Kantei
Whole katana blade, horizontal, with the undulating temper line and the tang on the left, on a black background.

Osaka · shintō · second half of the 17th century

Tsuda Ōmi no Kami Sukenao (津田近江守助直)

The heir to the tōran-ba of Tsuda Sukehiro, in the Osaka of the second half of the 17th century

Sukenao (助直) was born in 1639 in Takagi, in Ōmi province, and, according to the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, trained in Osaka with Tsuda Echizen no Kami Sukehiro, whose tōran-ba (濤瀾刃), the wave-shaped temper, he followed all his life. He received the title of Ōmi no Kami in 1669, signed with the surname Tsuda from 1682, and his last dated work is from 1693.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1639 (Kan'ei 16)
Born
Ōmi no Kami, 1669
Title
from 1678 to 1693
Dated blades
yoki-wazamono
Cutting rank
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Tsuda Ōmi no Kami Sukenao HD
Kanji and reading
津田近江守助直 (Tsuda Ōmi no Kami Sukenao) HD
Period
Shintō, from the Kanbun era to the Genroku era HD
Province
Born in Ōmi (近江), in Takagi; worked in Osaka, in the province of Settsu (摂津) HD
School
Osaka shintō, in the line of Tsuda Sukehiro AT
Master
Tsuda Echizen no Kami Sukehiro (津田越前守助広), the second of that name, according to the Fuji Art Museum and the Tokyo National Museum HD
Title
Ōmi no Kami (近江守), in 1669 (Kanbun 9), according to the Fuji Art Museum HD
Cutting rank
yoki-wazamono (良業物), third grade of the Yamada cutting list; komusubi of the west in Tomita Kiyama’s ranking (1933, published in 1935) AT
What is documented
Blades dated from 1678 to 1693 in museums and at the NBTHK; the title in 1669 and the Tsuda signature from 1682, according to the Fuji Art Museum HD
The tradition
That he married a sister of Sukehiro; the Nipponica encyclopaedia instead makes him his adopted son AT
What is not on record
The year of his death PC

In short

According to the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Sukenao follows the tōran-ba that Sukehiro created, but more orderly and cleaner in appearance, and a step behind in energy; in his best blades he comes close to the master. For the NBTHK, his traits are a straight yakidashi at the base, in the Osaka style, and an o-gunome midare in which the peaks and valleys differ little and the valleys are wide. The Yamada cutting list places him among the yoki-wazamono, and Tomita Kiyama’s ranking just below his master.

Sections

  1. From Ōmi to Osaka Life and times His origins, his master, the title of Ōmi no Kami and the surname Tsuda.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style Sugata, jihada, tōran-ba, bōshi, nakago and mei, and how to tell him apart from his master.
  3. In museums and lists Famous works His blades in museums and his place in the cutting lists and in Tomita’s ranking.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.