Tan 116 Yoshiaki Aoe Utsushimono


Rare Top Tanto Maker With Utsuri


Rare excellent example of a shinsakuto maker who is the most famous for making utsuri. Utsuri is a very difficult feature to create in a sword, and only top makers from the older period could achieve this effect. Sugita Yoshiaki was so intrigued by utsuri, that he made it a special quest in his study of creating top blades in this modern age by traditional techniques. Unknown to many beginners, the Aoe School from the Koto period was very famous for their slanted choji midare with very strong utsuri. There are many important cultural objects by this school, with this type of work. Throughout history, many tosho have tried to reproduce tanto of the Aoe School ,but they were always lacking the utsuri effect leaving the ji empty and the reproduction incomplete. Yoshiaki however, found a way through study and experimentation of how to recreate this effect, thus creating a masterful copy of the Aoe Sunnobi tanto from the Nanbokucho period. He is very talented being from a very famous school (the line of Kawashima Tadayoshi), and is already well recognized in Japan for his efforts, some even say that he has a good chance of achieving living national treasure one day! The blade is very nice, strong saka choji midare with yo and kinsuji. The jigane is very nice, with very strong midare utsuri on a itame hada. Tang is ubu, signed and dated. In perfect high level polish with new shirasaya and top grade gold foiled habaki.


Yoshiaki has won or placed in many of the Shinsakuto contest, and usually a brand new order piece such as this from him would usually run around $12,000 or higher.

2002

Yoshiaki Saku / Heisei Ju Ni Ni (Four) Nen Go Gatsu Kichi hi (Lucky Day May , 2002)

29.2 cm

SOLD