Tametsugu
為次 (Tametsugu)
A smith of the Ko-Aoe school of Bitchū, between the end of the Heian and the start of the Kamakura period; maker of the tachi Kitsunegasaki, a national treasure.
Profile
Tametsugu is one of the representative names of the Ko-Aoe school, the first stage of the Aoe smiths in Bitchū province. The school's blades of that time have a deep koshizori that sometimes continues into the tang, taper towards a ko-kissaki and show a steel with dark patches, the sumi-hada, and a temper in suguha or ko-midare with ko-chōji. His known work is the tachi Kitsunegasaki, preserved whole with its original tang; according to tradition, Kikka Tomokane, ancestor of the Kikkawa, wore it in 1200 when he defeated the clan of Kajiwara Kagetoki at Kitsunegasaki, in Suruga.
Monograph
Tametsugu (為次)
A swordsmith of whom only one sword is on record, told with the level of evidence of each fact.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Kitsunegasaki: a tachi signed Tametsugu, from the Kikkawa house; national treasure, in Iwakuni.
Famous swords
- Kitsunegasaki 狐ヶ崎