Families performing Tameshigiri in Edo

[Blundemo]

Hi,

 

Yamada family tests were typically done at the request of a high ranking samurai or smith.

 

Besides Yamada family cutting tests, what other families performed cutting tests in this age? Was their tameshigiri style similar to Yamada family and did they also inlay it with gold?

[Markus]

Hi Branson,

 

The Yamada were able to gain the sword testing monopoly for the bakufu in the early 1700s.

Before that time, there was the not less famous Yamano family of sword testers of whom the

first Yamada generation Sadatake had been a student. Before the Yamada monopoly, that

means in early Edo (1600~1700), there were for example also Nakagawa Saheita, Ukai Yoshizane,

Nezu Mitsumasa, Matsumoto Masatomo, and Kuramochi Yoshichika who made themselves a name

as sword testers. Especially Nakagawa Saheita was the man when it comes to the establishment

of systematic sword tests. All their applied techniques seem to be similar as they go more or less

back to Nakagawa and his master Tani Moritomo (and Moritomo´s father Tani Taizen Moriyoshi).

 

Regarding your question about gold inlay, we can see the trend that mostly "privately" tested swords

were added with a kinzogan tameshi-mei. The bakufu-employed Yamada testers added, if at all, mostly

"just" a kiritsuke-mei (i.e. with the chisel and not as inlay). We know from bakufu records that the

Shogunate had the blades of their employed swordsmiths all tested by default with the rather easy first

body cut (ichinodo) and that there was no need for the bakufu to have the results of "fancy and difficult"

tests added on the tang. It was enough for them to know that the blades of their smiths cut well.

 

Much more detailed information will be found by the way in my next publication Tameshigiri - The History

of Japanese Sword Testing.

[runagmc]

Can't ask for a much better summary than that...

[Blundemo]

Thanks very much, Markus. I'm eager to purchase your book when you've finished it.