Lot Essay
An ancestor of this school was Yamada Asauemon Sadatake. He studied sword judging under Yamano Kanjuro Iyehisa and Iyehisa's younger brother, Yamano Kanjuro Hisahide, both of whom did cutting tests. Sadatake died aged 60 on the 18th of December 1716. Asaemon Yoshitoki was adopted into the family and the school then started to work for the family of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The Yamada family were not yakunin [employed directly by the Tokugawa family]. Yoshitoki was succeeded by Yoshitsugu, Yoshihiro, Yoshimutsu and Yoshimasa respectively. Yoshimutsu was the second son of Niwa Gompachi, a retainer of Naito Masanoshin and his mother was a daughter of Yamada Yoshitsugu. Yoshimutsu wrote the Koken Kaji (Tanja) Biko, a book about swords, published in 1829. All were named Yamada Asaemon Yoshi...
Sudo Godayu Bokusai, who was an ancestor of the Sudo school, studied under Yoshihiro and also worked for the Tokugawa family. He died aged 71 on the 16th of June 1802.
For information about Tameshigiri and Yamada Asaemon's role, see Joly, H.J. and Inada, H. The Sword and Same, pp. 117-125, (Holland Press, 1979).
Sudo Godayu Bokusai, who was an ancestor of the Sudo school, studied under Yoshihiro and also worked for the Tokugawa family. He died aged 71 on the 16th of June 1802.
For information about Tameshigiri and Yamada Asaemon's role, see Joly, H.J. and Inada, H. The Sword and Same, pp. 117-125, (Holland Press, 1979).