Hikoshirō Sadamune (相模國住人貞宗 - ''Sagami kuni junin Sadamune''; born 1298

Einin was a after '' Shōō'' and before '' Shōan.'' This period spanned the years from August 1293 through April 1299. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1293 : The new era name was created to mark an event or a number of events. T ...

– 1349 in

Shōhei was a Japanese era (年號, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kōkoku and before Kentoku. This period spanned the years from December 1346 to July 1370. The Southern Cou ...

) also called Sōshū Sadamune was a

swordsmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...

of the Sōshū school, originally from Gōshū (also known as

Ōmi province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

) whose works are considered some of the finest blades ever created. His works are often compared with those of the other great Koto era (987-1596) swordsmiths including Sōshū

Masamune was a medieval Japanese blacksmith widely acclaimed as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as ''tachi'' and ''tantō'', in the Japanese sword#Classification by School, ''Sōshū'' school. However, many ...

, Toshiro Yoshimitsu, Go Yoshihiro, Bizen Nagamitsu, and Ise

Muramasa , commonly known as , was a famous swordsmith who founded the Muramasa school and lived during the Muromachi period (14th to 16th centuries) in Kuwana, Ise Province, Japan (current Kuwana, Mie).Fukunaga, 1993. vol. 5, pp. 166–167. In spite of ...

. He was a son by blood or adoption of Sōshū Masamune considered by many to be the most famous of the Sōshū masters.Swords Discussion Forum
/ref> After leaving Gōshū province to go to what is now

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Sadamune became a student of

, sometime around the Namboku-chō era. As a mark of his completion of his teacher's training he inherited the ''mune'' part of his name Sadamune from Masamune. Sadamune was not one of the Great Juttetsu trained by Masamune, but his works were regarded to be of the same level as his master's.

Students

Sōshū Sadamune is believed at the present time to have trained four students Nobukuni (信国) who formed a long lineage of swordsmiths under the same name, Nobukuni famous for his ''

horimono ''Horimono'' (, , literally carving, engraving), also known as ''chōkoku'' (, "sculpture"), are the engraved images in the blade of a nihonto () Japanese sword, which may include katana or tantō blades. The artist is called a ''chōkokushi'' ...

'' images carved into the blades, and Takagi Sadamune (江州□住貞宗 - goshu takaki ju Sadamune). A great debate exists in the academic community about ''Takagi Sadamune''.Takagi Sadamune Tantō Blade
/ref> It is uncertain if Takagi Sadamune is simply Sōshū Sadamune after he returned to his home region, a son of his or someone who he taught sword making. The swords of Takagi Sadamune are not considered to be as high a quality as those produced by Sōshū Sadamune but are still of exceptional skill. One signed copy of his work exists: a

tantō A is a traditionally made Japanese knife () that was worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. were used in tradit ...

blade, formerly owned by

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

. The work signed ''Gōshū Takagi ju Sadamune'' is said to have been made when Sōshū Sadamune returned home to Takagi in Gōshū province. Legend says he returned home to produce a copy of a famous sword called the ''Ropecutter''. He also trained Kanro Toshinaga who is believed to have worked in

Echigo province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

in the Nanboku-chō period.- Kanro Toshinaga blade sale
/ref> Higo Munekage (Higo No-Kuni Kumamoto-Kishi, Hagi Jiemon No-Sho Fujiwara Munekage Saku) who was a student of Suishinshi Masahide takes a great influence from Sadamune in his work, but wasn't a student of hi
Higo Munekage Katana
Kokon Mei Zukushi and other books listing Japanese sword smiths and blades list Motoshige as a student of Sadamune however Dr. Honma Junji disagrees with this in his boo
Nihon Koto Shi (History of Koto) By Dr. Honma Junji

References

External links

Nobukuni(1) and Nobukuni(2).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hikoshiro, Sadamune 1298 births 1349 deaths Japanese swordsmiths

Students

See also

References

External links