Bidspirit auction | Katana, Sasshu ju Masafusa, Tokubetsu

Katana, Sasshu ju Masafusa, Tokubetsu Kicho NBTHK, Edo Period - Katana signed Sasshu-ju Masafusa Nagasa 62.5cm Sori 1.4cm Hole 1 [Country]Satsuma (Kagoshima-ken) [Jidai Period] Early Edo era 17th Century [Jigane] tightly pack Itame-hada [Hamon] Notare and Gunome midare with Imozuru, Kinsuji, Sunanagashi So-Shuden [Paper]Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho Token(NBTHK) Ref: JG092506 The first generation Izunokami Masafusa was known as Maruta Hyoemon and was the second son of the first generation Bingonokami Ujifusa. In his youth, he took part in the Battle of Sekigahara as a member of the Shimazu clan's forces. After returning to his home province, he went up to Kyoto by order of his domain, where he studied the Soshu tradition of sword forging under Takeya Genshiro Nobuyasu, a man renowned as both a sword polisher and an appraiser. He later received the court title of Izunokami and changed his original smith's name, inherited from his father as Ujifusa, to Masafusa. Many of his Soshu style works have an old fashioned appearance. Kamata Gyomyo, the later author of Shinto Bengi, highly praised him, stating that Masafusa ”deserves to be regarded as the foremost of Satsuma smiths, to be placed above Mondo-no-sho Masakiyo.”