\u00a0Natane was born in the seventh year of the Anei era (1778) into a family that made sickles, a farming tool, for living in Dewa Koku (Today\u2019s Yamagata prefecture). From a younger age, he got interested in becoming a swordsmith while learning blacksmithing skills. During the late Kansei era (1789-1801), he left his hometown and moved to Edo City to become an apprentice for Suishinshi Masahide, one of the most reputable swordsmiths in Edo during that time. He learned excellent craftsmanship from Masahide in a house owned by Akimoto family, which was the head of Dewa Koku.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0It is said that Naotane became an independent swordsmith in 1801. He started to serve Akimoto family in 1812 through the introduction from Suishinshi Masahide. And he received the honorable official title of Chikuzen Daijo (\u7b51\u524d\u5927\u63be) in 1822. In 1848, he visited Kyoto and forged a Tachi blade for Takatsuka family, one of the imperial lineage, and received another title called Minosuke (\u7f8e\u6fc3\u4ecb). The more Naotane gained fame, the more often he was invited by a feudal lord or high-class Samurai in other provinces to forge blades. He created swords nationwide in his late career.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0The works of Naotane have been highly appreciated because he played an essential role in Japanese sword history at the end of the Edo period. It is said that he mastered all the five Japanese sword traditions called Gokaten (\u4e94\u7b87\u4f1d). They are Bizen DEN, Mino Den, Soshu Den, Yamashiro Den and Yamato Den. It is said that he was especially excellent at Bizen and Soshu Den.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0His master, Suishinshi Masahide, was the proponent of revitalizing old sword-forging traditions. This movement is called Token Futsuko Ron (\u5200\u5263\u5fa9\u53e4\u8ad6). Naotane followed suit and mastered superb craftsmanship. Natotane trained many famous swordsmiths, and one of them was Jiro Taro Naokatsu, who was active during 1805-1858. Naotane died at the age of 79 in 1857.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you are interested in checking his work, we happen to acquire an antique Wakizashi<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/a>signed by him. More information is available by clicking the image below.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.samuraimuseum.jp\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/musashi_OCMOJ_0927.jpg\")
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