Lot Essay
Tadatsuna II, son of Omi (no) Kami Tadatsuna, was known not only for his choji midare hamon, as in this example, but also for his carving, especially dragons or carp swimming against waterfalls.
Asai Tadatsuna I was a native of Himeji in Banshu (Higo Prefecture) and is believed to be a descendant of Awataguchi Kunitsuna. Ikkanshi Tadatsuna II used two types of hamon, one a choji-ha similar to his father's and the other a doran (raging billows); his boshi tended to be midare-komi with a short-to-medium kaeri.
His fame was inadvertently enhanced in 1784 when Tairo (Chief Minister) Tanuma Okitsugu, a man hated for corruption, was assassinated at Edo Castle by Sano Zensaemon with a wakizashi made by Tadatsuna II. As a result, the public began referring to that blade as Yo-naoshi Tadatsuna (the Purging Tadatsuna).
Asai Tadatsuna I was a native of Himeji in Banshu (Higo Prefecture) and is believed to be a descendant of Awataguchi Kunitsuna. Ikkanshi Tadatsuna II used two types of hamon, one a choji-ha similar to his father's and the other a doran (raging billows); his boshi tended to be midare-komi with a short-to-medium kaeri.
His fame was inadvertently enhanced in 1784 when Tairo (Chief Minister) Tanuma Okitsugu, a man hated for corruption, was assassinated at Edo Castle by Sano Zensaemon with a wakizashi made by Tadatsuna II. As a result, the public began referring to that blade as Yo-naoshi Tadatsuna (the Purging Tadatsuna).