Takahashi Sadatsugu
高橋貞次 (Takahashi Sadatsugu)
An Ehime smith (1902-1968), a pupil of the Gassan; in 1955 the first smith named a living national treasure, a master of the Bizen manner and of carving.
Profile
Takahashi Sadatsugu was born in 1902 at Saijō in Ehime. In 1917 he joined Gassan Sadakazu and his son Sadakatsu in Osaka, and in 1919 he became a trainee of the Chūō Tōken-kai in Tokyo. He settled in Matsuyama, in 1930 or 1936 depending on the source, and signed with the art names Ryūōji and Ryūsen. He forged the sacred sword of Tsurugaoka Hachimangū in 1940, led the smiths of the Atsuta shrine and, after the war, in 1951, forged the Ise swords. In 1955 he became the first smith named a living national treasure, and in 1958 mukansa according to Markus Sesko. He forged the protective sword of Princess Michiko in 1959 and those of Princes Naruhito and Fumihito. He excelled in the Bizen manner and was one of the finest carvers of his time.
Monograph
Takahashi Sadatsugu (高橋貞次)
The first swordsmith named a Living National Treasure, an engraver of dragons and maker of swords for shrines and for the imperial family, told with the level of evidence of each fact.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Katana: plate 78 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 159).
- Tantō: plate 79 of the Gendaitō Meisaku Zukan (p. 161).
Rankings
- Mukansa since 1958
- Living National Treasure since 1955