Above, the rubbing of a tang with a signature; below, the dark tang with the same signature carved and one hole.

Photo: dealer in Japan

Owari · Bungo no Kami · the generations

Life and times

There is no biography of Masayasu in the scholarly sources consulted: what is known comes from his signatures and from two references.

On this page
  1. The name and its reading
  2. His times
  3. The generations
  4. A signed wakizashi

The name and its reading

He signed 豊後守源正全 (Bungo no Kami Minamoto Masayasu): the title of governor of Bungo, the Minamoto lineage and the name. The name, 正全 (Masayasu), is transcribed by Markus Sesko as Masamitsu: “Bungo no Kami Masamitsu”.

His times

Sesko gives him as a swordsmith of Owari of the Kan'ei era (1624-1644). None of the other sources consulted confirms that era, and it could not be checked. None of the sources consulted gives his dates of birth and death or his master.

The generations

None of the sources consulted documents a second generation of Masayasu: the Yamada cutting list names only 豊後守正全 (Bungo no Kami Masayasu), without a generation number, and Sesko speaks of a single swordsmith.