Shimazaki Yasuoki
島崎靖興 (Shimazaki Yasuoki)
A smith of the Yasukuni Shrine forge, in Tokyo, during the war; a prizewinner in the Army sword competition of 1944.
Profile
Shimazaki Yasuoki was one of the smiths of the foundation 日本刀鍛錬会 (Nihontō Tanrenkai), created in 1933 with donations from the Army and from private individuals, which forged at the Yasukuni Shrine, in Tokyo, the swords known as 靖国刀 (Yasukuni-tō). The smiths of the forge received the character 靖 (yasu) from the name of the shrine, and Japanese Wikipedia counts Yasuoki among its main smiths. With that forge and that city he appears in the list of prizewinners of the Army’s technical sword competition, held in Tokyo on 21 December 1944.
The tree of teachers and pupils of the Tokyo forges makes him a pupil of Yasunori, one of the masters of the forge. The sources consulted do not give his dates. The Gendai Tōkō Meikan reads his family name Shimasaki.
The Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan reproduces two blades by him, a tachi and a tantō.
Notable works
- Tachi: plate 67 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 135).
- Tantō: plate 68 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 137).