Archived Nihonto.ca (Yuhindo.com): Inoue Shinkai

Inoue Shinkai

It is no exaggeration to state that Inoue Shinkai is one of the elite smiths of the Shinto period. His name and work are well known among collectors, and in his time he had earned the nickname “The Masamune of Osaka.” In Kanbun times he stood with peers Sukehiro and Kotetsu as the three best smiths in the country, and he is considered one of the representative smiths of the Shinto period, and one of the all time greats in the history of Nihonto.

Inoue Shinkai was born as the second son of Izumi no Kami Kunisada in 1630. Inoue is their (non-art) family name, and his personal name at birth was Hachirobei. By the time he reached his early 20s, he was making swords under his father’s name. Though his father was a smith of formidable skill, the work of his son attained the level of true brilliance. Even as the master faded, it was clear that his son still signing under his father’s name had already eclipsed him in skill.

In 1661, at the age of 30 and signing still as Izumi no Kami Fujiwara Kunisada, Shinkai presented a sword to the imperial court and received the right to engrave the kiku mon (the imperial chrysanthemum) on the nakago of his blades. At the end of the Kanbun era (1672 to be exact) he became a lay priest, and at this time took up the name Inoue Shinkai under which he set his sights on emulating Go Yoshihiro and reached the height of his skill (note: oshigata left: Shinkai, right: Go). As such, the works of the Empo period (1673-1680) are considered to be the works made under the full maturation of his style and technique, so are the most impressive, important and desirable.

It is an important distinction to make, because many of the early independent works and daimei – though very fine – do not carry the same standing as art objects as those of his later years. To get an idea of how the works are weighted in contrast to each other, one can use the NBTHK Juyo Token index as a guide.

The career of Shinkai spans from 1649 to 1672 where he signed with the name Kunisada, and from 1672 to 1682 where he signed Inoue Shinkai. Though the last part of his career is only 30% of his work span, 53% of the Juyo Token come from this period. Furthermore, the two Tokubetsu Juyo listed in the index both bear the Inoue Shinkai signature, and the various Juyo Bunkazai blades also bear the Shinkai signature.

It is important to keep this in mind in terms of understanding the relative valuation and importance of blades from this smith depending on which part of his career they were made.

Fujishiro rates Inoue Shinkai at Sai-jo saku for supreme quality and skill of manufacture. Dr. Tokuno in the Toko Taikan assigns him a value of 1,800 man yen. This rating is well in excess of many of the great Soshu smiths of old like Shizu and Hiromitsu who were the prime movers and shakers of the style that Shinkai emulated. On top of this reputation for quality and artistic integrity, his blades were considered very sharp at wazamono.

As noted above, Shinkai’s last blade was made in 1682 where he died suddenly, and unfortunately young at the age of 52.

Juyo Token Inoue Shinkai Wakizashi

This powerful wakizashi bears the clear signature of Inoue Shinkai, and is one of the Empo works that have brought him such fame. The pursuit of Go Yoshihiro, his stylistic departure from the teachings of his father, and his name change all dovetail so it is likely that there was something very intentional about his pursuit of Go and his adoption of a new name.

This work is an admirable one, it is very robust in character and beautifully made. The deep nie in the o-notare hamon overflow (a feature noted by Albert Yamanaka as a kantei point) into the ji, and the monouchi is particularly deep in comparison to the rest of the blade. All of these are features of Go Yoshihiro, and it is safe to say that this blade easily confirms the statements of the intentions of his work during this period.

The nie in this sword are breathtaking, especially in the boshi and monouchi. It does not require much work on the part of the viewer to notice the nie of many colors in the hamon, and in a word it is sublime. They also show well in the jihada (check picture number 7 in the slideshow, looking to the left in the yakiba and to the right in the jihada helps one notice the contrast and representation of the subtle pastel rainbow hues that are sprinkled throughout… also picture 5 shows nie of many colors in the yakiba as well as the jihada).

The boshi can only be called magnificent, and the peaceful effect of the yakiba is something that will bring pleasure over and over again, and it is certainly clear why this smith obtained the nickname of Osaka Masamune.

This wakizashi was part of the Manno Museum collection, and as one of the accepted Juyo Token, it is an important and outstanding example of the best period of one of the most famous and skilled smiths of the Shinto period.

Juyo Token

Appointed in November 1977, Session 25

Wakizashi, Mei, Inoue Shinkai, Empo 3 Nen Hachi Gatsu Hi

Keijo (form)

Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, standard width, slight sori, chu-kissaki.

Hamon

Shallow notare, well tempered around cutting edge, wide nie and nioi temper patterns throughout, bright and clear, brushed sand-like finish.

Kitae

Itame hada with ji nie

Boshi

flame-shaped ko-maru point on a suguba hamon

Nakago

ubu, sakiba-agari kurijiri, diagonally-crossed file marks, keisho yasurime, single peg hole, sashi omote, 4-character signature on near lower ridge of peg hole, inscribed with chrysanthemum crest and year on reverse side.

Setsumei

Inoue Shinkai was the son of the first generation swordsmith Izumi no Kami Kunisada and originally took the same “Izumi no Kami Kunisada” name as his father, but in August 1672 changed his signature to Shinkai. Along with Sukehiro, the two were known as the invincible pair of the Osaka Shinto, with Sukehiro superior in the production of cloud-like nioi temper patterns and Shinkai in that of nie: the larger crystal-like-cloud temper pattern characteristics. This 1675 Wakizashi is a fine example in the vigorous style of a slightly course nie mixed with a notare-style suguba in which he excels.