Archived Nihonto.ca (Yuhindo.com): Masuda Yasuaki

Masuda Yasuaki

This tanto made in osoraku-zukiri was by the Yasukuni Shrine smith Masuda Yasuaki. He was born in 1915, and began working as a hammerman under Abe Yasushige in 1939, then under Yasunobu in 1942.

He received his own name and right to make swords at the Yasukuni Shrine towards the end of WWII, in November 1944. Because of this he only made about 20 blades with his name on it at the shrine, before the war came to an end and the forge shut down.

He played an interesting role during the occupation, where smiths from the shrine were attempting to find ways to preserve the knowledge and their skills. The Kotohira Daily Necessities Research Laboratory was the result, and the smiths made various metal tools and implements, while Yasuaki served as the chairman of the organization.

In 1954 Yasuaki obtained a license to begin sword forging again, but did not return to the trade until 1970. During his career he won several awards for swordsmithing, including those of the NBTHK.

For the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Yasukuni forge, the remaining smiths worked together to produce a blade to dedicate to the Yasukuni shrine. Fujishiro Matsuo, the Living National Treasure sword polisher, and several of the Yasukuni smiths, are shown in this photograph discussing the dedication sword.

Masuda Yasuaki died in 1995.

In spite of this, it is an enjoyable tanto from one of the significant smiths in the history of the Japanese sword during the 20th century. For lovers of gendaito and shinsakuto it is a nice addition to such a collection.

If you wish to read more about the Yasukuni Shrine and its smiths, please head over to Jinsoo Kim’s Yasukuni Shrine Page. There is a nice picture of Yasuaki taken in his last days that is at the top of the page, and a lot of excellent information follows.