Archived Nihonto.ca (Yuhindo.com): Awataguchi Tadatsuna

Awataguchi Omi no Kami Tadatsuna

Tadatsuna is a swordsmith from the Asai family, and hails from Banshu Himeji. He claims lineage back to the koto Awataguchi smith Kunitsuna, and worked for a time in Kyoto. After moving to Osaka with his son, he obtained first the title of Omi no Daijo, then was promoted to Omi no Kami.

His son was named Asai Mandayu, and went on to become the Nidai Tadatsuna and surpassed even his talented father in skill. He would go on to be known as one of the best of the Osaka swordsmiths, and was also famous for his horimono which decorated his swords and the works of his father. Both father and son received rankings for the cutting prowress of their swords, wazamono, and ryo-wazamono respectively. As well Fujishiro ranks them at Jo saku, and Jo-jo saku.

This particular sword is a flawless, beautiful wakizashi that shows off the talent of Tadatsuna in an outstanding manner. I fear that I may be perceived as venturing into the territory of hype, but I am very much taken with the quality of this wakizashi and impressed with its construction.

The sugata is firm and dignified, and the size I think is perfect for its function. The hamon recalls the work of the Bizen Ichimonji smiths with its well executed choji midare and long ashi in nioi. There are scatterings of ko-nie, and small yo and sungashi can be found in and around the ashi. The jigane is superb, showing tremendous forging skill in producing its luminous ko-mokume with small chikei stretching into ko-itame in places.

There is one small scuff on the sashi omote that can be seen in the pictures, otherwise the polish is intact and in excellent condition. The sword is in a good quality shirasaya with a gold foil habaki.

In summary, this is a delightful work by one of the important and representative smiths of the Osaka Shinto school and would fit well in any collection.