Kantei

Sōden-Bizen

Work and style

Long, robust blades in the manner of Chōgi, the blend of Bizen and Sōshū of the Nanbokuchō period.

On this page
  1. Style
  2. Notable works
  3. Works and exhibitions

Style

His speciality is 相伝備前 (sōden-Bizen), the fusion of Bizen and Sōshū of the Nanbokuchō period that follows Chōgi of Osafune, with long, robust blades. A katana of his from 2016 is described like this: shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, wide mihaba, thick kasane and ō-kissaki; itame jihada with mokume and dense ji-nie; a hamon of ō-gunome with chōji, kinsuji and sunagashi, and tobiyaki. He signs 安芸国三上貞直作之 (Aki no kuni Mikami Sadanao kore o saku) or 安藝國有田城麓三上貞直 (Aki no kuni Arita-jōroku Mikami Sadanao), after Arita, in Kita-Hiroshima.

Notable works

The katana of July 2016, 81.0 cm with a sori of 2.0 cm, signed 安藝國三上貞直彫同作之 (Aki no kuni Mikami Sadanao hori dōsaku kore), with the engraving also his own: the NBTHK chose it in 2019 for its second prize.

He is also credited with a copy of the tachi Kitsunegasaki by Tametsugu, a National Treasure, kept in the Kikkawa museum in Iwakuni, and with the restoration of a tachi and a koshigatana covered in brocade that were offered in 2022 to the Itsukushima shrine. There is a documentary on DVD about him, 『鍛刀一筋 刀匠 三上貞直』 (Tantō hitosuji tōshō Mikami Sadanao).