Yosōzaemon Sukesada

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Yosōzaemon no jō Sukesada was one of the many Osafune smiths in Bizen who signed Sukesada (祐定) in the late Muromachi period, and reference works count him among the most gifted of that line. His dated work centres on the Eishō era and continues through Daiei, Kyōroku and Tenbun. He is held to be the son of Hikobei no jō Sukesada (彦兵衛尉祐定) and the father of Genbei no jō Sukesada (源兵衛尉祐定); some scholars divide the work under his name between two or more smiths. He made mostly short, practical uchigatana, with a fine, tight itame and mokume hada. His most characteristic hamon is a broad gunome midare whose heads split in two, the so-called kani-no-tsume (蟹の爪), or crab's claw; he also tempered suguha. His commissioned blades carry a long signature such as 備前国住長船与三左衛門尉祐定作 (Bizen no kuni-jū Osafune Yosōzaemon no jō Sukesada saku), often with a dedication and a date. The Tokyo National Museum holds a katana of his dated 1523, and Gunma Prefecture protects another, dated 1540, as a cultural property.