An Sadayoshi Naginata-Naoshi Katana (越前定吉)

Echizen Sadayoshi (越前定吉) was a smith of the Chiyozuru school, active during the Nanbokuchô period in the mid-fourteenth century. He is a rare and somewhat elusive figure – his name does not appear in the standard Meikan sword reference books, and signed works attributed to him are unusual, some bearing simply the character “一” (Ichi) on the tang. What can be said is that the character of his work aligns with a northern tradition, and the Chiyozuru school connection places him within a lineage that produced bold, robustly constructed blades. The NBTHK’s attribution to Sadayoshi, confirmed at the 19th Jûyô session in June 1970 – one of the earlier sessions in the programme’s history – carries particular weight given how early such recognition was extended to a smith this lightly documented.

This blade is a naginata-naoshi – a polearm blade reforged and remounted as a sword, a conversion that was common during and after the Nanbokuchô period as battlefield naginata were repurposed for personal wear. The naginata heritage is immediately apparent in the proportions: a wide mihaba with very little taper (3.1 cm at the base, 2.75 cm at the tip), and an ô-kissaki of extraordinary length at 10.25 cm – a figure that speaks directly to the sweeping, lethal geometry of the original polearm tip. The kitae is an ô-itame with nagare, hada-tachi throughout, and a shirake utsuri moving through the ji. The hamon is a ko-notare gunome midare with a relatively narrow yakihaba, hotsure along the habuchi, ko-ashi, sunagashi, kinsuji, deep nioi, and thick ko-nie. The bôshi is midare-komi with hakikake at the tip and yakizume – tight and decisive. Both sides of the blade retain traces of the original kanmuri-otoshi grooves from its naginata life, visible on the nakago.

At the 19th Jûyô session, held in 1970, this was among a relatively small and selective body of blades to receive the designation in what remains one of the programme’s earlier and more tightly curated sessions. For a blade by a smith absent from the standard reference literature, Jûyô certification at this stage is a statement of exceptional quality. The combination of its unusual attribution, the dramatic naginata-naoshi sugata, and that commanding ô-kissaki make this a blade that is both historically significant and visually striking.