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Lot Essay
The Kiami Hon Meizukushi of 1381 tells of Oniomaru, said to be the founder of the Gassan school, being one of four smiths employed by Hachiman Taro Yoshiie when he went to Oshu Province in the 11th century. However, there are few known swords which predate the Kamakura period. The earliest signed work of the school is the Juyo Bijutsuhin tachi preserved in the Dewa Sanzan shrine, which dates from the Nanbokucho period.
The smiths of the school were Yamabushi, or devotees of the Shugendo sect of mountain aescetics which originated in the absorption of Chinese esoteric Buddhism into the Japanese native Shinto religion during the eighth century. The religion was based on the Dewa Sanzan (Three Mountains of Dewa Province), Gassan, Haguro san, and Yudono san. The Gassan school survived in Dewa Province until the end of the 16th century. They frequently just signed Gassan, although sometimes also with the individual smith's name. The characteristic sinusoidal grain, ayasugi hada (cryptomeria twill), is invariably found on all works of the school until its demise in Dewa in the 16th century, although the name was later revived in Osaka by Gassan Sadayoshi during the 19th century. It may be significant that a similar hada is found on the work of the Naminohira and Jitsua smiths of Kyushu in the Heian period who are also believed to have been Shugendo adherents.
The smiths of the school were Yamabushi, or devotees of the Shugendo sect of mountain aescetics which originated in the absorption of Chinese esoteric Buddhism into the Japanese native Shinto religion during the eighth century. The religion was based on the Dewa Sanzan (Three Mountains of Dewa Province), Gassan, Haguro san, and Yudono san. The Gassan school survived in Dewa Province until the end of the 16th century. They frequently just signed Gassan, although sometimes also with the individual smith's name. The characteristic sinusoidal grain, ayasugi hada (cryptomeria twill), is invariably found on all works of the school until its demise in Dewa in the 16th century, although the name was later revived in Osaka by Gassan Sadayoshi during the 19th century. It may be significant that a similar hada is found on the work of the Naminohira and Jitsua smiths of Kyushu in the Heian period who are also believed to have been Shugendo adherents.