Kantei
Whole katana blade, almost straight, with the reddish tang on the right, on a black background.

Osaka and Tosa · shintō

Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki (陸奥守吉行)

An Osaka smith called to Tosa, known above all for the katana that Sakamoto Ryōma wore on the night he was killed

Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki (陸奥守吉行, Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki) was an Osaka smith who in the Genroku era moved to the Tosa domain, which is why he is also called Tosa Yoshiyuki. His name is known above all for one katana: the one Sakamoto Ryōma wore when he was killed in Kyoto in 1867, now in the Kyoto National Museum.

Kyoto National Museum, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1650–1710
Life
Genroku era (1688–1704)
Called to Tosa
Since 1931
Ryōma’s katana, in Kyoto
71.1 cm
Blade of Ryōma’s katana
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki, also Tosa Yoshiyuki (土佐吉行, Tosa Yoshiyuki) AT
Kanji and reading
陸奥守吉行 (Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki); Ryōma’s katana bears only 吉行 (Yoshiyuki) AT
Period
Shintō, first half of the Edo period AT
Province
Settsu (摂津, Settsu), in Osaka, and later Tosa (土佐, Tosa); born in Mutsu or in Settsu, depending on the source AT
School
That of the Yoshimichi of Osaka; in Tosa, smith of the domain AT
Master
The first Yamato no Kami Yoshimichi (大和守吉道, Yamato no Kami Yoshimichi), with his father and his brother, according to the Japanese Wikipedia AT
Title
Mutsu no Kami (陸奥守, Mutsu no Kami), in Tosa; no year in the sources consulted AT
Rank
Not in the wazamono list; his brother Yoshikuni is AT
What is documented
The katana signed 吉行 (Yoshiyuki) that Sakamoto Ryōma wore, donated by the Sakamoto family to the Kyoto National Museum in 1931 HD
The tradition
That this katana is the work of Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki and not of another Yoshiyuki; the museum catalogues it only by its signature AT

In short

According to the Japanese Wikipedia, Yoshiyuki was the son of the smith Harima no Kami Yoshinari and the younger brother of Kōzuke no Kami Yoshikuni; he learned in Osaka and in the Genroku era moved to the Tosa domain, where he was magistrate of the smiths. Apart from Ryōma’s katana, no work of his is recorded in a museum, nor any designation.

The Kyoto National Museum explains that Ryōma’s katana, donated by the Sakamoto family in 1931, is authentic according to recent scientific studies and the family papers. A fire in 1913 warped it and erased its temper, and in 2015–2016 the trace of a fist-shaped chōji, characteristic of Yoshiyuki, was found beneath the polish.

Sections

  1. From Osaka to Tosa Life and times His family, his training in Osaka and his move to the Tosa domain.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style The little that is known of his manner: the fist-shaped chōji and the signature.
  3. The katana of Sakamoto Ryōma Famous works The katana in the Kyoto National Museum: the fire of 1913, the lost temper and its identification in 2015–2016.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.