Lot Essay
Ito Katsumi (d. 1910) was the student of Tanaka Kiyotoshi (1798-1876), and the heir of Ito Masahiro (fl. 1850), and as such was the tenth main line Ito master. Katsumi made many forgeries of the work of Nara Toshinaga (1667-1737), and Yokoya Somin I (1670-1733), as well as others. In the 1870s, Takakura Taneaki wrote, "Despite the strict warning of his teacher (Tanaka Kiyotoshi) Katsumi continued this deceptive work. Later he took to forging great names on swords. In middle life he was struck with blindness -- heaven's punishment for his sins."