Archived Nihonto.ca (Yuhindo.com): Go Yoshihiro

Go Yoshihiro

Go Yoshihiro is one of the most famous and important Nihonto smiths to have lived. From the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi he has been revered as one of the Nihon San Saku, the Three Great Smiths of Japan. His peers in this group are Masamune and Awataguchi Yoshimitsu. This is elite company to say the least.

Go (as he is called) is supposed to have died at 27 years old, very young, leading to very few works being extant at this point in time. There exists a saying that One never sees a ghost or a Go testifying to their rarity. They are rare in the extreme.

Over the years there have been varying theories about where in the Soshu lineage he has resided: some have listed him as a pupil of Norishige due to the fact that they both hail from Etchu province and there can be seen some similarities in their work. Like with Masamune, some propose that he did not exist because no signed work is extant at this point in time (a similar condition to Sadamune).

We must keep in mind that this saying is several hundred years old, and has to be taken in the context where ghosts and demons, kami and supernatural powers were all commonly thought to exist, but of course personal experience with these was obviously very limited to say the least… about on a par to those who got to see the works of Go. To interpret this otherwise I think is a stance one can only take with a modern perspective on ghosts, and so it is not valid to do so.

Albert Yamanaka explains this saying quite well in the Nihonto Newsletter:

There is a saying in Japan … “one never sees a ghost or a Go”, this means though we often read and hear about ghosts, we never see one and the same can be said for Yoshihiro’s blades as well. It is that rare. […] In the ancient Japan, when all of the famous blades were in the big Daimyo collections, the populace never did get to see these blades, but heard much about them and the above saying came into being.

In terms of the lineage of Go, going far back there have always been stories and contentions that his teacher was Masamune. At this point in time Go is considered the greatest of the students of Masamune. He has to his credit many famous works, including eight famous Meito (named swords) which are variously Kokuho (National Treasures) and Juyo Bunkazai or Bijutsuhin (Important Cultural Items and Artworks). All through time his works have been highly sought after and held in the highest regard.

Like Shizu Saburo Kaneuji, swords exist from this smith that date to the period of time before his tutelage under Masamune, and those after up to his early and unfortunate death. The earlier works are strongly flavored with Yamato stylings, while those after bear the mark of Masamune’s Soshu developments very well. He is famous for an ichimai boshi which is an important kantei point, though these are not in the majority of his works it would seem. Overall, his kitae is excellent and his nie are very bright and silvery, like stars in the milky way. His hamon varies from a suguba to most commonly a gentle notare that is most often wide and more variable toward the kissaki.

Also like Shizu, he is considered to have been very faithful to the style of Masamune after his teachings, unlike other of the Juttetsu who bear little resemblance to the master and so are ruled out of the club by modern scholarship.

The Shinano Go

When I first began searching for Go Yoshihiro several years ago, my inquiries usually drew an amused response from the Japanese dealers I spoke with. The comments were, “It is an admirable dream you have one day to own a Go Yoshihiro” and, “One cannot expect to find something like that.” On my last trip to Japan one even remembered my inquiries and kidded me on them. Remember that one never sees a ghost or a Go, after all… and I believe that when a gaigin comes to a Japanese dealer asking about Go, it may be the same as someone reading in a book on western art that Da Vinci painted nice paintings, then heading off to an Italian art gallery and asking if they can sell you one. An amusing thing indeed.

I cannot state the rarity and difficulty in locating a sword like this by Go emphatically enough. In my conversations with others on this topic, it has been proposed that there are only two outside of Japan.

As sword lovers will often tell you, sometimes a sword you look for comes to you when you stop looking for it. They will say that swords find their owners, not the other way around and so it was with this one.

This sword has been designated Juyo Token, an Important Sword, certifying its maker as Go Yoshihiro by the NBTHK. It is one of only a handful that do not bear the Den¹ designation. Furthermore, it is rare in that it bears the kinzogan mei of Go with the signature and kao of Honami Koson, one of the great sword scholars of the 20th century, on the ura.

Tanobe sensei has stated that this sword is a meito, a named sword, and is called The Shinano Go. At this point in time, the history is unknown and lost and I am undertaking research to restore it. Shinano is the name of a river and a place in Japan, so all we know is that this is likely the area with which the sword has an association.

The Shinano Go features a hamon of beautiful thick nie that is impossible to properly capture with a camera, as the shimmering effects one sees with the benefit of two eyes cannot be replicated through the single eye of a camera. The yakiba contains typical structures such as kinsuji and sunagashi in nie that are typical for this smith and testified to by Tanobe sensei. Its sugata is representative of its time, and is elegant and dignified.

Also with this sword are koshirae of fine manufacture.

Juyo Token Go Yoshihiro

Showa 58, Nov. 23, Katana kinzogan mei Go, ura Kouson (kao) (Hon’ami Kouson)

Keijou

Shinogi-tsukuri, Mitsumune, Sori-yayatsuki (slight sori), Naka-kissaki

Kitae

Mixed hada, faint nagare to itame, ji-nie, with a overall splash of yubashiri.

Hamon

Notare with kawara-no-me blending in, with little shimaha, thick nie, with sunagashi and kinsuji.

Boushi

Slight midare-gokoro, with komaru.

Kuki

O-suriage, saki-asai-kurijiri, yasurime-kiri, 2 mekugi-ana. Signed “Go” on sashi-omote and “Koson (kao)” on the ura, in kinzogan.

Description

Go is Yoshihiro’s known name, and he is one of Masamune’s Juttetsu (ten disciples). Like Sadamune, there are no existing swords with his proper signature and all his work are mumei kiwame-mono (authenticated items). Characteristics of his work are bright jiba and sae, plus deep yaki on the boshi. This sword has thick ji-nie on itame, kawara-no-me mixed into notare, more toward shimaha, with plenty of nie, sunagashi and kinsuji, and with slightly-deep boshi. Both by the character of the sword and its signature in kinzogan, it must be acknowledged as indeed his work. A very splendid work with very nice jiba.

1. Note on Den: According to Tanobe sensei, Den indicates a sword that either shows some unusual additional workings, or lacks something considered one of the standard traits of the smith, and so introduces a small degree of looseness in attribution and generally a bit smaller value in the marketplace… it does not mean that a sword is in the school of that smith, or that it is by a student of the smith, or anything like this. The certainty of the attribution is not affected.

Tanobe Michihiro Sensei Sayagaki

1. 第三従回重要刀剣
   Dai sanju Juyo Token
   Session Thirty Important Sword
2. 江義弘
   Go Yoshihiro
3. 但大磨上無銘而本阿弥充遜ノ同工金象嵌有之
   Tadashi o-suriage mumei shikashite Honnami Koson kinzogan ari kore.
   Although shortened and unsigned, it bears the gold inlay Go Yoshihiro of Honami Kozon.
4. 本作ニハ信濃江ナル称号アリシモ由緒ハ不詳也
   Honsaku niwa Shinano Go naru shogo arishimo yuisho wa fusho nari.
   This work is the Shinano Go, but its history is unknown.
5. 地刃ノ冴ヘ、刃中の働キ、帽子ノ状等、同工ノ特色を顕在セリ
   Jiba no sae, hachu no hataraki, boshi no jo tou, douko no tokushoku wo kenzai seri.
   The sword shows the significant characteristics unique to Go Yoshihiro, such as brightness of the jiba, the activities in the blade and the condition of the boshi.
6. 珍々重々
   Chin chin, cho cho
   It is very precious, and rare.
7. 刃長貳尺九分五厘有之
   Hacho futatsu shaku ku bu ari kore
   The cutting edge length is 2 shaku 9 bu (63.34cm)
8. 平成拾五癸未暦極月下浣佳日
   Heisei …
   December 2003
9. 探山観并誌
   Tanzan (?) (?) Shirusu (kao)
   Tanzan appraised and ascribed (seal).

Soten Uchida Sayagaki

The Shinano Go is accompanied by a sayagaki authored and signed by Soten Uchida, who performed this service at the age of 68 from the early part of the 20th century I believe. He is quoted as an authority in Fujishiro’s works, and since these were written in the 1930s, that would place this sayagaki in time somewhat.

It is presented as poetry, which I find very interesting. Most Japanese are unable to read it, and even when read the meaning is difficult because of the form. The intention is to be highly poetic, so I have made efforts to preserve this impression in the english translation. Please note that humble is a very nice compliment in the Japanese culture!