Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi
丹波守吉道 (Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi)
Lineage: the signature does not state the generation
A lineage of smiths of the Mishina school, in Kyoto from the late sixteenth century and with a branch in Osaka; its name is tied to the sudare-ba, a hamon shaped like a bamboo blind.
Profile
The NBTHK thinks that the first Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi was a son of Kanemichi, a smith from Mino, and one of four brothers who settled with their father in Kyoto, in the Nishinotōin quarter: the Mishina school. With his brothers Iga no Kami Kinmichi, Rai Kinmichi and Etchū no Kami Masatoshi, and with Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi, a pupil of the house, he makes up the five smiths of Kyoto, who prospered throughout the Edo period alongside the Umetada and Horikawa schools. Hawley counts eleven generations signing Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi between 1634 and 1853, in two branches, Kyoto and Osaka, but no reliable family tree has been published. According to the tradition recorded by the NBTHK, Yoshimichi created the sudare-ba, a hamon that draws a bamboo blind on the blade. The Yamada cutting list places the first two Yoshimichi of Kyoto and the first two of Osaka among the yoki-wazamono.
Monograph
Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi (丹波守吉道)
Several generations with one name: their quick profile and the essentials.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Katana in the Kyoto National Museum: Important Art Object.
- Katana by the first generation, made for the family of Naitō Kurōemon: NBTHK Tokubetsu Jūyō.
Rankings
- Sewanin (Special ranks) in Tomita Kiyama’s ranking of shintō smiths (1935)
Swords available
Rank 173
€5,110
current max. 255 Points: 110 points · current max. 255
Swords sold
Rank 334
€11,600
current max. 255 Points: 77.7 points · current max. 255