died in 1918.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1836-1918
Birth and death
Teishitsu gigeiin, 1906
Title
1870-1915
Dated works in museums
Kyoto Expo, 1895
Prize
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Gassan Sadakazu, the first of the family with that name; art name 雲龍子 (Unryūshi); born Tsukamoto AT
Kanji and reading
月山貞一 (Gassan Sadakazu) HD
Period
From the end of the Edo period to the Taishō era: his dated blades in museums range from 1870 to 1915. The Japanese Wikipedia also gives him a katana dated August 1867, made at the request of Shibusawa Heikurō. HD
Province
Born in Ōmi (近江, Ōmi), in the Inukami district; worked in Osaka, in Settsu (摂津, Settsu) AT
School
The Gassan (月山, Gassan) of Osaka, who trace their name back to the old Gassan swordsmiths of Dewa AT
Master
His adoptive father, Gassan Sadayoshi (月山貞吉), according to the biographical dictionaries and the Japanese Wikipedia AT
Title
Artist of the imperial household (帝室技芸員, teishitsu gigeiin) from 4 April 1906, on the same day as Miyamoto Kanenori: the only two swordsmiths with that title AT
Family
According to the Japanese Wikipedia, his son was Gassan Sadakatsu (月山貞勝), and his grandson, the second Gassan Sadakazu, a Living National Treasure from 1971 AT
Cutting rank
Not applicable: the wazamono list dates from 1797, before his time AT
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: his signed and dated blades in the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum and the Metropolitan Museum, with the title and his age in the signature from 1906. From tradition: that he designed the marshal’s sword in the shape of the Kogarasu-maru and forged the emperors’ command swords is said by encyclopaedias that do not agree on which Gassan made each one. HD

In short

Sadakazu lived through the end of the samurai: he trained in Osaka at the end of Edo, went through hard years after the ban on wearing swords and returned to forging for the court, the army and the shrines. He worked in the manner of Bizen, Sōshū, Yamashiro and Yamato, and is credited with reviving the ayasugi-hada (綾杉肌, ayasugi-hada), the “braided cedar grain” of the Gassan of Dewa. His records at the Tokyo National Museum highlight a very fine carving (彫物, horimono), with dragons in relief, and from 1906 his signatures bear the title of artist of the imperial household and his age.

Sections

  1. From Ōmi to the imperial household Life and times The adoption, the years without swords, the commissions from the court and the title of 1906.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style Ayasugi-hada, the five manners, the horimono and the signature with his age.
  3. In museums and in the imperial collection Famous works The blades of the Tokyo National Museum, those of Kyoto and the one in the Metropolitan Museum.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.