Sumitani Masamine
隅谷正峯 (Sumitani Masamine)
A smith from Mattō in Ishikawa (1921-1998), a living national treasure from 1981; creator of the Sumitani chōji, on the model of Kamakura Bizen.
Profile
Sumitani Masamine was born in 1921 in Mattō, today Hakusan. He graduated in mechanical engineering from Ritsumeikan University in 1941 and became a pupil of the smith Sakurai Masayuki; after a period at a workshop in Onomichi he opened his own forge, Sanryūtei, in Mattō. He studied Kamakura Bizen and created a showy chōji of his own, the Sumitani chōji. He won the Masamune prize three times, was made mukansa and in 1981 a living national treasure. He forged tachi for the Ise shrine and protective swords for the imperial family, and his copy of the spear Nihongō is held the finest in existence. He also researched jigane and the ancient knives of the Shōsō-in. He died in 1998.
Monograph
Sumitani Masamine (隅谷正峯)
His quick profile and the essentials, with the level of evidence of each fact.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Tachi: plate 11 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 23).
- Wakizashi: plate 12 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 25).
- Yari: plate 13 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 27).
Rankings
- Mukansa since 1967
- Masamune Prize: 1965, 1966, 1974
- Living National Treasure since 1981