Archived Nihonto.ca (Yuhindo.com): Ozaki Suketaka

Ozaki Suketaka

Ozaki Suketaka worked at the very beginning of the Shinshinto period, faithfully reproducing the Osaka style pioneered by Sukehiro one hundred years before.

He was a smith with a high degree of skill, and Fujishiro reflects this by recording him as Jo-saku. He died early at the age of 53, in 1805.

The two works featured here are both by Ozaki Suketaka, and because they were not made as a pair but were united by a collector, they are not a true daisho. Instead, they are a matched pair, or a collector assembled daisho representing a span of years and technique for a particular smith.

The wakizashi (sho) bears the date of 1790, so was made with Suketaka was 38 years old. The katana (dai) at 1800 comes 5 years before his death, made at age 48.

The two swords make an interesting set, as they show a spectrum of work within the same overall style. The sho is more energetic with stronger nie and more activities and a wider profile. The dai is more serene and graceful in hamon and sugata, with more nioi and a simpler approach in its aesthetic appeal. Both have very tight ko-itame hada, that is beginning to move towards the muji hada common in the Shinshinto period. This is one of the key kantei points for distinguishing the work of Suketaka from the Osaka Shinto smiths of the previous era.

Otherwise, both swords still remain in the Osaka style, in which Suketaka worked for his entire life.

I am often interested in uniting works by the same smith in order to study the technical range of manufacture. These represent such an opportunity for study, or would be nice candidates for a mounting project, or finally just to simply enjoy.