Kantei
A complete katana, horizontal on a black background, with pale carvings on the lower part of the blade and the tang on the left.

Hizen · Momoyama and early Edo

Musashi Daijō Tadahiro (武蔵大掾忠広)

The first Tadayoshi of Hizen (1572-1632), founder of the Saga school: from a samurai family to the workshop of Umetada Myōju, his signatures, his suguha and his blades in museums

The first Tadayoshi of Hizen was born in 1572 and died in 1632; in 1624 he received the title of Musashi Daijō and began to sign Tadahiro. He founded the school of the Saga swordsmiths, which worked for the Nabeshima throughout the Edo period, and a katana of his from 1629 bears on the tang the inscription “this Tadahiro is a pupil of Umetada Myōju”.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1572–1632
Dates
Musashi Daijō, in 1624
Title
Saijō ō-wazamono
Cutting rank
A katana of 1629
Important Art Object
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Tadayoshi (忠吉) until 1624 and Tadahiro (忠広) from then on AT
Kanji and reading
武蔵大掾忠広 (Musashi Daijō Tadahiro) HD
Period
Momoyama and early Edo; from 1572 to 1632 AT
Province
Hizen (肥前, Hizen), in Saga HD
School
Founder of the Hizen swordsmiths, whose swords are called 肥前刀 (Hizen-tō) AT
Master
埋忠明寿 (Umetada Myōju), as the inscription on his 1629 katana says; in Kyoto and from 1596, according to the record of the Chōkokan Museum on Bunka Isan Online. Earlier, according to Japanese Wikipedia, 田貫善兵衛 (Tanuki Zenbei), swordsmith to Katō Kiyomasa. AT
Title
武蔵大掾 (Musashi Daijō), in 1624: Genna 10 for Japanese Wikipedia and Kan'ei 1 for Bunka Isan Online, which is the same year HD
Generations
He is the first of the nine of the line of the Hizen Tadayoshi AT
Cutting rank
最上大業物 (saijō ō-wazamono), the first of four grades, in the 懐宝剣尺 (Kaihō Kenjaku) of 1797 AT
Documented fact and tradition
His title, his apprenticeship with Myōju and his dated blades are given by his own signatures and by the museums’ records. His childhood, his first master and the role of the Nabeshima in his journey to Kyoto are told by Japanese Wikipedia and Kotobank. AT

In short

What we know. That he signed Tadayoshi until 1624 and Musashi Daijō Tadahiro afterwards; that in 1629 he wrote on a tang “this Tadahiro is a pupil of Umetada Myōju”; that one katana of his is an Important Art Object and another a cultural property of Saga prefecture. And that the Yamada cutting list places him among the twelve saijō ō-wazamono.

How we know it. From the records of the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyūshū National Museum and Bunka Isan Online, and from the NBTHK Sword Journal. His life, from Japanese Wikipedia and Kotobank.

What we do not know. Whether the second Tadahiro was his eldest or his youngest son: the sources do not agree. No blade of his designated an Important Cultural Property or a National Treasure has been found.

Sections

  1. Saga · Kyoto · the Nabeshima Life and times His family, his apprenticeship in Kyoto, the title of 1624, his signatures by period, his death and the generations that followed him.
  2. Konuka-hada · suguha of nie Work and style The kantei keys of the school, what is particular to the first and how to tell him from the following generations.
  3. Saijō ō-wazamono · blades in museums Famous works His rank in the cutting list, the katana of 1629, the Nabeshima katana of 1630 and his blades in museums.
  4. Exhibitions in Saga Videos Two reports by Saga television on exhibitions of Hizen swords.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link where possible, and the credit for each image.